THE SERIES
A portrayal of the anger in America on the cusp of the 2012 Presidential elections: where does it come from, what shapes it, who is leading it, and where will it take us all?
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Episode 1: The Fire Within
On CBC-TV, October, 18th 9pm
On CBC News Network Saturday October, 20th 11pm ET
According to a Gallup survey from April 2011, for the first time on record, most Americans do not believe that the next generation will have better lives than their parents. They have every reason to feel pessimistic. The economic recovery is slow and many jobs that disappeared during the Great Recession are gone forever.
It is no longer true that in America, hard work and the right values will help you get ahead. The social ladder has never been harder to climb. And looming large, in a few decades, the prospect of an America where white people are a minority.
Americans have had a range of reactions to that news. But make no mistake: the Tea Partiers are not the only angry people.
We meet a cast of characters, not quite your everyday brand of middle-class Americans, who tell us how their faith in the American Dream has been shattered. And what they're doing about it.
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Episode 2: Fanning The Flames
On CBC-TV, October, 25th 9pm
On CBC News Network Saturday October 27th, 11pm ET
The gigantic machinery of the American political apparatus is grinding into motion for the Presidential election of Tuesday Nov 6, 2012.
We explore the toxic media landscape, from Fox News to the blogosphere to the free-spending "Super-Pacs" behind negative ad campaigns. Americans prize their freedom of speech, but the current political dialogue is turning ugly and fearful.
When Barack Obama was first elected, he said Americans had chosen "hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord." But four years later, the mood has turned even more confrontational.
Fanning The Flames
