Experiencing Interruptions?

A Jefferson State of Mind: The Politics of Representation in Northern California

The ethnographic documentary film takes a look at a populist secessionist movement occurring in Northern California called the State of Jefferson, which aims to break away from California and become the 51st state. The idea has gained momentum since the first Trump election and the film investigates the viability of the movement, including its history and political objectives.

  • David Dean Linville
    Director
  • David Dean Linville
    Producer
  • Ivan Senock
    Producer
  • David Dean Linville
    Cinematography and Aerial Drone Footage
  • Ivan Senock
    Cinematography and Aerial Drone Footage
  • David D Linville
    Research Design
  • Bill Chill
    Lead Editor
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short, Student, Television
  • Genres:
    Politics, Documentary, History, Contraversial
  • Runtime:
    28 minutes 22 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 13, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of California, Santa Barbara
Director Biography - David Dean Linville

David Linville is a PhD Candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He studies Sociocultural Anthropology and Political Science using documentary and multimedia forms of ethnography.

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Director Statement

Director Linville was excited to build bridges in the academic community toward a better understanding of ideologies and ways of living that are much different than what is experienced on campus or in larger cities. More importantly, the aim was to find political issues and discrepancies that people on either side of the aisle would understand. The film shows that California has the same amount of state representatives as it did in 1871 when less than one million people lived there (120 in total). This means that with 40,000,000 people now living in California, their vote is worth 1/40 of what it was upon creating California in 1871.

It is important to note that while I agree that representation is the one of the most salient issues in California politics, I am not associated with the Jefferson movement and I do not support or profit from its objectives. I wanted to make a film that helped people understand how and why people think and/or vote differently based on history and lived experiences, but also to shed light on the reality that rural Americans have been deprioritized and dismantled. They are right to be fed up with inadequate policies and state interventions that do not help them.

This film was made during the first Trump Administration, but it was edited and completed in 2024.

There is no narrator on purpose, and this is because it is important for the people's voices to determine what is important and what is to be contributed to public discourse.

David is responsible for the research design, direction, production, cinematography, drone photography, as well as multiple tracks of music played on an obscure 19th century stringed-instrument-banjo- looking thing, but also a normal guitar and various hand drums.