ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: SKYE WALLIN
For over a decade, Wallin has been deeply immersed in the worlds of documentary, journalism, and activism. While receiving his BA from Denison University, Wallin spent a semester abroad studying film at the prestigious film academy FAMU in Prague and later received his MFA in Screenwriting at Spalding University. He spent several years filming with scientists and activists at more than 20 water-related disasters across the United States — including the tar sands oil spill in Mayflower, Arkansas; the coal ash spill in North Carolina’s Dan River; and the Flint, Michigan water crisis. Wallin worked closely with Mark Ruffalo on this project, leading video and short documentary production for his organization Water Defense for 3 years. Wallin’s work helped to expose multiple water pollution scandals that had been covered up, including EXXON’s poisoning of Lake Conway in Arkansas and millions of organic crops being watered with oil-contaminated water sold to farmers by Chevron, the latter of which resulted in front page coverage in the Los Angeles Times.
BACKGROUND:
THE 2020 PRIMARY RACE Presidential elections in the United States take place once every four years, but the run-up to the election starts over a year before the general election date. The first major campaign for a candidate running in one of the two major parties is when they seek to gain the support of their party over other candidates from that same party. During this election phase, candidates travel the country making speeches, meeting with voters, and participating in debates. Hopeful candidates must meet certain eligibility requirements through either fundraising or petition signatures to qualify to appear in debates and on state primary ballots. The candidate for the general election is the one who earns the support of the most delegates - people chosen to represent voters in the nomination process. Each state holds either a primary election or a caucus to determine which candidate that state’s delegates will nominate. Once a candidate has been nominated, that candidate enters the race for the general election, competing against members of opposing parties. In the 2020 election, the Democratic party was looking to unseat Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent. Unlike in some previous presidential campaigns, there was not a clear leader for the Democratic ticket, and a big question loomed over whether the party would favor a centrist candidate or somebody with views further to the left. American Gadfly takes pace during the early primaries, when many candidates entered the race, with Joe Biden eventually winning the nomination, and later the general election.
KEY VOCABULARY constituent: a person represented by an elected official direct democracy: a system of governance in which policies and laws are enacted directly by the electorate, without representatives (such as Congress) acting as an intermediary electorate: all the people entitled to vote in an election the Pentagon Papers: a report from the Department of Defense chronicling the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, including military actions initially kept secret from the American public platform: the list of actions and policy positions that a political party or candidate intends to enact American Gadfly Curriculum Guide | CFI Education
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