Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Movie Response: Appalachia in its own words

The documentary did a fabulous job integrating history and memory into one narrative. I was really impressed by the filmmaker's ability to get a cross-section of Appalachia, from the famous (Johnny Cash), to the simple coal miner. Each had their own story to tell, and I appreciated the opportunity to hear about the region from people who experienced the hard times and the joyful times of living in the mountains.
After watching this movie, I'm really intrigued to see how people really live there. Other than coal, what do people do nowadays in the region? The movie didn't really answer my questions about how the people feel about their situation right now. What are the residents' priorities in terms of development, and how do they want these goals achieved? Like other people mentioned in class, I'm looking forward to interacting with more young people, in addition to hearing the oral history of the past.

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