Two friends, Dan and Jesse, embark on a journey through the southern United States and document everything they encounter along the way.

They both grew up in the United States in migrant families and are familiar with the American Dream. They go to dangerous places, meet Texans at local eateries, go to prison, where prisoners participate in a rodeo, talk with activists, and try to understand what the American dream is for those who live in the most disadvantaged and toxic areas of the United States.

Their journey is an introduction to forgotten people and their world, in which conspiracy theories, the struggle for democracy, and much more are intertwined.

Dan and Jesse go to Texas, a state where nearly all the land is in private hands and where they are wary of strangers. Political games have permeated this state for a long time, continuing to the present day, especially during elections.

In the first episode, they meet Texans, conspiracy theorists who believe that America is surrounded by enemies who want to destroy it.

What's bothering them?

After leaving Texas, Dan and Jesse travel to Louisiana, where they are immediately greeted by a curtain of gray fog and numerous swamps. They are entering the “territory of death,” where a small group of environmental activists has been fighting for decades to regulate local sulfur and oil production.

In the second episode, they meet Mike and Dustin, who talk about the attacks on their group, the toxic danger of these places, and why, despite efforts, almost nothing changes here.

Dan and Jesse keep moving through the South, across Louisiana, towards Angola, the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. They are going to see its famous rodeo, where the riders are inmates and the audience pays for tickets.

On the way, a police officer pulls them over. For a while it looks like the two of them might end up inside Angola in a different role.

Producers: Polina Ivanova, Rita Medzhovich. Script: Elizaveta Simbirskaya. Editing: Vitaly Dedkov. Sound design: Nikita Chernat. Executive producer: Gulnaz Ratu

A Tolk studio production. tolk.studio