https://thelocust.org/blog/2008/12/03/three-documentaries-for-louisvillians ben wilson's blog Fri, 15 Oct 2010 23:26:16 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8 https://thelocust.org/blog/2008/12/03/three-documentaries-for-louisvillians/comment-page-1#comment-1145 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:30:42 +0000 https://thelocust.org/blog/?p=989#comment-1145 I have not seen the first two, but I’ve seen the last one and I agree with you that it’s important viewing, especially for Kentuckians. While most of us are not involved in the coal industry, we are all adjacent to it and probably know at least one person directly affected by it(for me: my brother). It was mind-opening and heart breaking. Having lived in eastern Kentucky for half of my life, these are definitely my people. Though I have left those hills behind, those people have shaped who I am and will continue to do so. Their struggles are my struggles. Once upon a time I ran from my culture, and was on a one-woman mission to prove to the world that the hills are not full of just hillbillies. But, somewhere along the way, I realized that it was not through running from it, but rather embracing that part of my history that I show the world just how bright and amazing the people of Appalachia are. In a voyage of self-loathing, I once hated bluegrass music because it represented something I was trying desperately to shed from my skin. However, now it is the only type of country music that I would choose to listen to, because of its genuine, haunting qualities. Plus, I can hear in its tones the bridge across the ocean to the ancestral motherland (so to speak). So, the self-loathing, somewhere along the way, and I can’t say when exactly, turned into self-discovery. In a sense, the prodigal daughter has come home, if only in spirit. :)

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