Characters

Overview

The key characters include a reporter and ten focus group panelists. The panelists represent, in rough proportion, the US electorate across the following demographics: gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, and education level. On the focus group set, they are seated in chairs designated #1 to #10 from left to right.  The seating arrangement represents the cultural political spectrum. Seat #1 is the extreme left (EL), and seat #10 is the extreme right (ER). Between the extremes are, in ascending order, far left (FL),  left(L), center left (CL), center right (CR), right (R), and far right (FR). The first letters of each character’s name match the abbreviation of his / her cultural-political orientation.

The Panelists

A purple background with the names of six people.
A purple background with the names of six people.

Jason the Reporter

A man in a suit and tie posing for the camera.

Leading Role – Reporter. Young, charismatic, ambitious field reporter who moderates the focus groups. Eager to get ahead by delivering good ratings, he encourages heated exchanges. His cheery demeanor and  snarky wit mask the fact that he has a deep understanding and passion for all the issues discussed. 

Stan the Producer

A man in red hoodie with his arms crossed.

Minor role – Producer. Over the hill 40-ish news producer.  Works with Jason to produce focus group sessions. Allows the young ambitious field reporter to call the shots. Has concerns about the increasingly contentious nature of the sessions but cannot argue with the success and goes along. His greatest aspiration – getting through the day.

Elaine the Young Rebel

A woman wearing an orange hoodie and black shirt.

Supporting role – Panelist #1 (Extreme Left). The daughter of multigenerational African-American  father and Mexican-American mother, this 20-ish biracial and bisexual waitress thinks the US is a fundamentally racist and greed-driven society in need of radical change. She has little faith in the existing political system to fix anything. She is youthful rebellious exuberance personified. At 5’-9”, she is an attractive, but intimidating young woman with a hot temper.

Florence the Proud Progressive Academic

A woman in a white shirt and jacket

Leading role – Panelist #2 (Far Left) The daughter of multigenerational European Americans, this 50-ish white heterosexual mother of two and professor of Women’s Studies is an unabashed feminist, democratic socialist, and anti-racist who  finds nearly every aspect of US mainstream culture shamefully unjust and corrupt, including its history, economic system, politics, and establishment institutions. Her kids went to private schools and Ivy League universities.

Lamar the Race-conscious 'Black' Dad

A man with his arms crossed wearing a tan shirt.

Supporting role – Panelist #3 (Left). The son of multigenerational African- Americans, this 40-ish heterosexual father of one is a mid-level government administrator. He defines himself primarily as a God-fearing black man and father of a black son in a society structured to benefit whiteness. He is conflicted by his recent discovery that his genetic ancestry is only 65% African and a full 35% European.

Clara the Content Working Mom

A woman in grey dress posing for the camera.

Supporting role – Panelist #4 (Center Left) The daughter of a multigenerational Puerto Rican father and Columbian immigrant mother, this 30-ish heterosexual mother of two  is a manufacturing supervisor. She leans left on fiscal and social issues, but in her work- and child-centric life, politics is rarely top of mind. Having spent time in Puerto Rico and Columbia, she is happy, by comparison, to have the opportunities that come with living in mainland USA.

Clayton the Optimistic Engineer

A man in a green shirt and brown pants.

Leading Role – Panelist #5 (Center Left). The son of multigenerational European- and Jewish- Americans, this 30-ish heterosexual single engineer is a fiscal centrist who leans left on social issues. He defines himself primarily by his family, his  friendships, his work, his rational view of the world, and his US citizenship. He has a positive outlook on life in the US and respects all ideologies and belief systems that fit within the boundaries of reason and that promote the flourishing of a free and democratic society. He has little tolerance for those that don’t.

Cristy the Cheery MD

A woman in white shirt and jeans with hands in her pockets.

Leading role – Panelist #6 (Center Right) The daughter of a multigenerational European-American father and first generation Asian-American mother, this 30-ish biracial and heterosexual single medical doctor is a fiscal and social centrist. She defines herself primarily by her closeknit family, and her friendships. Based on visits to her mother’s impoverished hometown in an authoritarian country, she has a silent disdain for any whiny sociopolitical discontent expressed by anyone fortunate enough as she is to be a member of US middle- or upper-class.

Craig the Law-centric Dad

A police officer is standing in front of the camera.

Supporting role – Panelist #7 (Center Right) The son of multigenerational Irish-American parents, this  30-ish heterosexual father of two is a policeman  who defines himself primarily as a husband, father, patriotic US citizen, and peace officer. He’s a fiscal centrist, leans libertarian on social issues, but puts little weight on politics in assessing people. He views people primarily through a law enforcement lens as either ‘on the  job’ (police), ‘civilians’ (law abiding) or ‘perps’ (criminal).  He further subdivides civilians and perps into ‘standard’ and ‘asshole’. All other classifications are secondary. 

Rachel the Conservative Christian Grandma

A woman wearing a red sweatshirt with the word " trump ".

Supporting role – Panelist #8 (Right) The daughter of multigenerational European-American parents, this 60-ish heterosexual mother  of three and grandmother of three is a retired school bus driver. She’s a God-fearing Christian conservative who thinks liberalism, moral decay, and abandonment of traditional Christian values are ruining the country. For the sake of her grandkids’ futures, she volunteers for conservative Christian politicians and causes in local, state, and national elections. Her greatest famous-person crush – Colin Powell.

Frank the Alt-right Provocateur

A man in a red shirt is standing with his hands in his pockets.

Leading role – Panelist #9 (Far Right) The son of multigenerational European- Americans, this 50-ish heterosexual father of two is a conservative writer and podcaster.  He’s a Christian conservative who thinks liberalism, socialism, affirmative action, identity politics, and open boarders have ruined the country. He considers it his patriotic duty to save and  restore the country to its former greatness by motivating ‘real’ Americans to fight and defeat the degenerate liberal forces and ideologies responsible for its ruin.  His greatest regret – his only daughter is a liberal and no longer speaks to him.

Eric the White Nationalist

A man wearing a black shirt with the words donald trump 1 6 on it.

Supporting role – Panelist #10 (Extreme Right) The son of multigenerational European-Americans, this 20-ish single heterosexual is an auto mechanic and gun-toting white nationalist. He believes the US was founded by and for Christian people of European decent. Further, this birthright is being stolen and sullied by undeserving, inferior, and degenerate non-white, non-Christian people who originate from shithole countries with backward cultures and religions. At 5’-6’’ he augments his diminutive stature with a façade of macho confidence. His secret indulgence – gangsta rap.

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