(ASTRO) TURF WARS: HOW CORPORATE AMERICA IS FAKING A GRASSROOTS REVOLUTION

A new documentary entitled [Astro] Turf Wars: How Corporate America Is Faking A Grassroots Revolution gives an inside look at the Tea Party Movement.

In Summer 2009, something stirred in America. After Barack Obama and a Democratic congress swept to power promising a new era of hope and change, out of nowhere a citizens protest movement emerged that threatened to derail their agenda. Was this uprising the epitome of grassroots democracy? Or was it, as some said, an example of ‘astroturfing’? That is, the creation of fake grassroots (ie. Astroturf: get it?) groups, designed to put corporate messages in the mouths of seemingly independent citizens.

Fascinated by this concept of astroturfing and curious to find out if these accusations were true, Australian filmmaker Taki Oldham hopped on a plane to investigate. Going undercover as a curious onlooker, his month-long journey took him over 5000 miles, 6 states and right into the heart of the ‘American Dream’
what was considered as a grassroots movement of the American people.

(Astro)Turf Wars is both a journey through a unique moment in American history and a thoroughly researched piece of investigative journalism. Through an examination of astroturfing and disinformation, we see how citizen democracy has been captured by powerful corporate interests. Moreover, the film sets out to expose and thereby render ineffectual this deceptive practice that threatens not only the health of American democracy, but that of its citizens and the planet as a whole.

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