Kal Penn Approves This Message (2020) - full transcript

- Hey, so I have this new show
right now where I'm...

I'm trying to talk about issues.

But not in a boring way.

Sort of like in a young,
cool conversational way.

So like basically this is
an advice call.

I need advice from you.

- You need to be younger.

- Okay, so just act younger.

- No, like be younger.

Physically, like...

Younger. - Okay.



Um, sure.

What's your second best advice?

- Um, I don't know.

Make an issue-based show
about geopolitics

in a positive space that
uses your personal experience

combined with less polarizing
messaging that motivates

young viewers to get
engaged in the political process

and gives them actionable
advice on things they can do

to create change
in their community.

- Okay, yeah, that's
definitely one idea.

But I was thinking like
what if I... what if I

make a video with that
whop dance,

but like fully, fully
commit, you know what I mean?

Like just throw down and... - no.



Wouldn't that be
something that they would like?

Hello? Ah, man.

- hey, everybody, I'm kal penn.

Now, look, I know
some of you are wondering

who is this incredibly
handsome brown-skinned man

with facial hair that
exudes a white man's confidence?

That would be bollywood
star anil kapoor

leaning on a sweet rolls royce

with amitabh bachchan.

You may also be thinking,
"kal penn, I know you, man.

"what the hell are you doing
hosting a show on freeform?

"shouldn't you be high as
shit with harold?

Or sober as shit with obama?"

that part is true.

I did work in the
obama white house

on outreach to young americans.

Some might even say I went
from white castle to...

From white castle

to the white house.

- Trading in the white castle
for the white cast.

From white castle to

An exclusive
interview with kal penn.

- Do you know that I never told
them I'd heard that one already?

They were all so proud. Oh.

Over the next six episodes
leading up to the election,

I'm gonna talk about
six important issues

that effect
how our country works,

how we fit into it,

and what we can do to
change it for the better...

Or the worse.

No, I'm just kidding.

It's only about the issues,
not the candidates

or political parties.

So, it's always for the better.

I was born and raised
in the great state

of new jersey and registered
to vote as an independent

when I turned 18.

I went to college.

I worked really hard,

and today, I'm a successful
actor.

Well, moderately
successful actor.

Of course, lots of my friends
are not in the same situation.

Look, people have lost
their jobs,

and they're worried about
how they're gonna pay rent.

Family members of ours
struggle with healthcare,

the cost of trade school
and college.

We know people who have
fought and lost loved ones

to the wars in iraq
and afghanistan.

Wars which both democrats
and republicans voted

to authorize.

And all of these problems
have been intensified

by the pandemic.

The country feels really
divided right now,

and we all have different
ideas on how to solve problems.

But the reality is, we have
a heck of a lot more

in common with each other
than we give ourselves

credit for.

I got involved in public service

because I wanted the lives of
my friends and family

to get better.

I created this tv show

because I want
the same for yours.

Welcome to "kal penn
approves this message."

- episode one, here we go!

Alright, in my first
episode, I wanna talk about

the power of voting.

When you think about it,
so much of what you see

when you go outside is
shaped by people

deciding to put little
slips of paper in a box.

From how we get across town,

to how much pollution
is in the air we breathe,

to how many health clinics
are in our neighborhoods.

But specifically, I wanna
focus on young voters.

Look, if you weren't powerful,

they wouldn't be so scared
when you show up.

Remember 2018?

The midterms had the highest
turnout for 18 to 24-year-olds

in decades.

I mean, y'all gave us
a new most diverse congress

in history.

In 1988, this was
the squad, okay?

There's room for everybody.

Power is in the voting booths,
sure.

But it's also in the streets.

Just look at what happened
in new jersey

a couple years ago.

Young activists there pushed
the state government

to expand a minimum wage
increase to people under 18.

But you may not have
heard about that.

Or about things like
the 50 new gun-control laws

resulting from the youth-led
March for our lives movement.

That's because usually,
when pundits talk

about young people in politics,

it's to rehash old opinions
about how,

"kids these days just don't
care enough to vote."

- the problem with youth
voters is they don't show up.

- Where is the youth and
energy that former president

barack obama brought
to the party?

- Millennial say they want
their voices to be heard.

But how can they be heard
when they don't show up

to the polls?

- Okay, the thing is,

as weird as this feels to say...

Mike hucklebee is not
entirely wrong.

In the last presidential
election, just under half

of 18 to 29-year-olds
turned out to vote.

And when you think about it,

that means that one of
the most powerful

voting blocks in the country
was actually...

Young people who didn't vote.

If 100% of young americans
showed up to the voting booth,

we could have a completely
different country.

We could have more
national parks,

high-speed rail, or make
our flag this amazing

photo of dwayne johnson
eating sushi.

