MONEYOCRACY
The Rise of the United Corporations of America
A transmedia documentary by Gerald Holubowicz & Jean Nicholas Guillo - Produced by Happy Fannie
A transmedia documentary by Gerald Holubowicz & Jean Nicholas Guillo - Produced by Happy Fannie
MONEYOCRACY analyses the major impact of the 2010 Citizens United vs. F.E.C ruling on the U.S democracy. The film focuses on the rise of Super PACs and their affiliated secret organizations – the 501c4s - and documents how these organizations influence the political debate and American voters during the 2012 presidential campaign and beyond through political advertising.
MONEYOCRACY takes the audience from Washington D.C to New York, NY, from Cleveland, OH to Chicago, IL at the Obama Election Night. Along the way, main actors of the campaign, including lobbyists, activists and lawyers reveal the true consequences of the Supreme Court’s historic 2010 decision.
Six billions of dollars. The 2012 Presidential election will certainly be remembered as the first campaign ever to reach that tremendous amount of money. Campaigns and independent groups injected all the money they were able to raise until the very last moment to get their candidate elected. Political ads – mostly negative ones – have flooded the airwaves in every battleground states. Back in April 2011, Barack Obama launched his 2012 presidential campaign with these words: “We’re doing this now, because the politics we believe in does not start with expensive TV Ads or extravaganzas…” This statement was a profound one, as it forecasted the state by which the already costly and elaborate U.S. elections would be run. He eventually ended up by using the same tactics as his Republican opponent.
With these words, the U.S. president directly referred to the Supreme Court’s decision made on January 21, 2010 in the case, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission. We wanted to understand what are the legal & political implications of this decision? Is this the beginning of a new era when corporations will shape the political arena as their businesses? Why does the Super PACs want to influence American voters? Are they connected to the candidates, and if they are, what is at stake here? These questions are important in a healthy democracy where one voice should equal one vote.
Moneyocracy, The rise of the United Corporations of America
Written by Gerald Holubowicz & Jean Nicholas Guillo as Chewbahat Produced by Sandrine Girbal, Happy Fannie.
"We need to go back to the realization that Teddy Roosevelt had: that we have to have a limit on the flow of money and that corporations are not people" John McCain, 2012
ROOM 501C4 is an immersing and educative experience crafted around an interactive documentary (i-doc).
In this i-doc, YOU – the “spectactor” – play a fictional character recruited by a secret organization who wants to support a candidate running for the Presidential election. Moving forward into the experience, you’ll have to decide how to market a fictional presidential candidate called Bill O’Maney and how to finance his campaign.
This interactive experience allows the end-user to make a number of strategic campaign decisions for the candidate, Bill O’Maney. The outcome of the campaign depends entirely on where the campaign’s money comes from (corporate money and super PAC, grassroot campaign donations, public option funding) and decisions you’d make.
This raises an essential question: Is it possible to win without big financial backers? The mission of the i-doc is to educate, inform and create an experience. This means educating people on the influence of non-party groups over the elections. Informing them on the financial processes at work during an election. And creating an (interactive) experience to make them think about the rising influence of these groups in the election results.
Click below to access the interactive documentary
ROOM 501C4
Written by Gerald Holubowicz & Jean Nicholas Guillo as Chewbahat Produced by Sandrine Girbal, Happy Fannie.
"The effects of the decision will be to undermine existing law, flood the airwaves with corporate and union advertisements, (...) In short, today’s decision was a serious disservice to our country." Olympia J. Snowe
Main interviewees appearing in Moneyocracy"Last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests to spend without limit in our elections. I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities." Barack Obama, 2010
Gerald Holubowicz
Writer & Filmmaker
Gerald Holubowicz has been a photojournalist for nearly 12 years and has worked with several agencies such as Abaca, Gamma and Polaris. Gerald has covered the U.S. presidential campaign that led to the election of Barack Obama, the election night in Harlem and the inauguration of January 20, 2009 in Washington. This work was an opportunity for him to discover the extraordinary complexity of the electoral process in the United States and to initiate a reflection on the project presented in these pages.
Jean Nicholas Guillo
Writer & Filmmaker
Like the “digital natives” who were born with digital and social networks, Jean- Nicholas Guillo does not limit himself only to photography to express his creativity, he is also a videographer, a director and an editor. Beyond his work published in Telerama, Le Monde and other regional magazines, his POM (Small Multimedia Works, shorts photo-movies) are projected at festivals such as Visa pour l’image, or the festival Circulations and alternative cultural venues in Paris.
Sandrine Girbal
Producer
Sandrine Girbal has a background as a production assistant and producer. She has worked at Central Films on projects directed by Abel Ferrara, Tran Van-Hung and Martin Scorcese, and at Fidélité Film. A couple of years ago she started her own company “Happy Fannie” and work now on transmedia projects, for that matter, Moneyocracy.
Gerald & Jean Nicholas as
Gerald Holubowicz is represented by
Sandrine Girbal as
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From filmmakers, Gerald Holubowicz and Jean Nicholas Guillo, comes MONEYOCRACY, the first transmedia documentary to expose the shocking truth behind the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court decision and its devastating consequences on the U.S democracy.
The 2012 Presidential election was certainly the most costly ever in the U.S history. More than $6 billions have been spent by the Campaigns and independent groups to get their candidate elected. But for what purpose?
You are free to use all the photos, videos and materials mentioned in this press site in articles, news items, blog posts, videos and other features about Moneyocracy, Gerald Holubowicz, Jean Nicholas Guillo and so forth in newspapers, magazines, TV, online-videos, blogs and other such media – both commercial and non-commercial.
(This list represents neither an endorsement from these organizations nor constitutes a partnership in anyways.)
The Act was crafted by former Federal Election Commission chairman Trevor Potter (appearing in the movie) in consultation with dozens of strategists, democracy reform leaders and constitutional attorneys from across the political spectrum.
The Act would transform how elections are financed, how lobbyists influence politics, and how political money is disclosed. It’s a sweeping proposal that would reshape the rules of American politics, and restore ordinary Americans as the most important stakeholders instead of major donors. The Act enjoys support from progressives and conservatives alike.
Constitutional attorneys confirm that the provisions are constitutional. The Act is being championed by the Represent.Us campaign and supported by United Republic among others. Click here to support this campaign.
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
Free Speech for People
UnPac
Demos
Business for Democracy
Campaign Legal Center
Common Cause
Wolf PAC
"It will increase the stranglehold corporations now have over politics. There is no more effective way to concentrate even more money and power in the hands of the wealthy" Dennis J. Kucinich, 2010
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