On 88Nine we have been playing the new Janelle Monae song, “ Turntables,” which plays during the end credits of “All In: The Fight For Democracy.” The song was intended to generate interest in the documentary about voter suppression, and I’m so glad that it worked out and we became interested in watching the doc after hearing the song because this is a doc that everyone should see before Nov. 3.
The fight for democracy of which the title speaks is the fight to vote. Voting seems like a foundational part of our democracy of which we hold sacred, but the film shows how those in power have fought against voting since the beginning of our democracy.
It is produced by Stacy Abrams, who ran, and lost to Brian Kemp, for Governor of Georgia earlier this year and in her concession speech she said that her concession was a recognition of a system that suppresses it’s voters instead of encouraging them. And then goes on to show again and again and again how that suppression has played out over the past 200 years.
The film is astoundingly up to date, including Wisconsin’s April primary. Usually something that has footage so recent would seem rushed and sacrifice the research to make a compelling argument, but this doc sacrifices nothing. It shows the large picture of voter suppression and backs that up with personal, and often horrific stories of individual suppression.
It will get you mad. It will inspire you. It will inform you. And that’s exactly what a good doc like this does. Listen to further conversation about "All In: The Fight For Democracy," as well as what else me and Kpolly are watching (including a very big binge that I am on) in the podcast below.