The Political Science Department of Shenandoah University, in conjunction with the Alamo Drafthouse Winchester, invites you to learn more about gerrymandering, its historical roots in redistricting, the “fight” to change the way our political maps are drawn, and to take part in a Monday, April 20, virtual discussion of the 2020 documentary “Slay the Dragon.”
The film, currently available as a virtual screening from the Alamo Drafthouse and Magnolia Pictures, is available to stream by following the link below.
https://slaythedragon.vhx.tv/products/slay-the-dragon-for-alamo-drafthouse-winchester
Note that the “ticket price” for the film is set to $6.99, with proceeds going toward the distribution of the film as well as supporting the local Alamo Drafthouse while they are shut down during the pandemic.
Regardless of whether you are able to view the film or not, on Monday, April 20, at 7 p.m., you can still join Shenandoah Associate Professor of Political Science Michael Romano, Ph.D., John Ray of YouGov and Ruth Greenwood of Harvard Law for a virtual discussion of the film via Zoom in coordination with Andy Gyuirsin of the Alamo Drafthouse. You can ask questions about the redistricting process, the gerrymandering tactic itself, and the film’s narrative and message.
The Zoom link for the live discussion and Q&A is here: https://zoom.us/j/91420450318
If you have any further questions, please feel free to email Michael Romano at mromano@su.edu.
About “Slay the Dragon”
Every ten years, the American electoral system goes through the complicated, contentious process of redrawing congressional districts to account for changes in the population.
Redistricting, the process of redrawing the lines that determine one district from another, is wrought with potential issues depending on who gets to draw the lines. Inevitably, concerns over “gerrymandering” – the tactic of redrawing district lines to advantage one political party over others – become widespread, and feed into deeply rooted beliefs that the American political system is being corrupted by invisible interests threatening to take power away from the American people.
In “Slay the Dragon,” filmmakers Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance shine a light on the process and the strategy of gerrymandering. Following activist Katie Fahey of “Voters Not Politicians,” Goodman and Durrance seek to explain to audiences what is at stake when district lines are redrawn, drawing on expert interviews as well as grassroots participation and mobilization to ban partisan gerrymandering in the state of Michigan.
If you have any further questions about this event, please feel free to email Michael Romano at mromano@su.edu.
Participant information
Michael Romano, Ph.D., is an associate professor of political science at Shenandoah University. His research focuses on representation and communication in state and federal government, as well as judicial behavior. His previous work on redistricting in Michigan during the 2010 cycle has been published in the book “The Political Battle Over Congressional Redistricting” (Lexington Books).
John Ray is a senior political analyst at YouGov Blue. He is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at UCLA. Ray is former redistricting director of the Democratic National Committee.
Ruth Greenwood has been working in voting rights for over ten years. Greenwood litigates a variety of redistricting cases, with a particular focus on ending partisan gerrymandering and promoting minority representation. She has litigated two partisan gerrymandering cases from the trial level to the Supreme Court of the United States (Whitford v. Gill and LWVNC v. Rucho), and has advised dozens of states on how to draft and implement independent redistricting commissions.
