PEOPLE LIKE US: SOCIAL CLASS IN AMERICA - PBS - Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker
Production Team: Center for New American Media, Trapeze, AT&T Digital Media Centers, FutureBrand, Bob Kaminsky, Aaron Sugarman and Carolyn May.

The Enhanced TV prototype of PEOPLE LIKE US seeks to extend the reach of the documentary - a look at social class in America - by personalizing the viewer's experience. A series of questions that pop up during the broadcast will seek to gauge the viewer's social background and attitudes, and as the broadcast comes to a close, the viewer will be told where they fit on the class continuum. ("You said you thought you were middle class, but based on your answers, we believe you are lower middle class.")

It is hoped that the enhanced broadcast experience will be provocative enough to draw viewers into a post-broadcast "virtual channel" that will refine some of the ideas in the film, offer additional streamed video outtakes, games, and so forth. There will even be some e-commerce opportunities ("Want to look more like a WASP? Visit the Ralph Lauren website...") in the spirit of the documentary.