The story of Street Fight, which tells the story of the 2002 Newark Mayoral Race, is one that I think is both unique to smaller, city-wide elections, but also tells the story of many issues that arise in many campaigns including the Presidential Race of 2008.
On the one hand, Marshall Curry shows the harsh reality of city political machines and their ability to control every aspect of life including elections, the symbol of our democratic system.
On the other hand, it shows the power of strong political skills and the ability to turn a blatant lie into a truth. The best example from this election is the "Obama is an Arab" claim. Although this claim has been refuted by John McCain himself, we have discussed in class that many Americans will still go into the voting booth and choose not to vote for Barack Obama because they THINK that he may be a Muslim.
In the film, Sharpe James is able to convince many of the citizens of Newark that Cory Booker is not only "not black," but also that his campaign has raised almost 5 times the amount that it actually did (He repeatedly says that Booker has raised 10 million dollars when in reality he raised close to 2), and uses this to persuade voters against voting for Booker.
Although, in the end, after 4 years of fighting Booker does become the mayor of Newark, the film shows that harsh realities of the political world on both a small and large scale.
I recommend the film to all those who haven't watched it, it is truly worth your time.
Furthermore, this election could mean big things for Cory Booker, with ongoing speculation that he will get a job in Washington should Barack Obama win on Tuesday.
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