It’s been a while since I’ve seen this film (ie. last year) but I do remember how I felt about it pretty well. In 2002 in the town of Newark in New Jersey, Cory Booker runs for mayor, hoping to unseat the longtime mayor Sharpe James. You’re probably thinking, “So what? Why should this be notable? Mayoral elections happen all the time.” Director Marshall Curry calls it “Street Fight” — as the fight for mayor is taken to the streets of Newark where both parties try to win over individual citizens.
Things are not as they seem, however. While the film is primarily focused on Cory Booker and his campaign, he does try to film James’ campaign as well, only to get denied time and time again, sometimes meeting violence. Sharpe James, as the film shows, is manipulative, arrogant, and his supporters seem to be out of control at times. And since no one seems to be challenging James’ authority or the outrageous stunts he pulls, the street fight escalates, right up until the last vote is counted.
I would rank Street Fight with Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, in terms of how pissed off it leaves audiences feeling (or at least, me). Despite the amateur look of the film, there is a reason why this was nominated for an Oscar: showing the corruption and true face of American politics.
Street Fight
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