Pursuit of a Green Planet (Working Title)
Between a world where the word green is linked to large cars, gold jewelry and excessive consumption and a world where the word green is linked to fuel efficient cars, organic living and sustainable use stands radio host, martial artist and first generation Hip Hoppa Keith Tucker. As concert promoter, radio journalist, hip hop activist and former crack addict, Keith dares to suggest that hip hop culture can shake the current stigma of violence, materialism and sexism and reclaim its original place as a progressive social force. In this, the first documentary that explores the hip-hop generation’s relationship to the Green movement, our hope is to inspire a new generation to become leaders in the quest for a sustainable human society.
Keith is a regular guy who will become a living experiment as he makes the radical transition from your average American diet and lifestyle to a truly green, organic vegan lifestyle. He will be our guide on a journey of discovery as we learn how our food today actually makes us sick, the role corporation’s play in determining what we consume, the history of chemicals in our food chain, how our everyday eating habits can become deadly and what we can do to combat these realities.
The journey will be a literal and figurative one. Keith and company will travel the country on the Greenhound, a bus converted to run off of pure and recycled vegetable oil. On the journey with Keith will be two youth who have severe and immediate health issues related to their diet and lifestyle. These youth are at a crucial crossroads where they have to change their lifestyle or risk a dramatic decrease in their health and quality of life. Because their health issues have driven them to this point, they are not necessarily fans of a vegetarian lifestyle. Their trials, tribulations and triumphs in making the transition will be the source of a lot of drama and tension in the story.
The journey will not be all hardship however. Their travels will also take them to places around the country where ordinary people, poor, Black, White, Latino, Native and Asian are engaged in urban organic farming and other forms of green activism in their own communities. The greatest reward for the challenge is the opportunity our travellers will have to meet some of the biggest personalities in Hip Hop, all of whom are long time vegetarians and vegans. Saul Williams, Justin Bua, Persia White, Erykah Badu, Andre 3000 and others will meet our travellers and make appearances in the film.
Picking up where “Super Size Me” left off the film will answer the questions: What happens if you go all the way Green? What does it mean to go Green? If I shouldn’t eat most of the food I am used to what should I eat? Will it taste good? Will I feel like I am missing out on something by eating green? What happens if you ate nothing but organic food? What benefits are there to eating and living organically? Picking up where shows like “The Biggest Loser” and “Workout” leave off, the film will illustrate how, through green living, you can not only lose weight, but fine tune your body to be the highly efficient machine it was designed to be.
Our documentary will bring its message forth with a bold Hip-Hop voice. The pacing, score and visual style will speak to younger audiences without compromising the integrity of its message. Our producers are committed activists, experienced journalists, and respected scholars. We are working on signing on one of the entertainment industry’s hottest film and music video directors to collaborate with and take the lead on shaping the creative vision and voice of the project. Our goal is to push the envelope for the documentary genre and capture the minds and imagination of young people while speaking to older viewers as well.
