The Average American (NR)

synopsis

'The Average American' introduces the viewer to 100 "ordinary Americans" who roughly reflect the country's population (according to the 2000 U.S. Census) with regards to age, race, gender, and state of residence. The randomly selected 100 hail from 44 of the 50 states -- from big cities, small towns and every place in between. They run the gamut from the poorest citizens to those in the upper classes, from recent immigrants to people so entrenched in American life that they don't know the nationalities of their ancestors, from high school drop-outs to college professors. Some are world travelers, while others have never ventured beyond the borders of their home state. By avoiding labels such as liberal, conservative, Republican or Democrat, the film avoids meaningless political rhetoric and delves beneath the labels to bring to light the ways we are all the same -- and also the ways we are different. Understanding and tolerance is now more important than ever as our nation grows more and more politically polarized, often to the point of blind hatred for those on the other side of the political fence.