Morgan Fellows Present Film Series

Democracy in Jeopardy

Is the fundamental democratic principle of one person, one vote a reality in the United States today?

Morgan Fellows Anne Bohlen and Jean Gregorek are sponsoring a series of recent documentaries highlighting ongoing challenges to fair elections in the United States at Antioch College. The series, entitled “Democracy in Jeopardy,” investigates the explosive issues that potentially endanger the legitimacy of our democracy: politically-motivated voter redistricting, vote count inaccuracies, voting machine failures, voter disenfranchisement, the financing of political campaigns, the influence of corporate lobbyists, and the current climate of divisiveness, dishonesty and mudslinging. The films will be screened at 7:00 pm on alternate Thursdays beginning on Thursday, February 3; all but one will be shown at the Herndon Gallery in South Hall, Antioch College, One Morgan Place, Yellow Springs. The new documentary Gerrymandering will be shown at the Little Art Theater in Yellow Springs on March 17.

List of Films:

Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story. Stefan Forbes, 2009 (86 min). Feb. 3, 7 pm, Herndon Gallery, South Hall, Antioch College. Winner of a national Edward R. Murrow Award, this documentary focuses on Atwater’s controversial, often racially-charged campaign tactics and the new forms of negative campaigning he pioneered.

Stealing American Vote by Vote. Dorothy Fadiman, 2008 (90 min). Feb. 17, 7 pm, Herndon Gallery, South Hall, Antioch College. Using testimony from voters, experts, consultants, and activists, the film, directed by Emmy Award-winning Fadiman, carefully unveils the gritty reality of the past decade's record of electoral fraud and irregularities, and explains the continued risks to the accurate counting of votes.

Casino Jack and the United States of Money. Alex Gibney, 2010 (118 min). Mar. 3, 7 pm, Herndon Gallery, South Hall, Antioch College. This chronicle of the rise and fall of the flamboyant Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff by the Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Taxi to the Dark Side) exposes the unprecedented levels of corruption in our legislative processes.

Gerrymandering. Jeff Reichert, 2010 (77min). Mar. 17, 7 pm, The Little Art Theater, downtown Yellow Springs. With a new round of redistricting scheduled for spring 2011, this timely documentary explores how the major parties use redistricting and geographically-based voter disenfranchisement to gain partisan advantage, a practice which leads to manipulated elections and chronically underrepresented populations. The film also focuses on citizens' reform efforts. As Reichert says, “our democracy needs a tune-up.”

(Astro) Turf Wars: How Corporate America is Faking a Grassroots Revolution. Taki Oldham, 2010 (91 min). Mar. 31, 7 pm, Herndon Gallery, South Hall, Antioch College. An Australian journalist goes undercover to investigate the quiet corporate sponsorship of supposedly 'grassroots' movements and organizations like the ultra-conservative Tea Parties, Friends of America and Energy Citizens.

Contact: Anne Bohlen: 286-8455; abohlen@antiochcollege.org or Jean Gregorek 286-5934; jgregorek@antiochcollege.org