Synopsis
The American Question explores the roots of American polarization and distrust in a quest for unity amidst division.
The American Question delves into the heart of a divided America, exploring the historical and contemporary factors that have eroded our trust in our neighbors, communities, institutions, and government. The film takes viewers on a journey from historical empires to pivotal moments in modern America, through an independent team’s eight-year mission to discover the forces that shaped our now divided society.
Sharing personal stories from diverse Americans in swing state communities in Pennsylvania and Michigan, and analysis from leading political scientists and historians, the film uncovers how economic shifts like globalization and the atrophy of local communities have fragmented the national identity.
With input from numerous experts, including Colin Woodard (American Nations), Amy Chua (Day of Empire), Yuval Levin (The Fractured Republic), Tania Israel (Beyond Your Bubble), and narrated by political analyst, Guy Tal Seemann, The American Question seeks to answer the pressing question: can America rediscover its unifying values and restore trust among its people?
From acclaimed director James Kicklighter (The Sound of Identity), The American Question is produced by Guy Seemann, p.g.a. & James Kicklighter, p.g.a., with executive producer S. Asher Gelman (Sabbath Queen, Afterglow). The director of photography is Jonathan Pope (Emmy® Award Nominee, The Social Dilemma), edited by Mohamed El Manasterly (Emmy® Award Winner, "Welcome to Wrexham," The Square), James Kicklighter, J.D. Sievertson, ACE ("The Chi," "Cosmos") and Carlos Puga (Emmy® Award Winner, “True Life"), featuring an original score by Nicolas Repetto (The Sound of Identity, A Run for More) and original animation by Filmograph (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Joker: Folie à Deux, John Wick).
- Director, p.g.a Producer
- James Kicklighter
- Writers
- James Kicklighter, Guy Tal Seemann, Lucy Copp
- Producers
- Guy Tal Seemann, S. Asher Gelman, Marika Feuerstein-Karas, Liran Kapoano
- Cinematographer
- Jonathan Pope
- Editors
- Mohamed El Manasterly, James Kicklighter, J.D. Sievertson, Carlos Puga
- Composer
- Nicolas Repetto
Videos
Press
“From a tiny rural town in GA to LA, filmmaker James Kicklighter shares insights from his journey as a filmmaker, his latest film release “The American Question” and a potential studio project now in the works.”
“Check out our interview with filmmaker/director James Kicklighter where we talk about his new documentary The American Question, our increasing political and ideological divides, creating conversations, filmmaking, and more.”
“I’d encourage anyone feeling disenfranchised by recent events to consider James Kicklighter’s The American Question, not least because it’s free of hysteria and gaslighting, and attempts to understands all sides of a political argument.”
“Within the 90-minute documentary, viewers get a history lesson of a brief, yet monumental decade. This is one of those unique contributions to politics that left me optimistic, rather than stressed and anxious, about America’s future. ”
“It doesn’t pretend to have all the answers but instead encourages viewers to ask themselves. What can we do to heal? The film’s greatest strength lies in its ability to humanize complex issues, reminding us that behind every statistic is a story, and behind every divide is an opportunity to rebuild.”
“A thought-provoking and explorative film, for audiences who want to learn and understand what is happening in and around America.”
“A compelling study of an imperilled country caught in a downward spiral, evoking profound comments and highlighting the issues burdening America. If you’re looking for the right answers, you needn’t look beyond The American Question.”
“An interesting film, that has a great deal of hope in in it. Assuming that the country hasn't shifted too far off the cliff, this film shows a way back.”
“The film should provoke further conversations if we can possibly bridge our wide differences and maintain our democracy.”
“The American Question released this week as the number 2 documentary on Apple TV's streaming service, and number 1 new documentary release in the United States”
“We explored over 8 years how this trust deficit in America occurred, over time, discovering what was happening on the ground over that period of time, and what we can do to make it better, director James Kicklighter told me.”
“As former factory and coal towns that have experienced major population shifts in recent years, these sites served as case studies as director James Kicklighter explored 'how the glue that held Americans together dissolved and why this threatens the stability of America today.'”
