In Considering Democracy: 8 Things To Ask Your Representatives (56 mins), writer/director Keya Lea Horiuchi explores American democracy through the process of asking questions. Taking us through ten countries, including Thailand, India, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Japan, Australia, Nepal, and the US, the documentary begins by asking, “Have you ever wondered what other people think of the United States?” Through a series of interviews and extensive research, Horiuchi complies a list of eight questions to ask your representatives before electing them into office or even challenging them once they are there.
Horiuchi expresses her admirable obligation to not only her country, but also the globe at large: “As an American, I want to see open and respectful dialogue between people and groups. I believe in the perseverance of humanity and respect the beauty in democracy. As more people begin open dialogue, I believe this will bring strength and courage to American democracy”. Her impressively audacious aim is captured in the documentary that uses interviews, news footage, facts, and figures to raise suspicion about the activities of the government, corporations, lobbyists, and the complacent general public. While the seemingly arbitrary compilation of questions are in fact centered around the flaws of the Bush administration, the corrupt nature of lobbyists and corporations, and the US fiscal spending in comparison to other countries, the film implies that it is the failure of the American people to ask questions. The doc begins as Horiuchi decides, “to leave [the US] and start asking questions” in order to explore her initial query of what other people think of the US. Beginning interviews by asking the simple question, “what do you think of the United States?”, she finds a wide array of answers ranging from admiration, awe, mockery, disdain, and fear. Adapting her questions to the people she asks, she often found more provocative answers in asking simply, “What is important to you?”
Researching the feedback she collected, Horiuchi compares various governments policies of other countries to the US. For example, the obligatory four-weeks of vacation in Australia starkly differs from the workaholic nature of the United States. Therefore, Horiuchi logically launches her series of eight questions by asking, “why don’t we get mandatory paid vacation time?”, an inquiry that gives way to a series of more complex queries. In addition to international interviews, the film juxtaposes global perspectives with those within the US. In one interview, a D.C. lobbyist refuses to state for whom she works, while another interview of a US economic scholar analyzes the expenditures of US taxes. A personal favorite was the intermittent footage of “Bush-isms” that provide an ironic sense of comic relief. In a clip of Bush speaking on the topic of terrorist, he says “every life is precious. That’s what distinguishes us from the enemies. Every life matters”. Although he refers to the religious belief of “the enemies”, taken out of context, this clip shows a morbid hilarity in Bush’s irreverence for a larger sense of humanity; the film’s overall blatant liberalism, puts it at home in the bay area.
Although the doc is undeniably well researched, it presents its audience with almost too much information. While the research is provocative and thought provoking, it is impossible to digest all of the charts and graphs that seem somewhat more like a history lecture than a film. That said, the documentary raises essential questions that the American people should be asking, especially in light of the impending election. It is refreshing to see an American filmmaker looking for answers outside of the US, in a culture so typically “self-absorbed and ignorant”, as an Australian interview puts it. In a country that “thinks inside, not outside”, Horiuchi raises the bar and makes gigantic leaps to help us look at the way Americans see themselves: by viewing though the eyes of others. Ironically, however, almost all of the international interviewees speak English, perhaps more indicative of the US as a whole rather than the filmmaker. In this way, the documentary shows us the result of one of the ignorant American stereotypes it criticizes, seen here in the US’s notorious devalue for learning multiple langauges. In this, the doc self-reflexively reveals a flaw of the society that it explores. Horiuchi certainly achieves her hope that the film “can broaden the scope of debate in the U.S.”, as she sets a high precedent of the extent to which the American people should inform themselves and each other. The film forces us to re-examine what it means to be patriotic, daring one to think and ask well-informed questions.
We also had a chance to interview this filmmaker at DocFest.
This is the HD version which will play above.
See it in SD here for lower bandwidth connections.
For more info on DocFest go to:
www.sfindie.com
Considering Democracy plays at DocFest on Saturday, November 1 at 12:30 PM at the Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley, CA.
by Lily Saltzberg, Filmclick.com
