These three documentaries about city-level public servants are like ASMR for my brain.
Some people self-soothe by listening to whale sounds. Others watch artists mixing paints or sea otters doing their sea otter thing. Still others find joy in things organized neatly. But 2020 has reminded me that the most gratifying thing to watch right now, in all the world, may be bureaucracy in action. (Seriously. Stay with me.) “Bureaucracy” is probably not quite the right term; the word has depressing connotations, calling to mind hours of standing in line at the DMV or something out of Kafka. I don’t mean that. What I mean, instead, is seeing civil servants (some elected, but mostly appointed) perform their jobs imperfectly, but with conviction and purpose. Meeting with constituents in a church basement. Checking in voters as they arrive at the polls. Performing marriage ceremonies in a small room at the city hall. Debating what kind of decorations should be used at the town’s holiday kick-off party. Thrilling? Depends on your perspective. But three movies I saw this year reminded me of how much joy there can be in difficult, ordinary public service done well, and how refreshing it can be to witness. One of the first movies I saw in 2020 was actually a five-part documentary series, City So Real, from Oscar-nominated director Steve James. He shot most of the series last year, focusing on the groundbreaking 2019 Chicago mayoral election. The race featured a crowded field of candidates seeking to distinguish themselves and gain constituents’ trust, against the backdrop of protests over the impending Lincoln Yards development project and the trial of police officer Jason Van Dyke, who shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times. City So Real is genuinely thrilling and even heart-pounding at times, but a lot of what makes it so appealing is that the electioneering and debates and speeches are mixed with more mundane matters — like the lengthy and tedious process of contesting ballots in a heated political race. Scenes like these involve three people sitting at a desk, peering intently at a ballot, arguing about who the person voted for. Not visually scintillating, to be sure. But watching it happen, you realize this is how democracy works: Regular people, doing their jobs, trying to make sure the outcome of an election reflects the will of the voters. (For obvious reasons, this particular scene has become far more resonant late in the year.