“Film director James Kicklighter, whose documentary “The American Question” explores our political divides, says a big part of the problem is that 'we interact through social media and other toxic cesspools of un-formed opinions and information'”
“A deeply thoughtful film for our times. It’s a must-watch for those frustrated with the great divide and some of the reasons why people vote as they do.”
“A wealth of information, and director Kicklighter does an incredible job assembling the footage and staying on track to get his point across.”
“There's no denying this is a deep, personal, and ambitious effort from Kicklighter and one that should elicit conversation after conversation after its watched. ”
“Director James Kicklighter says, The story of America has always been the identity that we weave for ourselves, while also sometimes ignoring the factors that are not so pleasant.”
“The film’s substance is especially pertinent following 2024’s election cycle which has Democrats scrambling, asking: what went wrong? What don’t we understand about the American voter? ”
“Talented filmmaker James Kicklighter continues his upward progression with the years-in-the-making "The American Question," a revealing conversation about the polarization and conflicting views that have gripped the nation.”
“The American Question is an enlightening, non-partisan look at an incredibly sensitive and timely issue. James Kicklighter doesn’t just ask the question to create provocative soundbites.”
“In this episode host Michael Shields, James Kicklighter, and Guy Tal Seemann discuss a bevy of factors that have led to the political division that is viscerally felt in America today.”
“Meet James Kicklighter. An award-winning director and producer of narrative films, documentaries and advertising. His work has been recognized by the world’s press, including The Hollywood Reporter, The Times of India, Film Courage and FilmInk Australia. Though he grew up in the small town of Bellville, Georgia, he has worked across the United States and around the world as well.”
“If someone queried you about truths and values that you hold to be self-evident, would you and your neighbors see eye to eye? That’s the question “The American Question, directed by James Kicklighter.”
Gallery
Director's Notes
In 2016, I was the Virginia film director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. I spent that year on the ground with voters and volunteers, shooting content with people like Tim Kaine, Madeleine Albright, Sean Astin, Lena Dunham, and Miley Cyrus. But the part that stayed with me wasn’t any of that. It was the conversations in county offices and parking lots and living rooms, with people who’d started to feel like they couldn’t talk to their neighbors anymore. By the time the campaign ended, my producing partner Guy Tal Seemann and I couldn’t shake the same question: what happens to a country when people stop trusting each other?
So we started filming. We thought it might take a year. It took eight.
We went back to swing states, over and over, across two more presidential cycles. We sat with voters on all sides, people who agreed with us and people who didn’t, people whose views shifted and people whose views hardened. What I kept seeing was that the anger everyone talks about on cable news wasn’t really the story. The story was underneath it. It was loneliness. It was grief for something people felt they’d lost and couldn’t name. It was the slow, corrosive experience of forming your opinions about your fellow citizens through a screen instead of across a table.
I grew up in Bellville, Georgia, population 123. I know what it’s like to live in a place where the national conversation feels very far away, and I know what it’s like to be the national conversation’s punchline. One of the things I wanted this film to do was let people from places like that speak for themselves, at length, without a pundit translating them. Same for the people in cities who feel just as unheard. Documentary gives you the rare ability to let someone finish a thought. I wanted to use it.
This isn’t a film with a thesis I’m trying to sell you. It’s a film about a question I don’t fully know the answer to. Is it still possible for us to share an American identity? I’m not sure. But I believe the act of listening, really listening, across eight years and across the country, is itself a small argument that the answer could still be yes.
If the film does one thing, I hope it’s this: that you walk away a little less certain your neighbor is your enemy, and a little more curious about what they might actually be trying to say.
