| Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ajax Phillips, Daniel Joseph Watkins |
| Based on | Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson's Campaign for Sheriff by Daniel Joseph Watkins |
| Produced by | Mimi Polk Gitlin Ajax Phillips Angus Wall Daniel Joseph Watkins |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb is a 2020 American documentary film directed by Ajax Phillips and Daniel Joseph Watkins, based on the book Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson's Campaign for Sheriff written by Watkins.[1] The film follows journalist Hunter S. Thompson and his 1970 campaign for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado, against the incumbent sheriff Carol Whitmire, whose crackdown on marijuana and loitering aimed to incarcerate and intimidate young hippies, or "freaks", into leaving the area. Thompson created and ran under the third party "Freak Power" ticket, with the strategy of registering hundreds of young voters who had never before participated in the democratic process.
Thompson famously wrote about his campaign and the concept of Freak Power in The Battle of Aspen, his first article for Rolling Stone Magazine.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the documentary could not pursue the traditional film festival circuit and instead was released digitally in the United States on October 23, 2020.
- ^ Watkins, Daniel Joseph (15 August 2015). Freak power : Hunter S. Thompson's campaign for sheriff. Benton, Thomas Whelan 1930-2007,, Phillips, Ajax,, Braudis, Bob. Aspen, Colorado. ISBN 978-0-9964545-0-6. OCLC 929494056.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)