The Journey to The Assembly

“He will never be president!”

While the media were inclined to the ridicule of a specific American’s candidacy during the Republican primaries in 2016, Canadian documentary theatre-maker, Annabel Soutar, noticed a potential threat. Are we faced with an epistemological shift in how we tend to converse with each other, and is Trump merely a symptom indicative of the times?

Aiming to investigate the seriousness of the matter, she sent long-time collaborators, Alex Ivanovici and Brett Watson, on a trip to the US. Alex and Brett talked to numerous Trump-supporters in New Jersey and New York state and then hired 6 Americans to conduct additional interviews all over the US. Their journey culminated with a visit to the Trump campaign offices in New Jersey.

 

 

The rise of political and ideological polarization became one of the most prevalent issues uncovered in their numerous interviews. Politics are always tied to a person’s value-system, and in the age of social media, movement outside one’s elected community of like-minded compatriots is rare. When the different camps do interact, the discourse tends to be one-sided and vehemently rejective of the other’s ideas without consideration of the content. The recent Ontario general elections made it clear that this polarized conflict is not a uniquely American challenge. But the issues are far more complex than “Trump versus anti-Trump” or “416 versus 905.”

 

Entering the US for their research, Alex and Brett stopped for lunch at a hamburger stand, just south of the US border in Beekmontown, NY. It is here that they conducted their first interview. Danielle Bernard’s comments became the interaction that would stand out: a human being faced with dire challenges, disillusioned with political rhetoric, and looking for a tangible solution. Yet, hers was a voice not readily heard or represented in the turbulent public discourse of the day.

 

Along with Annabel Soutar, the Porte Parole team decided to address this mechanical problem in our discourse. They set about designing an apparatus that will make it possible for an honest, open space where people can share, consider, and discuss contradictory ideas. Staging these documented interactions, Porte Parole is opening up a private moment between four Canadians – one where the participants can focus solely on each other, yet discuss topical matters that relate to all of us – for the benefit of all of us.

 

And that is exactly what an assembly is: a communal place where people with differing ideologies can come together to have a discussion.