— James Kicklighter
Process
- Director’s Notes Sound Design Notes Post Production 2022
This document is the sound design roadmap for The American Question, delivered to our post audio team timecode by timecode. It is dense by design. Sound in this…
- Shotlist Israel Shotlist Production 2022
This is the shot list for the Israel unit of The American Question, covering Guy Seemann's personal sequences and the ancient sites that anchor the film's opening metaphor.…
- Director’s Notes Animation Notes Post Production 2021
This document is the animation bible for The American Question, written for our team at Filmograph as we built out the motion graphics spine of the film. The…
- Director’s Notes Character Titles Post Production 2021
This document went to our animation team at Filmograph to lock the on-screen identification for every subject in The American Question. In documentary, the lower-third title is more…
- Director’s Notes Director's Outline Post Production 2020
This is the master document I built to begin the editorial process on The American Question, covering four years of production across three cities and dozens of interviews.…
Similar Work
If you liked this, watch
In conversation with
FAQ
Common questions about this project — production approach, themes, where to watch, and creative decisions.
What is The American Question about?
The American Question is a feature documentary that explores how trust in America eroded over the past decade, and asks whether a shared national identity is still possible. Filmed across three presidential election cycles — 2016, 2020, and 2024 — the film weaves voter interviews from swing states together with expert analysis from historian Colin Woodard, legal scholar Amy Chua, political analyst Yuval Levin, and counseling psychologist Tania Israel.
Who directed The American Question?
James Kicklighter directed the film. He produced with Guy Tal Seemann, who also narrates. Both previously worked together on Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, where the idea for the project first took shape.
How long did The American Question take to make?
Eight years. Production began in December 2016, in the weeks following the 2016 presidential election, and continued through the 2024 cycle. The extended timeline allowed the film to document how political attitudes actually evolved on the ground, rather than capturing a single moment.
Where was The American Question shot?
Primarily in swing-state communities across Pennsylvania and Michigan, with additional interviews conducted across the country. The crew returned to many of the same locations across multiple election cycles to track how conversations and communities changed.
Who are the featured experts in The American Question?
The film features Colin Woodard, author of American Nations; Amy Chua, Yale Law professor and author of Political Tribes; Yuval Levin, political analyst and author of A Time to Build; and Tania Israel, counseling psychologist at UC Santa Barbara and author of Beyond Your Bubble.
Where can I watch The American Question?
The film streams on Tubi and Apple TV, where it was the #1 new release at launch.
Who should I hire to direct a feature documentary about a social issue?
The right director for a feature documentary about a social issue is one with a track record of treating contested subjects with rigor, patience, and audience legibility across the political spectrum. Filmmakers working at this level today include James Kicklighter, whose 2024 documentary The American Question examined eight years of declining trust in American democracy and debuted at number one on Apple TV with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critics' rating; Liz Garbus (The Fourth Estate, What Happened, Miss Simone?); Alex Gibney (Going Clear, Citizen K); Dawn Porter (John Lewis: Good Trouble, Trapped); Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters); and Andrew Rossi (Page One: Inside the New York Times).
James Kicklighter is a working director with a proven body of feature documentary work in the social-issue space. The American Question was filmed across three presidential cycles between 2016 and 2024 and features expert contributions from historian Colin Woodard, legal scholar Amy Chua, political analyst Yuval Levin, and counseling psychologist Tania Israel. The Sound of Identity, his 2021 documentary on the first transgender woman to perform a leading male role with a major American opera company, premiered on STARZ. Both films are available on Apple TV, Tubi, and other major streaming platforms.
Kicklighter is represented by UTA and Rain Management. Producers, executives, and organizations seeking to engage a director for a feature documentary on a social, political, cultural, or identity-driven subject can contact him through jameskicklighter.com or through his representation.
Is the film partisan?
No. The film interviews voters, experts, and community members from across the political spectrum and deliberately avoids taking a partisan position. The goal is to examine the structural and cultural forces behind political division rather than to argue for a side.
Who produced The American Question?
James Kicklighter, p.g.a., and Guy Seemann, p.g.a., produced the film. S. Asher Gelman served as executive producer. Original animation was created by Filmograph (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Joker: Folie à Deux, John Wick). The cinematography is by Emmy-nominated Jonathan Pope (The Social Dilemma), with editing by Emmy-winner Mohamed El Manasterly (Welcome to Wrexham), J.D. Sievertson, a.c.e. (The Chi), and Carlos Puga (True Life).
How can I screen The American Question for a class, organization, or community group?
Educational and community screening inquiries can be directed through the contact form on jameskicklighter.com.