What do we owe each other as Americans? That’s the question that kicks off The Work in Progress, a timely, new documentary about the power of open dialogue.
The film, which features former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, brings together dozens of strangers from different backgrounds and generations to discuss what it means to be an American — and whether we can overcome the growing divides in our society.
The conversations took place in communities across six states, including Iowa. Director Ian Cheney wanted to feature a variety of voices from around the country and knew he had to come to the Midwest.
“We were drawn to the idea of filming in the heartland, and having a few connections to Iowa made it a strong contender,” said Cheney, who has family in the state. “Selfishly, I yearned to go back, having cut my teeth as a filmmaker in the corn fields over 20 years ago.”
Cheney and his team filmed in towns around eastern Iowa, including Iowa City, Kalona, Muscatine, Nichols, Riverside, Springville, Swisher, West Liberty and Wilton.
Cheney will return to the state for the Iowa premiere of The Work in Progress at FilmScene in Iowa City on Oct. 16. The director will be joined for a Q&A by local artist Pieta Brown, whose music is featured in the documentary.
Heart to heart in the heartland
The film opens with familiar landscapes of Iowa cornfields and quiet main streets. Inside cafés, churches and farmhouses, small groups of Iowans, either in their 30s or 80s, gathered to discuss the state of the country. Their conversations were guided by a deck of cards that prompted each participant to ask the group a question and then listen to what they had to say.
Elliot Kirschner, one of the film’s producers, said the cards were designed to start a dialogue between people who may not share much in common. He said the filmmakers were very intentional about not directing the conversations to partisan issues or hot-button topics.
“They were open-ended questions about people's feelings of the country, and I think it gets at a sense that one thing we felt, collectively, was a fatigue and a sadness that crossed almost all divides about where we were,” Kirschner said.
A total of 20 Iowans were featured in The Work in Progress. Although they all shared a common geography, they came to the table with diverse life experiences. One was a pig farmer, another a retired teacher. There was a magazine editor, a poet, a retired trucker, a nurse, a city clerk and an elected official. Despite their differences, the individuals were able to discuss their values as Americans and their worries about the future without bringing up politics — something Kirschner said he was not expecting.
“One thing that surprised me is just how non-political, in terms of language, the conversations were and how that almost held true across every single conversation,” he said. “There is a way to talk about this country — and I think we forget this — that isn't overtly political.”
Kirschner saw the conversations as proof that Americans are not as divided as online discourse or media depictions may suggest. However, he recognized that having civil discourse with people we don’t agree with is not always easy. That’s something Reich acknowledges in the film, as well, saying that finding common ground is “just too exhausting.” Yet, he also says it’s something we must work toward.
Kirschner said Reich was inspired by the conversations featured in the documentary and by people’s willingness to listen to one another.
“He was both heartened and surprised a bit, like all of us were, that we had such civil conversations, that people came to not only share their own ideas but listen to others,” Kirschner said. “Bob [Reich] talks about that struggle. You don't want to do it, but you also have to do it, and that's part of the responsibility of being a citizen.”
Striving for 'a more perfect union'
One of the main drivers behind the documentary was the desire to capture the spirit of the country as America marks its 250th anniversary. To do that, Reich and the filmmakers asked the participants to choose an object they felt represented this moment in history. They then collected the items in a time capsule that Kirschner called “a snapshot of where we are now.”
“It's an opportunity to get a sense of some people's personalities,” Kirschner said. “It's a lovely, eclectic and maybe slightly baffling collection of people's hopes or beliefs.”
At the end of the six-month, cross-country filmmaking journey, the time capsule was presented to Reich. Inside, he examined the various mementos that people contributed to help tell the story of today. There are cultural artifacts from Hawaii, a bag of seeds for a garden, a screwdriver, a Pride flag, even a giant rubber ducky inside.
Reich previously explored the intersection of politics and economics in the documentaries Inequality for All and The Last Class. One common theme throughout his life’s work has been the pursuit of “a more perfect union,” as outlined in our country’s founding documents.
That sentiment is echoed throughout this new documentary’s many conversations and even in the title of the film itself, according to Cheney.
“One of my main takeaways from this project was a deepened sense that America is indeed an ever-changing work in progress,” Cheney said.
