American Freedoms

The United States has long been portrayed as a place where people can be rewarded for hard work, for seeking out new opportunities, and for asserting their fundamental rights and freedoms. How do people living in the U.S. see themselves fitting into this popular narrative? And what "freedoms" have helped to define their "American" experience?

I am recording conversations nationwide, asking hundreds of people to weigh in on a familiar story about freedom and opportunity in the United States. How has living here enabled them to enjoy particular opportunities or privileges, and what has still been denied? What have they learned about political, cultural, economic, and personal freedoms in the U.S. from their own efforts or those of others to secure and protect them? Are there rights or privileges that everyone in the country deserves, and do some Americans take their freedoms for granted? Why has there always been conflict in the United States over defining basic rights and disagreement about what it takes to guarantee them? And why, despite this long history of conflict, do people often describe their aspirations or defense of freedoms as a chapter in an "American" story, part of a tradition with shared goals and a unified purpose?

The narrative in American Freedoms will be drawn exclusively from these interviews and so will be presented, literally, by those who choose to participate. They will do the talking, without "experts" offering commentary or passing judgement on freedom's meanings and histories. And because so many people are involved, no one will get extensive screen time or have their views or life stories highlighted. Instead the film will present a patchwork of conversations about a very wide range of ideas, experiences, and convictions, many that viewers will find familiar and others that might surprise or confuse. The project invites participants and the audience to put competing ideas about "American" freedoms—freedoms imagined, aspired to, and realized—in conversation with their own.

To learn more or inquire about participating, click the links above.