THE STORY – Inspired by an unconventional teacher, a group of teenagers in upstate New York in the early 1990s made a student film that uncovered a vast conspiracy involving toxic waste that was poisoning their community. Thirty years later, they revisit their film and confront the legacy of this transformative experience.
THE CAST – N/A
THE TEAM – Jesse Moss & Amanda McBaine (Directors/Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 111 Minutes
Up north from New York City, past the endless barrage of street-meat vendors and over-priced lady liberty merchandise, inhabits a community of ordinary civilians. The citizens of Middletown are predominantly blue-collar. The quietude and tranquility of American suburbia are all part of the appeal, where controversy and criminality are seldom heard. It wasn’t until the 1990s that the local township was faced with a devastating wakeup call. Beneath the bucolic veneer of the community, corporations and gangsters were found at the scene of an illegal dumping scandal. Organized crime and political corruption enabled the dumping of hazardous waste within the region’s landfills. The toxic chemicals poisoned the ground, and the lethal substances gradually reached the groundwater supply. Cancer cases increased within the community, slowly plaguing the oblivious victims of neoliberal negligence.
In Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s “Middletown,” the documentary duo exposes the origins of the story and its unlikely journalistic team. The whistleblowers of the exposé were none other than a group of high school students enrolled in an electronic English course. Capturing the pandemonium of their first discovery of toxic waste through analog cameras, “Middletown” chronologically follows the inaugural thrill of the teenagers’ radical class project. With the help of their community-oriented teacher, Fred Isseks, the youth enrolled in his electronic English class became the talk of the town. “Middletown,” tells a classic underdog tale of a group of rambunctious teenagers who weaponized their craft for the greater good of society.
In a similar vein to their state sagas (“Boys State” and “Girls State”), Moss and McBain utilize the mechanics of a coming-of-age tale to tell a summarized version of the Middletown scandal. The documentary moves at a brisk tempo, allowing its viewers to laugh along with the endearing archival B-Roll. “Middletown” embraces the awkwardness of youth by cross-cutting newly conducted talking-head material with the graduates of Issek’s beloved elective course. Cleverly, the documentary team collaborated with Issek to reconstruct the school’s TV studio. “Middletown” mixes recreation and wholesome testimonies with the former students, told with near-perfect synchronicity. As the subjects themselves playfully interact with the surrounding set, the manufactured soundstage conjures real emotions for the nostalgic alumni.
For an investigation that lasted six years, “Middletown” impressively compacts its colossal timeline of events into a digestible runtime under two hours. Moss and McBain prioritize the personalities of their subjects before delving into their web of research. The charm of its archival footage stems from the amateurish execution of the student’s reportage. Moss and McBain purposefully include clips of the teens shouting immature jokes at one another to juxtapose their revelatory journalism. Humor, empathy, and guidance from their dedicated teacher are what drove the teens of Middletown High to unveil the darker truths of their community. The documentary constantly reflects on the meaning and importance of civic courage, as the students publically showcase their images in town halls as an act of social responsibility.
Whereas it utilizes newfound testimonials and other forms of evocative B-Roll to reflect on the past, “Middletown” peculiarly skips over material regarding the current state of American affairs. The discovery of toxic waste in the community’s groundwater is a familiar story that has unfortunately reiterated itself over the past three decades. From Flint to Teflon, the history of commercial malpractice is built upon the reckless sponsorship of powerful corporations. “Middletown” misses the mark in punctuating its emotional climax with a meditation on the future of America’s youth, failing to fully elaborate on the interconnected corruption between state, commerce, and civilian welfare.
Regardless of its underwhelming spotlight on the aftermath of the infamous electronic curriculum at Middletown High, the titular documentary ultimately celebrates the importance of educators like Fred Isseks. With Moss and McBain’s latest documentary, the duo memorialize and cherish the work of incredible youth, tributing their righteous morality with the compassionate teachings of their mindful mentor. As Nelson Mandela once said: “Children are our greatest treasure. They are our future.”
