A Comparison of "Last Man Standing" and "Street Fight"

In a world where the strong survive and the weak plunder, running for public office can be a more daunting task then holding the actual office itself. The films, Last Man Standing and Street Fight, depict two separate elections in two separate states as fierce battles. The films provide contrasting views of the struggle to reach public office, and the tactics used to get there. Though the films paint the similar process of brutal campaigning and numbing elections, these films have clearly different stories.

In Central Texas, incumbent Republican Rick Green and Democrat rookie, Patrick Rose, ran a tight race for a seat inside the Texas House of Representatives. This close race was delineated inside the film Last Man Standing. Rick Green, a conservative Christian and law school graduate from the University of Texas, held the house seat since 1999. As the incumbent candidate up for re-election, Green held majority voter support through out the race. Rick Green rallied support in local events and church functions, asserting his faith to gain support. In Green’s opposition was young Democrat Patrick Rose. Rose was new to politics but eager to win the fight. Rose allowed himself to be portrayed as a new comer and young candidate, this played in his favor especially among women voters. Rose, a graduate from Stanford and the University of Texas, held the firm belief that this election could be won one voter at a time.

Last Man Standing opens with Patrick Rose meandering through a suburban community knocking on doors and handing out campaign fliers. Most that answered the door were unaware of who Rose was, or that he was running for election. To most voters Rick Green was seen as the candidate that was easy to vot...

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...ing and Street Fight outline the momentous fight for the title of public office. The road of campaigning and winning votes is long and narrow. Candidates have various tools at their will in attempt to win a seat of their own inside public office. These documentaries show tremendous differences and various similarities of the process to hold such coveted titles. The differences in the types of elections expressed in the films shows the tremendous differences of campaigning and elections across the country.

Works Cited

Last Man Standing: Politics Texas Style. Dir. Paul Stekler. PBS, 2004. DVD.

"POV - Last Man Standing . Film Description | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. July 2004. Web. 08 Nov. 2011. .

Street Fight. Dir. Marshall Curry. Marshall Curry Productions LLC, 2005. DVD.