You can even change
the voting age.

That's actually happened
before in 1971.

It was lowered from 21
to 18 through a broad,

youth-led movement that
resulted in something called

the 26th amendment.

Come with me for a journey
through history.

During world war dos,

a bunch of 18, and 19,
and 20-year-olds

came back home after
saving the world,

and they wanted to go vote.

And a bunch of old people
were like, "uh, sorry, guys,

"no, come back when you're
21 years of age,

and have had some actual
life experience."

and the veterans were like,
"sorry, wait,

"so flying airplanes and
driving tanks and

"literally liberating
an entire country

isn't enough life experience?"

and the old people were like,
"well, no."

and the under-21s were like,
"well, this is some bullshit."

right? So they started
a movement

with the rallying cry,
"old enough to fight,

old enough to."

no, I'm just kidding.

It was, "old enough to
fight, old enough to vote."

less sexy, but more practical.

This culminated in
the 26th amendment

in 1971, which gave americans
over 18 the right to vote

for their representative.

And they finally used that power

in 1972 to help sweep
a new fresh face

into the white house.

Richard nixon.

Thanks to a bunch of
righteously pissed veterans,

you can now vote if
you're 18 or older.

There are a lot of amazing
resources online

to make the process easy.

To make them easier to find,

we're gonna put them all
on one website...

'cause it's my show.

There, we've broken things
into four steps.

Find out the
voting rules in your state.

How to register,
how to vote early,

and how to vote by
absentee ballot.

Find your polling location.

Find out what's gonna be

on that ballot.

Remember, we're not only
voting for the president

in November.

There are also state
and local elections,

as well as ballot measures.

Arizona has a measure to
legalize marijuana.

And florida has one to
increase the minimum wage.

And finally, take some time
to learn

what your candidates
actually believe.

This is important because,
look, even if a candidate

isn't perfect on an issue
that you care about most,

and they're probably not,
you might find that

they agree with you
on a lot of other issues

that affect your life.

Like, okay, if gwyneth paltrow
was running for president,

you might strongly disagree
with her vitamin-infused

toilet paper policy, but
she maybe supports

tuition-free college by
taxing the rich, right?

I'm just saying, if that's
your thing,

give them a chance.

When I vote, I don't
just vote for myself.

I vote for the person
who works three jobs

and can't get to the polls.

I vote for the person who
has to drive so far

that the $6 in gas money
is something

they gotta figure out.

We don't just vote
for ourselves.

So who are you voting for?

And if the answer is nobody,

because I'm still too young
to vote,

then stick around,
because we're gonna talk to

a group in san francisco
that's working really hard

to change that.

- hey, welcome back!

Okay, so if you feel kind of
powerless because you're

too young vote, but you
kinda wanna do something,

I want you to meet these people.

My friend moses storm went
up to san francisco

to spend some time
with them. Check it out.

Young people have
made great strides

for change in recent years.

- A leader for the present,
a leader for the future.

- When many americans cast
their vote on election day,

they are exercising the
only political power they have.

But now young people
want even more.

They want the voting age
to be lowered to 16.

- That us kids don't know
what we're talking about,

that we're too young
to understand

how the government works!

- d-o-d-e.

Sixteen for democracy.

Vote 16's caleb deberry laid out

the group's plans.

- Vote 16 is a movement
led by young people

for young people trying
to lower the voting age

in local elections
to 16 years old.

Well, the issues that are
on the ballot

in our local elections are
issues about how we fund our

schools, are issues on how we
handle juvenile justice.

We have environmental issues,
taxation issues,

really every issues that
a locality could

have on its ballot is
effecting young people

in some sort of way, and
so we believe that

we should have a voice on that.

- Wow, just sounds so stressful

to be 16-year-old right now.

- okay. Wow.

- Once you start voting,
you're significantly

more likely to keep
voting in future elections,

so we create a lifelong habit
of participating in democracy.

- Okay, but not all
habits are good.

I mean, in 2008, I got
addicted to roller-blading,

which led to a lot of bullying.

- Well, I like to think that
participating in democracy's

a pretty good habit.

In san francisco,
the vote 16 chapter

is pushing a ballot measure
this November to lower

the voting age.

What is your anarchist agenda?

- If democracy is anarchy,
then sign us up,

because our agenda is simple:

And it's the preservation
of democratic rights

on a local level.

Vote 16 goes to argue that
since young people

in san francisco are active
community participants,

why should they not be
enfranchised, whereas,

you know, the average adult
with x amount of years

of civic education is?

Critics say that
teens are too impulsive,

don't think things through,
and shouldn't vote.

And they say their brains
just can't handle it.

These kids didn't seem
like immature mush brains.

I didn't a professional opinion.

Dr. Dillon g.

Are 16-year-olds mature enough
to be able to vote?

