The Guerrilla Guide to Politics (GGP) is a hip, high-energy, irreverent look at how young people can become involved in the democratic process.  Instead of preaching, it speaks to the audience with friendly banter, empowering them to exercise their civic muscles.  The show breaks down complicated civic lessons into manageable segments, highlighting practical topics such as how to register, how to vote, and how to contact public officials.  Similar to “Rock the Vote”, it was created to speak to high school and college viewers who have not yet learned the value of taking part in our unique political process.  By using a cutting edge sound track, quick cuts, and high-powered graphics, Guerrilla Guide never loses its young audience. 

 

The problem -- only about 36% of 18 to 24 year olds voted in the last presidential election, reflecting a trend that has deteriorated in the last two decades and one that mirrors the decline of civic education being taught in our schools.  This is substantially lower than other age groups which average 20 to 30 percentage points higher.  As a result, we are losing the voice of an entire generation as young people grow up without a basic sense of civic understanding and responsibility.

 

Guerrilla Guide speaks to teens in their own language with an engaging and sometimes irreverent manner. Our energetic and knowledgeable host Jim Rettew makes Guerrilla Guide watchable and understandable for ages from 14 to 30.   Jim is joined by his young co-host Alexis Anzalone as they seek out “the good, the bad and the ugly” in our political system.  The content is well researched, non-partisan, and issue neutral. 

 

As the presidential election cycle unfolds, we have a once-in-four-years opportunity to use the events of the campaigns (conventions, primaries, town meetings, caucuses, debates, etc.) to enrich the production of this series, while creating programs that can be used for years to come as a resource for teachers, parents and organizations. 

 

Fascinating Learning Factory, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, has licensed this 26 episode series for development and production.   Each program will be approximately 22 minutes in length and supplemental classroom materials will be created to accompany the programs, as well as an interactive Website.  Guerrilla Guide is suitable for Public Television, classroom access and commercial channels like MTV or The Learning Channel. Segments can be used as interstitials for broadcast news programs.  The programs will also be available for home and school sales.  We have letters of commitment from the NETA (National Educational Telecommunications Assn.) and Westlink to distribute the series to the Public Broadcasting System

 

Guerrilla Guide believes that young people are more alienated than apathetic – they do care about public affairs but seldom participate because traditional programming fails to engage them about how democracy is relevant to their daily lives.  Guerrilla Guide starts good habits early by providing a ‘how-to’ citizens’ guide to the political process, making it user-friendly, informative, and entertaining.