Film Premiere and Community Forum: What a Polarized Wash. Town Can Teach About Saving Democracy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 20, 2024MEDIA CONTACT: Christa Hillstrom christa@dysmocracy.com
SEATTLE - Join us for the first-ever public screening of a locally produced, interactive documentary that explores the state of our democracy through one town’s explosive political fight. “Dysmocracy: The Fight Over Fluoride,” premiering on June 14 at 6:00 p.m. at The Wyncote NW Forum at Town Hall, follows the people of Port Angeles, Wash., as they split over a looming decision: whether to fluoridate their public water.
This episodic film, produced by Block by Block Films over the course of 7 years, begins in 2016 as political polarization flared throughout the United States. It weaves between opposing perspectives to bring viewers inside the worldviews and experiences of activists, public health professionals, journalists, elected leaders, and ordinary citizens who weathered a crisis so intense that it threatened to dissolve the local government.
Since 2006, Port Angeles had fluoridated its public water despite dissent from some community members. When the city’s fluoridation contract was up for renewal in 2016, opponents flooded city council meetings, stalling other business and engaging in activist tactics that some found shocking; others, necessary. Councilmembers felt bullied, activists ignored, and citizens troubled as the discord grew so intense that the local newspaper editorialized, "The issue has gone beyond fluoridation to the question of whether democracy works in Port Angeles." As the film meticulously navigates this clash of ideologies, viewers are confronted with their own biases and challenged to rethink what it means to find common ground in an age of polarization.
Director Jordan Melograna and journalist and producer Christa Hillstrom will lead an interactive discussion throughout the screening, allowing the audience to weigh in with their own perspectives and concerns about democracy. “Our case study is the fluoridation debate, one that has been around for decades,” Melograna said. “But its proponents and opponents do not neatly fall into typical partisan divides. This lets the audience approach the issue without immediately retreating to an ideological comfort zone, and instead allows us to think about how our democratic system should work, regardless of what the issue of the day is.”
At a time when tension over misinformation and political division is at fever pitch, the film walks viewers through questions relevant to every issue, from abortion to Covid to the situation in Gaza: How do we make decisions as a community when we don’t agree on what’s true? Are our elected leaders obligated to do what we demand? How far is too far for activism to go? Can we trust what experts tell us? How do we know?
What emerges is a portrait of a society grappling with uncertainty, where differing perspectives on fluoride become a microcosm of broader divisions with even higher stakes.
June 14th, 6:00 p.m. at The Wyncote NW Forum at Town Hall (1119 8th Avenue, Seattle)
Trailer available at www.dysmocracy.com
Advanced screening available upon request
Interviews available with director Jordan Melograna ### Block by Block Films produces documentaries that challenge audiences to think deeply about social and political issues. It is an arm of Block by Block Creative, a production company serving nonprofit clients across the U.S. and Canada. www.blockbyblockcreative.com Jordan Melograna is a photographer and filmmaker focused on stories concerning human rights, scientific understanding, and environmental sustainability, and a senior affiliate instructor at the University of Washington's Communication Leadership graduate program. Christa Hillstrom is a Bremerton-based journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine and other publications.
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