Imagined States of America takes on the big American myths to get to the heart of what works and what doesn’t in the country that continues to fascinate the entire world. When you think America, what do you think? The open road, car culture, hip-hop, the middle class, big business, advertising frenzy, religious fundamentalism, poverty, the consumer society, militarism, immigration, the suburbs, office towers, techno-paranoia? We thought of those things too. Imagined States of America blends these subjects and others into a visual and sound landscape that gets at the heart of the images that America has made for itself, then exported throughout the world. The result is a film as fascinating and, sometimes, as contradictory as the country it sets out to portray. In the end, what endures is America’s human face. The businesswoman, the preacher, the stock trader, the seller of used Islamic books, the policewoman on horseback – these and other characters go beyond the myth-making to gives us an idea of the American soul.
Using photocollage, intricately built soundscapes, incisive narration and a rich sense of juxtaposition – always sensitive to the absurdity and excess of American life – Imagined States of America takes us on a complex journey in pursuit of happiness. As the Founding Fathers of the country so wisely promised, no one’s guaranteeing happiness – but its pursuit, sure.