Postcards from the Great Divide
Postcards from the Great Divide is a series of nine short documentaries produced by leading American independent filmmakers that are being released in a digital partnership between PBS' Election 2016 initiative and The Washington Post. The series travels to locations across the U.S. to examine the nation's partisan divide. Stories are told from the viewpoint of voters and activists. Different episodes explore how changing demographics and political self-sorting will continue to have a profound effect on American politics for years to come.
- 2016-2016
- 1 season
- PBS
- Documentary
Postcards from the Great Divide is a series of nine short documentaries produced by leading American independent filmmakers that are being released in a digital partnership between PBS' Election 2016 initiative and The Washington Post. The series travels to locations across the U.S. to examine the nation's partisan divide. Stories are told from the viewpoint of voters and activists. Different episodes explore how changing demographics and political self-sorting will continue to have a profound effect on American politics for years to come.
Season 1 Episode Guide
9 Episodes 2016
Episode 1
Million-Dollar School Board
Mon, Oct 24, 2016
A humble school board race in suburban Denver becomes a proxy battle between national political groups like the Koch Brothers and the teachers' union, as even down ballot races become nationalized.
Episode 2
The Big Sort
Mon, Jul 11, 2016 11 mins
There's a political self-sorting process that is happening across America. Blue voters are choosing to live in "creative-class" urban oases, as red voters remain in rural areas. Minnesota native Aaron Spading, conservative church-goer turned far-left Powderhorn Park resident, guides us as we explore one of those blue-dots-in-a-sea-of-red. Meetings with family and old neighbors illustrate just how deep the political gulf between people can be, but the film ends on a hopeful note; where there is dialogue, there can still be community.
Episode 3
Gibraltar May Tumble
Mon, Oct 24, 2016 8 mins
Democrats used to be competitive in both cities and the countryside, but partisanship has changed things. It's now getting harder and harder to find Democrats in rural areas across the US, but especially in the South. Are the partisans of Western Kentucky the last of this dying breed? We travel to the politically raucous annual Fancy Farm Picnic to find out.
Episode 4
Whatever Happened to Wisconsin Nice?
Mon, Oct 17, 2016 12 mins
Once the poster child for bipartisan practical politics, the Badger State has become an ideological battleground in recent years. What happened to the middle?
Episode 5
The Giant Still Sleeps
Mon, Oct 10, 2016 9 mins
Pundits seem convinced that a purple Texas is just around the corner due to its burgeoning Latino population, yet the state gets redder and redder. One factor is that Latino turnout remains low.
Episode 6
Blue Wind on a Red Prairie
Mon, Oct 24, 2016 12 mins
Nebraska is one of the reddest of red states. It hasn't voted statewide for a Democrat for President in over fifty years. So how can the minority party rise from the mat and become relevant in state politics?
Episode 7
Post-Obama Drama
Mon, Oct 10, 2016 9 mins
In 2008 and 2012 African-Americans in Florida turned out in record numbers for Barack Obama even when voting hours and registration rules were tightened. What are the challenges among the black electorate that Hillary Clinton faced in 2016?
Episode 8
Purple Reign
Mon, Sep 19, 2016 11 mins
In the fight to win control at the state level, Republicans have reached an historic high, capturing thirty-one legislatures in the past several years. Now the Republicans are looking for more, even in a left-leaning state like Washington.
Episode 9
Swinging Las Vegas
Mon, Sep 26, 2016 10 mins
Nevada used to be a deep red state, but things have changed. Thousands of Latinos have moved in, many to work in the gaming industry, and the state is turning purple. What can the state GOP do in the year of Trump to get more Latino votes?