- 16-year-olds have very
strong cognitive capacities.

They can, um, make cognitive
and rational decisions.

We know that cognitive
functioning increases across

the life span, but it's not
always getting better.

So individuals who are, say,
65 or older, or 70 or older,

are much more at risk for
mild cognitive impairment

or even dementia.

Um, however, normal cognitive
functions peek relatively early

in life.

Wait, so it wasn't young brains

that had the problem.
It was old people.

I had to spread the word.

Vote 16 meets stop 72.

- A lot of people out there
are concerned about

young people voting.
- No, cut, cut.

Um, carol, I need you to
really age it up, okay?

Just really, uuh, decrepit.

Okay, let me see what
you're gonna do.

- Hey, everyone...
- No.

That's youth energy.

Okay, I wanna give you
a line reading,

but you know what? I actually
have an idea.

Why don't we get, uh,
props in here.

I got something perfect for you.

- A lot of people out there
are worried

about young people voting.

But it's us old people
the ones we have to worry about.

First of all, we're impulsive.

- We gave our life's savings
to a stranger

who sent us an email.

- We're also reactive.

- Try saying "happy holiday"
to me

instead of "merry christmas."

- and we're indoctrinated.

- I don't know if I'm
indoctrinated.

I just feel that anybody
that doesn't agree

with my politics is a pedophile.

And a vampire.

- We're practically a cult.

- Seriously, you can't
trust our judgment.

We're the people that made
"the help" trend.

- Did you hear what those saying

about "the help"?

- That movie sucks.

- Until a minute ago, I thought
this was the dmv.

You really want me picking
the president?

- Please help us stop
people over 72 from voting.

We can't be trusted with
this responsibility.

Stop 72.

- I was told there was
gonna be free soup.

Where the is my soup?

- So there. Fixed it.

What do you think?

- I mean, the whole point
of this is to

expand voting rights, we're
not trying to take away

voting rights.

- You know, as much as I
appreciate the cinematography

and the work you put into
creating that,

I would like to ague that is
very much the antithesis

of what our goal is here
in vote 16.

Our goal is to make elections
more representative.

- Should have had them play
it more decrepit.

I knew it. I knew it.

- ah, okay, I am so excited

to welcome our first guest
to the series.

She is a civil rights hero.

One of the most iconic
activists in american history.

A leader of the historic
grape strikes of the 1960s,

and cofounder of
the united farm workers.

She has spent her life fighting
for more an equitable society.

Please welcome president of
the delores huerta foundation,

ms. Delores huerta.

Thank you for being here!

No, thank you for having me.

This is our first episode.

Look, this is a show that
is hoping to get folks

out to register to vote,
we're trying to be

as nonpartisan as possible.

We're trying to be
funny and uplifting

and kind of cut through
a lot of the noise

that's out there, especially
when like, um...

You know, when you pick up
your phone,

and you read through
twitter, and you're trying

to wonder what's real
and what's not.

So, I'm especially really,
really honored that, um...

That you would join us.

And I guess my first question
has to be related

to our theme for the
first episode,

which is youth vote.

What is the best method to
encourage someone to vote?

And is it different when
you approach young people

versus more seasoned folks?

- I like to say that
election day is the most

important day of your life,
because on election day,

the people that we vote for,
they are going to make

the decisions for us,
for our families,

and for our communities.

And we wanna get progressive
people elected,

people who are gonna stand
up for us, people that are

really going to work to
make the changes

that we need to make
in our society.

We have to just remember
that voting is a step

to be able to get people
elected to office

that are gonna fight for us.

And if not, the people that
are elected will not only

work against us, but they
will make decisions

that we may not life.

- Um, our show is
a little different

than most shows, in that we
like to offer solutions

to our viewers.

And we like to share with
them things from experts

that they can take with
them in their own communities.

So, what we did is we reached
out to a bunch of people

around the country and said,
"are you voting? Yes? No?"

and surprisingly, some people
said maybe.

So, I wanna play a clip
of a few people

who we spoke to earlier
this week, who said

they weren't planning on voting.

And I would... I would love
for your advice on

how people can talk to
our friends who might have

similar views as these folks.

Can we roll that clip?

- Every four years we
elect a new leader.

However, every year we have
more homeless,

more endangered animals, and
the wealth gap between

the 1% and the 99% grows
ever more.

- And what do you say to
somebody like alexander,

who says, "I'm not gonna
vote because the wealth gap

"keeps increasing and
increasing, and no matter who

you vote for, it just doesn't
make a difference"?

How do you even... how do
you counter that?

- Well, I have to say to
alexander, there is a way

to change that, alexander.

And that is by voting.

When we're voting, we're
actually thinking, "how do

we bring resources into
our community?"

and if we don't vote, then
all of the resources that

we had, they go up to the top.

