Thank You For Allowing Me To Speak With You Today

In an effort to erase ‘wokeness’ from public discourse, the Trump administration has begun to flag hundreds of words that should be limited or avoided altogether. These words – such as gender, climate crisis, Black, and victim – have appeared in government memos and in official and unofficial government guidance. Many have been taken down from public-facing websites, or removed from educational materials, such as school curricula. What does it mean for these words to be eroded from our vocabulary? What will become of a public discourse that omits them? The speech in the film embodies the disappearance of not just words, but of ways we acknowledge, validate and connect with each other. Performed by a figure who wields vast informational and political power, it invites the viewer to reflect critically on the forces shaping our social and political realities. Our hope is that this project, through both its form and content, can serve as a catalyst for a conversation about the intersection of Big Tech, free speech, anti-progressive politics, and our information ecosystem.