HBO Doc ‘Outside the Bubble’ Captures Liberals Deciphering Trumpland
November 13, 2018Last week, as the midterm election results rolled in, it was clear that despite some impressive flipped seats and close races, Trump supporters remain very energized, signaling deeper polarization in America. Outside the Bubble, an HBO documentary directed and hosted by Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Nancy Pelosi, attempts to confront the political divide head-on, and winds up giving viewers a glimpse of the unbending conservatism that has come to the fore in recent years.
As you might surmise, Pelosi is liberal. She previously worked on Real Time with Bill Maher, but became interested in reporting on conservatives and their motivations, earning her the title of "purple sheep in the family." The documentary follows Pelosi's conversations with Trump supporters around the country, discussing ten issues dividing the nation, including gun control, Confederate monuments, immigration, climate change, and coal mining. The goal, as she explains at the outset of the film, is to take the first step in addressing polarization by stepping "outside [her] own bubble" to listen to people in the MAGA camp and see what there is to learn.
Despite the film’s optimistic tone, the interviews Pelosi conducts mostly confirm how difficult it is to bridge political divides, especially in the Trump era. She seeks deeper answers about why conservatives are staunch in their beliefs, but at least with this group of subjects, she struggles to find common ground.
Photo courtesy of HBO
The documentary demonstrates that pure intentions will only get Americans so far. But a biased interviewer feigning objectivity doesn't feel satisfying either. Perhaps a political documentary co-directed by a conservative and a liberal would ease some of the power dynamics and producing dilemmas. A film that captured disagreement or animosity within political factions could offer a better sense of how extreme certain subjects' views are within their communities. As it stands though, filtering interviews with staunch conservatives through a Democrat's lens is an entertaining yet imperfect method.
By the end of the documentary, as Pelosi tries to conjure a net-positive from her series of discussions, the film's real takeaway is bleak. It mostly demonstrates that it's possible to disagree more civilly with people of differing political views. Pelosi's evident frustration during her interviews, however, raises new questions about whether it's even possible to simply listen to the other side. Rather, the film demonstrates how hard it can be to burst your own ideological bubble, especially when we carry our biases and assumptions with us to new places and interactions. Addressing America's increased polarization is a noble goal, but Pelosi's attempt at it shows that our rifts are even deeper than they first appeared.
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