This morning I heard that there is a documentary about the trashiest of white trash. Maybe on Showtime or HBO. Anyone seen this? From what I've heard it has a certain trainwreck appeal.
Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
- Thread starter Bodhisattva
- Start date
My first read was that this was a documentary about ethnic "whites", and I was about to get all up in arms. But in defense of the film, the documentary appears to be about a family named "White". From the trailer, looks like it might be entertaining.
Haven't heard of it, but I loves me some train wreck. Caught a few episodes of My Big Fat Redneck Wedding recently. Allow me to recommend. This one dude is a taxidermist and he and his fiance went out and killed two squirrels for him to mount and use as their cake topper. Winning! :biggrin2:
Quote from my brother-in-law about W. Va.:
"West Virginia is a place that makes Mississippi look like Southern California"
"West Virginia is a place that makes Mississippi look like Southern California"
West Virginia has the oldest population in the USA, I believe. The young people leave when they get old enough.
I lived there two and a half years (on the VA/WV state line, but in VA!) and there's some of the worst poverty in the USA in that area, stretching into Eastern Kentucky.
But, the people by and large are resilient, hard working and charitable. It is just not an ideal place to live.
If HBO seeked out a "white trash" family to expose, they could have found that in any of the 50 states. I imagine West Virginians will take exception to this program.
I lived there two and a half years (on the VA/WV state line, but in VA!) and there's some of the worst poverty in the USA in that area, stretching into Eastern Kentucky.
But, the people by and large are resilient, hard working and charitable. It is just not an ideal place to live.
If HBO seeked out a "white trash" family to expose, they could have found that in any of the 50 states. I imagine West Virginians will take exception to this program.
It is a couple of years old and is almost too much to believe. It fosters every hick/redneck/inbred/hillbilly stereotype all into one family.
The documentary is pretty popular in an underground sense. It's the same family that brought us "The Dancing Outlaw" Jesco White.
Jesco White - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jesco White - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
watching the trailer i couldn't help but think in my best inner foxworthy voice:
if you've ever wore a tank top to a funeral ..... :biggrin2:
if you've ever wore a tank top to a funeral ..... :biggrin2:
i was a transplant from dallas, tejas via tuscaloosa, so i was one of the more aculturemerated onesThat explains a lot of the posts I've read from you.:biggrin2:
For those of you with an interest in Appalachian mountain culture (and an hour and a half to spare), here's a 30yr old documentary on Appalachian foot dancing (buck, flatfoot and tap). The music, culture and dance has always been to me an intriguing mix of Scottish, Irish and African rhythm, all boiled down in a pot of possum meat and corn mash.
Link
The documentary features the patriarch of the White family, D. Ray White, who apparently was a well-known and renowned Appalachian dancer. Perhaps a look at young Jesco (the central character of The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia) as well.
Link
The documentary features the patriarch of the White family, D. Ray White, who apparently was a well-known and renowned Appalachian dancer. Perhaps a look at young Jesco (the central character of The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia) as well.
I watched this documentary several years ago, and then caught the new one a week or so ago on HBO. 'Jesco White, The Dancing Outlaw' is absolutely hilarious. You really do need to watch it before you see 'The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia.' I think you can pretty much watch the entire original documentary about Jesco on youtube.
Here is my favorite part from the first one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc3SEBA-9nU
Another classic...about sniffin' gas...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FffzU7F6Lc&feature=related
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Coming from a family with roots in the coal fields of southern West Virginia (my grandfather was a coal miner until a mine accident crippled him, after which he was let go and became an alcoholic), I don't doubt that the characters are real. When the coal seam went bust, the bottom dropped out of the only real industry in the area. A drive through the coalfields is a depressing thing today.
Nowadays, the coal mining done there is done through mountaintop removal. It is a destructive, ugly process (wells for miles around are rendered non-potable due to the amount of heavy metals released into the water table), but the legislature in Charleston lets them get away with it.
Nowadays, the coal mining done there is done through mountaintop removal. It is a destructive, ugly process (wells for miles around are rendered non-potable due to the amount of heavy metals released into the water table), but the legislature in Charleston lets them get away with it.
the mountain top removal is a damn shame. on top of the lives its destroying, that area is beautiful country
I agree. I love me some mountains. Another cruddy thing is that it takes next to no workers to do it, just a handful of heavy machine operators, so it doesn't even really create (or retain) many jobs. My grandmother was from Keystone, WV, and the mountain just south of town has been decapitated, leaving a flat-topped hill and an ugly scar.
I almost hate to admit it, but I own a VHS tape of "Dancing Outlaw" which was the first Jessco White saga. It was on West Virginia Public TV back in the 80's, I think, and it was a documentary. It's like a train wreck - you can't possibly turn away from it. I'm telling you - it is fascinating that people actually live this way! My friends and I have been enjoying it and quoting it for years. I DVR'ed the latest saga when it was on Showtime. I have a pretty good collection of "white trash" tapes I've collected from "Cops" episodes through the years and other stuff that friends have passed on to me. I guess i'm fascinated by white trash... Has anyone seen the new show on Showtime - "Shameless"? It's yankee white trash at its finest.
yep, that's one of the things i hate worst about it. coal mining is a crappy, tough job, but it was honest work and supported a lot of familes. the folks pushing it continually use the "jobs" angle. and they have the gall to say the mountain is better after they "reclaim" it than before.
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