Terri Dunbar-Curran
THE current United States presidential race has caught the attention of the world, and social media platforms are all a twitter with opinions, praise and condemnation. But apart from voicing our views online, does it really matter to anyone outside of the US?
South African-born film-maker Raoul Dyssell, who has teamed up with songwriter Henry Bloomfield to produce a song and accompanying music video in support of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, thinks it does.
“What happens in the USA has a domino effect on the rest of the world,” he says. “Other major countries on earth follow the USA by example. They followed Bush to war with Iraq. They followed Obama into Libya. Perhaps they’ll follow Bernie into peace.”
Dyssell says that he has always followed American politics. “Not simply because what happens in the USA domino affects us all, but because, as the most diverse country on the planet, I’ve always identified with the aspirations of the American outlier. I come from a mixed family here in South Africa, a family of artists that fought ardently against the inhumane system of oppression that once held us at our mercy. Having lived in Seoul, South Korea for so long now and most of my friends and colleagues here being progressives from the USA, not to mention having dreamed of immigrating since an early age to pursue my career as a film-maker on that side, it’s no surprise that I would follow a US primary with so much fervour.”
The idea behind the #BernBabyBern campaign is for Bernie Sanders’ supporters from around the world to download the song, film themselves dancing and singing along and send it in so that they too can be featured in the music video.
“Several individuals and groups, including the Bernie Sanders campaign, have responded positively to the project,” says Dyssell. “What we are doing is not about me, or Henry Bloomfield – the composer and songwriter – it’s about everyone who believes in the reality of a world where real, desperately necessary change is possible.”
Sanders himself is not directly involved in this particular campaign.
“But I have been following him since first year politics 2008 – which I dropped out of after one year - and when I heard, in 2014, that he might run, I immediately got excited and plugged his name into my daily keyword searches on Google. It became official in 2015. And ever since, I have been contemplating ways for me to contribute to his campaign,” says Dyssell.
“The answer was simple: I’m a film-maker, so I’ll make a short film in the form of a grassroots music video that brings Bernie supporters together for what I believe is an incredibly moving tribute.”
One of the main challenges the team have faced so far is getting to word about the song and video out to Sanders’ supporters in the US.
“It’s hard enough getting someone to pause and listen to something in an age where every individual and outlet with a mouthpiece has something to say, but getting them to learn the lyrics, prop up a camera and sing and dance is something else entirely, and that’s what we’re trying to do: get Bernie supporters from across the world to sing and groove to the words of this song.”
He is hoping that the video will show just how keen Sanders’ supporters are to get involved.
“I want this video to move people, to get people to pay attention and, yes, hopefully convert people to the right side of history in what I believe is the most important election in the history of the world.”
As far as getting people from around the world, and not just in the US, to participate, Dyssell says he is fascinated by how much support Sanders has outside of the country.
“When I first conceived of this project, I was confident that it would take off simply because of how many Bernie supporters I knew that had endorsed a candidate that they could not even vote for. But they valued and understood the importance of this election and the impact it will have on the rest of the world.”
Dyssell believes now is the time to be vocal and “fight for a man who has never let humanity down, even though he’s had every reason to give up on us in the past”.
“Bernie Sanders is fighting for us, so it’s up to us to overcome and overturn the establishment, and get this guy to The White House where he can start implementing his policies,” the film-maker says.
l To find out more, see www.facebook.com/groups/ theberniesong