Not Interested.

Why do Americans not vote?

In her new documentary, Holler Back: [Not] Voting in an American Town, director Lulu Fries’dat examines voter apathy through the eyes of Allentown, PA residents, ones both active and inactive in the electoral process.

Lulu Fries’dat is the guest on my WBAI-NY / 99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION, this afternoon, Friday, October 24, 2 pm ET.

Shot mostly during the run-up to the 2004 Bush-Kerry election, Holler Back offers a penetrating examination, from an unusual angle, of what we now know, even more than we did, was one of the most critical elections in U.S. history.

As we head towards the showdown between Barack Obama and John McCain, voter interest and registrations are up, especially among youth. However, the disinterest that Fries’dat, right, documents has been the norm in this country since shortly after the Great Depression, she says. Indeed, present excitement is mostly an aberration, generated by high interest in the Obama campaign. Clearly, sustaining a democracy requires more than an occasional superstar, centrist politician, lighting up the firmament. It needs a knowledgeable, engaged constituency.

You can hear Fries’dat’s ideas about why people don’t vote, why they do, and how to change the system by tuning in at 2 pm. If you’re outside of the New York tri-state, you can check out our stream on the web. If you miss the live show, check out our archive for up to two weeks after broadcast.