Hillbilly

This is what I learned from Hillbilly:

• Appalachia is an ugly, depressing, rundown place. And we're talking about a stretch encompassing well over a hundred thousand square miles, as the movie's map showed us.

• The only conservative-leaning people who are loveable belong to the filmaker's family.

• There are a minority of smart, educated people in this backward place called Appalachia, but they are all left-leaning. (Of course, I mean, what would you expect?)

• People all across this huge God-forsaken expanse refer to themselves as "hillbillies."

• There is absolutely no reason to visit this unseemly, tasteless place unless your curious for a cultural experience, namely to study these odd folks so you can talk about them when you get back to civilization.

Oops. I almost! I grew up in small town Appalachia! And "Hillbilly" is a mere charicature of the richness and diversity of the people and places I knew. But darn it! I understand that to make a movie like that would been a bit too challenging and uncomfortable for the elites. Mea culpa for my criticisms. I should have know better.

This is a very well presented documentary, directed by Ashley York and Sally Rubin. York also narrates the film and appears regularly throughout its filming.

York was born and raised in Eastern Kentucky, notably Meathouse Holler, and left the area when she was 18-years-old to attend the University of Kentucky. Now living in Los Angeles, she is returning to Appalachia to interview family, friends, and area residents for the movie.

The main focus of the doc is to try and counter the terrible stereotypes that, over many generations, have portrayed hillbillies from Appalachia. The media, including movies television, and print have fostered the concepts that hillbillies are dangerous, threatening, lazy, talk funny etc. etc. etc.

The filmmakers here try and counter these stereotypes and show how complicated the area can be, with its long history of exploitation by coal and mining companies. Also, the interviews with all types of Appalachians illustrate how they are just like many other Americans, with their own proud culture, music, and heritage.

The movie had added interest for me as it was being filmed right during the 2016 Presidential election race. It gave good insight into why some Kentuckians voted for Trump and why some voters went for Clinton. Trump drew large and enthusiastic crowds there and he considered that area a strong base of his.

Overall, this doc was well edited and had a lot to say and interspersed film clips (the one with Dolly Parton and Dabney Coleman in "9 to 5" was unforgettable) interviews, and historical pieces seamlessly.

To note, there were no subtitles on my DVD copy, but I was able to access them through my remote closed captions option.

Filmmakers Sally Rubin and Ashley York go to Kentucky (from LA) to visit York's family and consider the changes in her attitudes and life since she left for college. York was reared there and clearly loves her family (and they her) despite a huge difference in their world views. Aside from interviewing her family members they also sought input from thinkers and artists from Appalachia, and their input is both informative and moving.

Of course, being filmed in the fall of 2016, the Trump issue is everywhere. Rubin and York try to understand why York's family is, almost without exception, wildly supportive of the Republican ticket despite voting for President Obama previously.

But the best part of the film is its examination of the media treatment of "hillbillies" over the last century or so. The stereotypes presented continue to negatively effect how we see this diffuse area of the country and their millions of residents. From the movie "Deliverance" to TV's "Hee Haw", they are often portrayed as either dangerous or stupid and both.

Other facets addressed include Appalachia's reaction to the rising LGBTQ movement and Black Appalachians. I saw this at the Traverse City Film Festival and both showings were almost immediately sold out. It was indeed one of the best documentaries shown there, winning the Founders Award for Documentary Filmmaking. See it where ever you can.

This documentary goes out of it's way to challenge the stereotypes and the exploitation of the Appalachian people. I grew up in a small city but my family is from Appalachia and I went to college in a town in Appalachia that was too small to even have a store. We had to go to the next town for that. I have often been called a redneck or a hillbilly or been told I come from a family of inbreeders simply because my family is from West Virginia and Alabama. I have been ashamed of my family because of all of the negative stereotypes surrounding rural and mountain peoples. This documentary hits on this very thing.

This documentary touches on politics but it is not in any way have a liberal slant other than she says her family used to be a democrat and they voted for Trump and wanted to know why they and other people there voted for someone who in all other ways disrespects the values of the Appalachian culture. This is not political and leftist. This is actual journalism. Asking questions and not judging. It even explains how both the left and the right have increased the stereotypes of Appalachian people and have both co-opted the culture of the region for their own benefits. It shows that the area has people of different races, sexual orientations, political affiliations, ethnicities, etc. Just like anywhere else. It shows that Kentucky is not the generalized backwater boonies and that the Appalachia region is more than it is made out to be. It is actually one of the most non-biased docs I've ever seen.

Documentary about Appalachia? Nope! A directors attempt to jam Hollywood left wing politics down your throat while disguising it as something with substance. 😞 I fell for it.