Darren Aronofsky's latest project is a 360 degree turn from his usual tactics of shining a horrifying fluorescent light onto the ugliest parts corners of our psyches and society.
The Requiem For A Dream and Mother-director has teamed up with the Sierra Club to create an uplifting PSA urging eligible Generation Z-ers (aka 18-20 year-olds) to vote in the November 6 midterms.
In response to 2016's stunningly low turnout for America's newest voters, Aronofsky attempts to offer young people hope for the future, and confidence that their voices matter. In the video, fifteen Generation Z activists (who were all too young to vote in 2016) share why they're voting on November 6 and urging their peers to join them.
Among the participants are Parkland survivors David Hogg and Delaney Tarr; deaf, transgender model Chella Man; LemonAIDS-founder Lula Cerone; indigenous environmental advocate Xiuhtezcatl Martinez; and Gavin Grimm whose fight for trans rights reached the Supreme Court with the bathroom bill.
"We are working with a dynamic group of activists from all over the country, who care about an array of causes... and filmed them speaking about what issues will be most important when casting their votes next month" Aronofsky explained in a statement.
"The passion these activists share about their causes is contagious. All of them are between the ages of 18-20. None of them were eligible to vote in 2016. But now they can be heard, and all of them are passionate about voting," he added. "We hope their activism inspires Generation Z to get to the polls on November 6 and speak up for the issues that are important to all of us."
Record-breaking numbers of millennials and Generation Z are predicted to vote this year. A recent Harvard poll showed that nearly 40% of people 18-29 said they'd "definitely be voting" in the mid-terms, and with any luck, efforts like Aronofsky's will up that number.
Photo via YouTube