What does "freedom" mean to people living in the United States? Have particular freedoms been unique to the American experience or essential to defining it? Why is there so much disagreement about the word's meaning and its history?

If these questions interest you, I hope that you'll consider participating in the making of American Freedoms, a documentary drawn from conversations on these topics with hundreds of people nationwide. How has life in the United States helped individuals and communities enjoy political, legal, cultural, economic, intellectual, or personal freedoms? Do Americans sometimes take their freedoms for granted or claim those that are undeserved? Why is there little agreement on these matters or about what it takes to secure basic rights and privileges? Why are people's fundamental freedoms in the U.S. so often lost or denied?

Of course these questions have been debated since the nation's founding; the people who have called the U.S. home can claim very different experiences and so, unsurprisingly, their expectations and priorities have ranged widely. Still, a broadly-shared belief in the nation's commitment to protecting our "freedoms" has always loomed large and remains influential. American Freedoms will document stories and sentiments that have informed this belief, in order to explore why the concept has always been elusive, contested, and consequential.

The stories in American Freedoms will be told, literally, by the hundreds of individuals who agree to be interviewed. Their voices alone will narrate; no "experts" (or filmmaker) will chime in to offer commentary. And because so many people are involved, no one will get extensive screen time. The film won't "profile" speakers or focus on any one person's views or experiences, and it won't pass judgement or take a position on how to navigate freedom's many meanings and histories. The end result will be a patchwork of conversations about people's experiences, impressions, and convictions, some that will be familiar to viewers and others that will no doubt surprise or confuse. The film invites us to put competing understandings of American freedoms—freedoms imagined, aspired to, and realized—in conversation with our own.

What are "American freedoms"?

To join the conversation

The collage below is a work-in-progress. You can contribute by submitting images here:

American Freedoms A Documentary