Product Details

• Actors: Taalam Acey, Cynthia McKinney
• Directors: Ian Inaba
• Producers: Jean-Philippe Boucicaut, Anastasia King, Stephen Marshall
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Disinformation
• DVD Release Date: October 3, 2006
• Run Time: 92 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000GYHRHE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,120 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "American Blackout" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The right to vote represents one of the strongest elements of democracy within the United States. With his documentary American Blackout, Ian Inaba shows that while voting is a right many Americans take for granted, it's something that's still not a given for many of America's citizens. With his thought-provoking film--which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival--Inaba shows through interviews, documents, and startling images of African Americans waiting in the rain (only to be falsely told they're too late to vote) how districts are systemically trying to exclude blacks from the voting process. By focusing on controversial congresswoman Cynthia McKinney--who has been a vocal opponent of President George W. Bush and his administration--and a few others, Inaba doesn't lose the viewer with too many subjects. Whether or not your political views align with McKinney's, it's difficult not to question some of her opponents' motives for twisting her words, especially pertaining to 9/11. Though no one will be surprised that this film was shot on a low budget, the lack of bells and whistles doesn't take anything away from the production value, which is compelling in its stark reality. --Jae-Ha Kim

Product Description

Most people have heard of the voting irregularities that marred the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004. Some even know of the resulting challenges to the electoral votes by African-American congressional representatives. However, because the mainstream media shies away from reporting cases of imperiled democracy the public is left to believe these stories are at worst insignificant rumors or at best one-off incidents that result from an overburdened election system.

American Blackout chronicles the recurring patterns of disenfranchisement witnessed from 2000 to 2004 while following the story of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who not only took an active role in investigating these election debacles but also found herself in the middle of one after publicly questioning the Bush Administration about the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Some call Cynthia McKinney a civil rights leader among the ranks of Shirley Chisholm and Malcolm X. Others call her a conspiracy theorist and a "looney." American Blackout gains unprecedented access to one of the most controversial and dangerous politicians in America and examines the contemporary tactics used to control our democratic process and silence political dissent.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing film starring a powerful woman, September 22, 2006

By 

Z. Jilani "areo64" (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Blackout (DVD)

When you hear the name "Cynthia McKinney," it probably draws images of madness and lunacy. Why wouldn't it? After all, ever since she was elected to the Georgia state legislature, the media and moneyed forces across America have spent their time slandering her with every accusation possible. They don't want a woman who asks too many questions, who demands too often to stand by the downtrodden and oppressed. That's just dangerous.

This film explores the life and career of the Congresswoman as well as the voter suppression in 2000 and 2004. Congressman John Lewis is interviewed, and explains the struggles he went through as an activist to get voting rights for "colored" people -- only to have them being systematically stolen again through computerized voting machines and, as the BBC's Greg Palast calls it, "election apartheid."

What kind of liberal democracy are we living in when thousands are turned away from the polls because their district's voting records are controlled by rich people far away? What kind of nation are we living in when simply questioning the President's motives get you casted as a lunatic "conspiracy theorist" (to be vindicated years later when leaked documents show you were right)?

We need to make this a country "of the people, by the people, and for the people." McKinney will continue that fight, even as a non-legislator (although as the movie shows, she is well-capable of winning back her seat once a dirty campaign and Republican votes unseat her once).

Watch the film, educate yourself, and join the fight. We need to save any ounce of American democracy left.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keeping Democracy Alive, January 10, 2007

By 

Martin Shackelford (Saginaw, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: American Blackout (DVD)

Much publicity has been given to "hanging chads" and media-publicized details of what went wrong with the elections of 2000 and 2004, but votes vanish every election in America. This documentary, and Greg Palast's book American Madhouse, detail how it is done, and how it can be prevented. A must-see and must-read for everyone who believes in American democracy for all.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily the best documentary I saw in 2006, January 9, 2007

By 

Atlas Moth (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Blackout (DVD)

This is one documentary that hasn't received the attention it deserves. To paraphrase journalist Greg Palast, the Democrats may have won in last year's mid-term elections, but the integrity of our elections lost again. The topic of 'American Blackout' is as timely as ever, as the last two presidential "elections" and the last two mid-term "elections" have demonstrated that the American public will sit idly by as election fraud destroys the last vestiges of their democracy.

This is also a good documentary to show to anyone who thinks the U.S. has solved most of its race problems. The neoconservatives revived Jim Crow in 2000 and 2004. Watch the deleted scenes on the DVD and you can also see how racist the Washington, D.C., police force is. Even if we no longer have de jure racism, if we have racist law enforcement, then we have de facto racism.

I could go on, but I think this documentary should speak for itself. Buy it. Watch it. Show it to your friends.