Film

The Squad

Name: The Squad
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2020
Cast: Cathy Warren, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib

A 42-minute documentary portrait of AOC, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib in their first year in Congress. It's intimate and urgent, built from archive footage and narration, capturing four young women of color navigating unprecedented scrutiny and redefining what political power can look like. Essential viewing if you care about American politics right now.

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RBG2018

Intimate portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's life and legacy, showing how one person's quiet determination can reshape the law. Shares The Squad's focus on women fighting systemic barriers from inside the system.

But It's reverential to the point of uncritical, and the pacing can feel sluggish if you're not deeply invested in constitutional law.

Knock Down the House2019

Follows four women running for Congress in 2018, including AOC, documenting grassroots organizing and the exhaustion of fighting entrenched power. Direct companion piece to The Squad with overlapping subjects and momentum.

But Unabashedly partisan in its sympathy. If you came for balance, you won't find it here.

Kill the Messenger2014

Documentary about the Tea Party movement that reshaped American conservatism. Offers the mirror-image perspective on how political outsiders upend establishment politics from the other direction.

But It's sympathetic to Tea Party ideals in ways that might alienate you depending on your politics. Also feels dated now.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Squad

Hoop Dreams1994

Three-hour documentary that follows two teenagers through the machinery of American institutions (basketball, class, race). Shares The Squad's unflinching look at how systems shape lives and possibilities.

But It's long and sometimes frustrating in how it withholds easy answers. The pacing is glacial by modern standards.

13th2016

Ava DuVernay's searing documentary connecting mass incarceration to slavery and systemic racism. Essential context for understanding the urgency driving The Squad's political project and rhetoric.

But It's relentless and heavy. There are no moments of levity, and the accumulated weight of the evidence can be punishing.

The Social Dilemma2020

Documentary about how social media platforms shape politics and identity. Explores the information ecosystem that both enabled The Squad's rise and continues to define how they're perceived and attacked.

But It oversimplifies tech issues and relies heavily on talking-head explainers rather than showing the problem. Some of it feels like concern-trolling.

Feels Good Man2020

Documentary about Pepe the Frog and the war over internet culture and symbols. Shows how political meaning gets made and fought over in spaces The Squad's generation inhabits.

But The subject feels trivial compared to The Squad's stakes, and the tone can be too winking for its own good.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?2018

Portrait of Mr. Rogers and his radical vision of inclusion and kindness in media. Different era and medium, but animated by the same conviction that visibility and representation matter politically.

But It's sentimental in a way that might feel evasive about actual conflict. Some viewers find it saccharine rather than moving.