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Street Fight Movie Analysis

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PART I: STREET FIGHT
The documentary Street Fight directed by Marshall Curry covered a boisterous 2002 campaign in Newark, New Jersey, against a young city councilor Cory Booker verses the cities longest serving major running for a re-election James Sharpe. During the entire documentary there were multiple points regarding politics and political power. In the beginning of the movie it was noted that some citizens were afraid to support Booker because they feared being targeted and possibly losing their homes or businesses. Even though Booker attempted to beat the Sharpe, he was nowhere near as entrenched and politically connected Sharpe. With the stark difference in the demographics each runner was targeting it became apparent that Booker was viewed as an outsider to the suburban residents of Newark that believed Sharpe would be the best candidate to become mayor. With that in mind, it is clear that social class adds a dimension into consideration of civic engagement (Losco 12). In my opinion, due to Sharpe’s vast influence to achieve his desired goals would be considered a ruling elite. Paraphrasing from Losco page 5, Sharpe had access to government officials to become re-elected as a government official himself. In the AM GOV text it states, “Although citizens may not agree with specific government policies, they will support as legitimate, or lawful, policies founded upon accepted contracts and standards.” (Losco 5). This can be connected to the documentary by noting the

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