TRUE LIFE: I'M A CANDIDATE (TV)
Summary
One in this documentary series which showcases real-life stories of young people. This documentary follows the campaigns of two inexperienced young men from different backgrounds and different cities running for Congressional seats against long-time incumbents. The first candidate introduced is John Cranley, a twenty-six-year-old graduate of the Harvard Divinity School from Cincinnati who idolizes Robert F. Kennedy and openly admits that his decision to run for Congress is "crazy." The second candidate, thirty one-year-old Dylan Glenn from southwest Georgia, worked for President George Bush in 1991 but has never held a public office. From the outset, Glenn is an underdog in his campaign; he is an African-American Republican in a deep-South county that has never elected a minority Republican. At the beginning of the film, both candidates need to raise $800,000 to finance their campaigns. Glenn finds that his affiliations with the Republican party make fund-raising relatively easy. Cranley, though, spends his days cold-calling any vague acquaintance who has ever crossed his path and begging for donations. Glenn's campaign begins to take off when he receives the endorsement of the Black Farmers, a powerful Southern group that has traditionally voted Democrat. Though the group was very skeptical of Glenn initially, viewers learn, he won them over with his passionate insistence that "if you believe in freedom, you should be a Republican." Cranley begins showing up at local parades and festivals, pressing the flesh in an attempt to garner precious name recognition. Cranley finally starts to appear in newspaper articles about his opponent's campaign, but he laments that he is always referred to as a "rookie" or a "confident newcomer." Glenn travels to the Republican National Convention, where he becomes associated with Colin Powell and is interviewed by a number of major media outlets. Cranley makes it onto the local news after a strong showing at a debate about campaign finance. He uses some of the money he has collected to produce a creative attack ad aimed at his opponent, and the media start to pick up on the angle that a young neophyte is proving truly threatening to the older candidate. Shortly thereafter, Cranley receives some encouraging words from Vice President (and presidential candidate) Al Gore.
(This tape includes some footage that was not aired in the original MTV version.)
Details
- NETWORK: MTV
- DATE: November 16, 2000 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:17:54
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:64317
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Electioneering; U S - Congress
- SERIES RUN: MTV - TV series, 1998-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Lauren Lazin … Executive Producer
- Dave Sirulnick … Executive Producer
- Banks Tarver … Producer, Director
- Scott Forsythe … Associate Producer
- Laurie Girion … Researcher
- Anneka Jones … Researcher
- George Bush
- John Cranley
- Dylan Glenn
- Al Gore
- Robert F. Kennedy
- Colin Powell