Will Bob Balaban Convince Latinos To Stand and Be Counted?

For some fairly inexplicable reason, the 2010 Census – that Constitutionally-mandated accounting of the American population that has happened every ten years since 1790 – has become a whipping boy for anti-government activists. Michele Bachmann, a member of said government, told Fox News that she wouldn’t fill out her form because of how “intrusive” it is, and something about internment camps.

To which the Census Bureau has a response: you ever seen the movie Best in Show?

If you haven’t seen Best in Show, I will pause here for the hour-and-a-half it will take you to watch it. It’s available for instant viewing on Netflix, and, really, there is no good reason to wait a minute longer.

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So, what’d you think?

Written by Christopher Guest (of Spinal Tap authorship and fame) and Eugene Levy, Best in Show applies the mockumentary format to the fictional Mayflower Dog Show (clearly modeled on the Westminster, which begins this week). The movie is built around a strong set of actors who primarily improvise their interactions, including Guest, Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Jennifer Coolidge, Don Lake, Bob Balaban, Michael McKean, Ed Begley, and the awesome Parker Posey. It’s a remarkable ensemble, the core of which came together first for the Glee-audience-friendly Waiting for Guffman in 1996 and has continued on to 2003’s decent A Mighty Wind and 2006’s unloved For Your Consideration.

And now, for a new advertising campaign by the Census Bureau.

Centered around the fictional movie director Payton Schlewitt (played by Begley), the campaign mockuments (did I just make that word up?) Schlewitt’s attempts to photograph everyone in America. At the same time.

The segments (several of which are available at Schlewitt’s YouTube page) focus on the logistical challenges of such an enterprise, and incorporate many of the Best in Show crew. (Rachael Harris, the thinking man’s Tina Fey, replaces O’Hara, to my delight.) Each spot ends with a bit character noting that this “Snapshot of America” is precisely what the Census does.

All in all – very entertaining stuff. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask the obvious question: who are they trying to convince? The people to whom this appeals, I’d wager, aren’t the ones who the Bureau needs to make sure fills out the form.

Historically, those undercounted are people of color and those in low-income communities. An estimate from PricewaterhouseCooper following the 2000 Census estimates that 1.18% of Americans, or 3.3 million people, went uncounted. The result? The 58 largest counties in the country lost $3.6 billion in funding for critical population-support services – $2,913 per uncounted person. Brooklyn and Manhattan lost $100 million apiece, simply because the Census bureau couldn’t reach the entire population.

The overlap between those uncounted in 2000 and those who are big fans of Best in Show is probably small. Yes, the clever and entertaining campaign garners attention – but the Bureau is relying on other tools, like this outreach toolkit, to bring in information from those for whom gags about uber-rich movie directors don’t seal the deal.

The sentiment is the opposite of the immortal words of Hamilton Swan (Michael Hitchcock), the Ikea-loving Best in Show Weimaraner owner:

Don’t look at the fat-ass losers or freaks – you look at me!

For the Census’ Snapshot of America, even the fat-ass losers, even the freaks need to be looked at.

If only Payton Schlewitt can convince them it makes sense.