Teenage Wasteland

The white man sh!ts in his own nest We all know we're cooked, but we don't even know the extent of it

Amanda the Jedi

MIDDLETOWN is a great example of how continually digging at a seemingly small story can lead to something way bigger. Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss simply can do no wrong as they bring a slick presentation to the modern interviews weaving in years of VHS archival footage.…

Matt Neglia

This is the best of the Amanda McBaine-Jesse Moss partnership by a sizable margin. While I had issues with “Boys State” and “Girls State” for never being honest enough to question the validity of the system they were depicting, “Middletown” balances their crowd pleaser…

Robert Daniels

I wish Fred was my dad

JP Pizzimenti

“what did it smell like?” “like rotting corpses and decay…new jersey.”

Tyler

I like that the teacher in this doesn't dupe his students into thinking they live in a democracy, but that they should still show civic duty as if they do by speaking truth to power. Sundance 2025 #101

Marya E. Gates

will spend the rest of my life chasing the high i felt during the mr. b reveal

sivi

My early Moss/McBaine stock always pays off. One of their best. An incredibly layered piece—wrapped in nostalgia while asserting the act of filmmaking as political tool, it’s foremost an urgent call to action about the importance of radical teachers who imbue young people…

Katie Walsh

“Fresh from Sundance”, Middletown was shown during Doc Fortnight at MoMA. Directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine brought their doc on high school kids from Middletown, NY (Hudson Valley) and it was a big hit. In their Electronic English class taught by Fred Isseks, they…

Allison M. 🌱