country boys
I saw the first part of Country Boys on PBS last night. It’s a documentary mini-series following two boys growing up in Floyd County, Kentucky, a very poor area of the Appalachians. Chris lives in a trailer in a “holler” and has trouble getting his work done at school, often missing school to take care of his alcoholic father. Cody is in a Christian metal band and has a girlfriend he talks about marrying.
I found it really interesting. It’s easy for people to make fun of people like this, but this is life. This is how a lot of people live their lives. Growing up in probably the biggest city in the Appalachians, I wasn’t far from people who lived in similar situations, but we still made fun of people from West Viriginia. I think in some ways these people are more America than a big city like San Francisco.
The challenge of watching a program like this is not simply not passing judgement, but trying to understand them. Or you could just say they’re a Red Stater, that they should be kept in the mountains or made a separate country called “Jesusland,” laugh your cynical laugh and go on feeling superior. Wait, which group is supposed to be the “open-minded” ones?
You can watch the first episode online and the next two episodes are tonight and tomorrow, I believe.