As we know right now in
the united states, we have

1% of the wealthy families that
have... own 50% of the wealth.

And if you add the 10% of
the wealthy corporation,

they own 90% of the wealth.
Okay?

So we've gotta change
this around.

We've gotta do a wealth tax.

We've gotta bring some of
that money back

to our community.

How do we do that?

By voting.

It's the only way. By voting.

Okay, now take
a look at this one.

- Tennessee always goes
republican, therefore,

my liberal vote is negated.

And that is why
I won't be voting.

- So, victoria is a liberal
living in tennessee,

which is clearly
a conservative state.

Does her vote matter?

- Oh, does it matter a lot.

And if people are not happy
with the political party

that they belong to,
they can also join

a political party, because
these political parties

are democratic, and they
choose their leaders.

And you can come in there
and take the leadership,

and get some of your friends
to go in with you.

So it's a good thing to
just get involved in that way.

Get involved
in the political campaign.

Just go out there, you know...

Once the pandemic is over,
do the door knocking.

But now you can do the phoning.

And so to get involved
right at the ground level,

then you really understand
how our political system works.

And it's all about just
doing the work.

It's so simple.

It's just talking to people,
phoning people,

getting out the information
to people.

It's not rocket science.

It's just people engagement
and people doing the work.

This is all that it is.

It's simple.

But it doesn't work unless
we participate.

'cause now you can get
information out so easily.

You can mobilize so easily.

We have seen that with
many of the protests

and marches, after people
have been killed,

after george floyd was killed,

after brianna was killed,
that people are being able

to assemble and to mobilize
very, very quickly.

We can think of the voting
cycle, you know?

The assemblymen
and congress people

in the house of representatives,

it's every two years.

So you can change some of
those people out

in a couple of years, it
doesn't have to be their job.

And I would get that information
out to everybody so quickly.

So we don't want people
to despair.

- We're gonna keep that in mind.

Ms. Huerta, it's been an honor.

Thank you for being
our first guest

and for sharing your
experiences.

- Thank you very much
for having me.

Thank you.

- I wanna send you off with one
of my favorite clips that we

captured this week from a young
woman that we met, who is

very excited to vote.

So thank you so much
for joining us.

- Wah gwaan. My name is ember.

And the reason why I'm
excited to vote

this election year is
because I'm ready for change,

and I'm ready to see some
progression

within our government.

And the fact that I'm coming
from an immigrant family,

born in america, gives me
blessings upon blessings,

because my ancestors didn't
have the opportunity to vote.

And the fact that I get to
exercise it within

the government is amazing to me.

So, this election year,
I'm super excited to vote.

I hope you guys are too.

- okay, before we say
goodbye, we like to do

this little thing called
micro macro.

So I wanna leave you with
some actual actions

that you can take that will
help make sure

that any eligible voter
can get to the polls

this November to cast a ballot.

So, a larger macro action
that you can take

is to volunteer at
a local polling place.

In a lot of states, you don't
even have to be 18 to volunteer,

but the rules do vary from state
to state, so check out...

Where we have a link to
where you can volunteer.

I will say younger poll workers

are especially critical
this year to make sure

that the voting experience
is smooth for everybody,

because traditionally, election
workers are older americans,

who may not volunteer this year

due to their heightened risk
of contracting covid-19.

So to all the young volunteers
out there, thank you so much

for stepping up.

It means a lot to
a lot of people.

I will also say this.

Next election, buella is
gonna reclaim her throne

as hbic, so do not get
too comfortable, gen-x,

she throws elbows.

If you're not able to
volunteer, a micro action

that you can take right now
is to just text

five friends.

"are you
planning to vote?" that's it.

Then text five exes.

That's always a good idea.

Then, you can text five more
friends.

Maybe people you haven't
spoken to in the past year.

Oh, hey, marsai. - Hey.

You know what? I got you, kal.

You know what? I'm gonna
text five friends right now.

- Thanks, marsai.

Hey, do you mind posting
on our instagram?

- Honestly, you are pushing it.

I don't got time for that.

- Yeah, yeah, no, no,
totally cool.

I get it. I get it. Yep.

Okay, so make sure your friends
are registered,

you have a plan in place,
either a vote by mail

or to get to the polls,

and have the resources
to learn about the issues.

A single voice shouting
isn't really that loud.

But millions of voices,
that's hard to ignore.

See ya next week.

- hello, I'm imploring
everyone watching this

to please sign up as
a poll worker on November 3.

As a poll worker, you will
be trained, paid,

and be on the front lines
of securing democracy.

I am personally serving
as poll worker because

older people in my community
have been serving

as poll workers for decades.

But this time, it's not
safe for them.

So I want to take up that
mantle, and you should too.