Janeane From Des Moines Mockumentary

The new film Janeane from Des Moines focuses on a fictional conservative woman as she decides which candidate to back in the very real Iowa caucuses earlier this year. The film is a mockumentary: half drama, half documentary.

Actress Jane Edith Wilson stayed in character as she traveled to campaign events and interacted with other voters, leading some to believe she is the character Janeane. Is that ethical?

“We made this film to start a conversation,” filmmaker Grace Lee told Here and Now’s Robin Young. “We hope to have it on many different levels with many different people.”

For a list of screenings of Janeane from Des Moines and instructions on how to request a screening, visit to the film’s website.

Trailer: Janeane from Des Moines

New York Times: A Mockumentary Pulls In Real Players

Guests:

Jane Edith Wilson, actress who plays Janeane from Des Moines
Grace Lee, director of the film Janeane from Des Moines

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

J Frog

Hollywood coming to the rescue for Pres. Obama. Edited to please him, I’m sure. How can I believe anything I hear in this story?
- Vanessa D
  
  Most people believe what they WANT or NEED to believe rather than what is right there in front of them. Belief is not based on reason, it is based on emotion. You wrote, “Edited to please him, I’m sure.” Well, what makes you so sure? Do you have any evidence of that, or are you just building a case that will support your beliefs? Maybe what you should have said is Edited to please him, I’m ASSUMING. That would at least give you room to examine your ideas and beliefs and discover what they might actually be coming from.
- interference
  
  Cough. “2016″ Cough. “Atlas Shrugged… II” Cough. Just – cough – in time for the election. COUGH!
  
  I’m pretty sure the bulk of us do not count on Hollywood to give us answers to political questions. Seriously, bring something worth while to the table instead of ad hominem and run. It’s old and pathetic.
anon

Political candidates are usually playing characters. This documentary isn’t a huge jump from that.
Ron Clarke

The filmmakers and actors involved in this production are deceitful and supremely insulting to real citizens who have real problems. Why are you wasting valuable broadcast time on this charade?
- Jose Perez
  
  Hey Ron Clarke have you seen the film? If you had, I’d doubt you make this assumption.
  - interference
    
    No, they just forget they have James O’Keefe… or are doing the usual projection thingy.
- Douglas Geiger
  
  I’ve seen the film, and I think what the filmmakers were doing is reasonable:�
  Janeane REPRESENTED real problems that real people are going through, and attempted to get REAL answers from these politicians – all of whom were given this opportunity to EXPLAIN EXACTLY HOW they plan to help the millions of citizens who have lost their jobs and their healthcare. NOT ONE offered any concrete answer, just general platitudes like “well, you have to have a job to get healthcare” – that’s not helpful, it’s not a solution, it’s what we have now. The question of “deceit” is especially fascinating as it absolutely goes both ways: does anyone actually believe that Michele Bachmann or any of the candidates would have given Janeane 10 seconds of their time if there weren’t cameras around???
Armybrt59

I’ll bet J Frog totally embraced 2016. What goes around comes around. People have been making slanderous “documentaries” about Obama for years.
Wrightbrain

Outstanding…How can I see it? Brilliant approach that I wish every voter could take in before walking into the booth!
- Rachel_Rohr
  
  Hi, I’m a producer at Here & Now. If you don’t see a screening near you, there are instructions on how to request one: http://janeanefromdesmoines.com/
- Timothy Rood
  
  Wrightbrain, new screenings are being added daily. Go to http://www.janeanemovie.com for nationwide listings.
- J Wilson
  
  We especially need folks to come to the engagement screening in Durham, NC on Monday. Spread the word to anyone in NC you might know http://www.tugg.com/events/1802#.UHZKMIXDPUM and for folks who live elsewhere check out http://www.JaneaneFromDesMoines.com to link to Tugg screenings, community screenings and create a screening on your own.
Shawn

I found the mockumentary really sleazy.
- interference
  
  Please do expand on why you believe the film to be, “sleazy.” She’s getting in-the-moment responses – or at least as spontaneous as they can be as politicians on camera. It is interesting to see how the candidates respond and behave, especially those who SAY they are for the people but whose actions and policies are very different.
  
  What’s sleazy is trying to set up politicians to fail while themselves committing a crime… James O’Keefe comes to mind. Ahem.
JWMullin

Ron and Shawn and JFrog, have you seen the movie? Go to see it! The film is NOT a criticism of candidates per se, but an examination of the campaign and how candidates connect or do NOT connect with the public. It was created to promote dialogue. Well, at least you’re talking about it…
RolloMartins

Pretty good acting.