In the three-part HBO docuseries Ren Faire, George Coulam has a goal: to die before he turns 95 and to do so on his own terms. "The goddam government doesn't have any right telling me when I'm going to die," he declares, setting the tone for a documentary as bizarre as it is captivating.
Fifty years ago, Coulam founded the Texas Renaissance Festival, a reimagining of a 16th-century village, complete with vaguely period-appropriate activities. Drawing over half a million guests annually, it is now the largest festival of its kind. But Coulam didn't just create a festival; he built a utopia and crowned himself king. He bought 885 acres, incorporated the city of Todd Mission, and made himself its mayor. "Without a dictatorship of counties and states," you have "the freedom to do what you want to do," he boasts.
