FAMILY & SURVIVAL: American Hollow

Once again, If you feel a spark about anything in the film, you’ll do much better pursuing it than using one of these prompts. But lest ye flounder, here are some tidbits for thought. Outside reading and some documentation may be necessary.

1. Rory Kennedy set out to make a film about poverty in Appalachia. Presumably, she would gather “individual instances”—the Bowlings—and draw conclusions that interpret this “data.” The longer she lived with and filmed the Bowlings, the more she knew her original goal needed to change. If the film is no longer about poverty in Appalachia, what is it about? What conclusions does she appear to be drawing? What conclusions do you draw? Give examples?

2. Clint seems to be in the grip of his wish to marry. What makes him so hell bent on it? What does marriage mean to Clint? What does he expect from it? Who is he anyway? How do family members see him? How does he see himself? What is his relationship with Shirley all about?

3. Mudlick Hollow is its own world out of step with mainstream America. Much is made of the issue of leaving. At least one of the women manages to make socio-economic progress in the region, but that’s not a reliable goal, especially for the men who appear to have an either/or option: Leave for Cincinnati and try to make a go of it, or remain, jobless, in Mudlick Hollow. Why is it so hard for them to leave—and stay gone? What could account for the relative success of David?

4. Rural poverty is not something most of us are exposed to. It’s invisible and, in the hill folks’ situation, inaccessible. How else does rural poverty differ from urban poverty? International students may wish to consider similarities and differences between the varieties of poverty in the US and poverty as it exists in your countries.

5. Does poverty exist in your family? Now or in the recent past? How does poverty make itself felt? Do any of you have family in Appalachia? What is the influence of the region on those who live there and those who left? In what ways did the Bowlings resonate with you?

6. What are the Bowlings’ family values? What might be a/the family’s motto?

7. A theme of spousal abuse runs through the women’s’ stories. Does it seem to constitute a family script passed on through generations? If so, what might explain it? How do the women come to terms with it? What about the men? Does Samantha’s victory over it have positive consequences for her children, and perhaps Bowling girls of the future? If you have personal experience of domestic violence, what insight do you draw from the film?

8. A proposed TV show, a “reality TV” version of The Beverly Hillbillies, has resulted in vehement objections from people in Appalachia who resent the comic stereotyping of their region. Indeed, especially in the North, people seem willing to ridicule the hill folk, mimicking their accents, and joking about their behavior and clannishness. Are you from a population subjected to stereotypes? (Perhaps you have roots in the hills, yourself, and can comment.) What does this mean? Sometimes people within the culture can make fun of it among themselves (e.g., the fellow who does the You know you’re a redneck comedy routines), but find it unacceptable coming from outsiders. What explains the ridicule? Does it make us feel superior? What? A number of Kentuckians from the towns near Mudlick Hollow saw American Hollow as a participant in the continued reinforcement of comic stereotypes, not because of Kennedy’s treatment of the Bowlings, but her choice of them as subjects. What would you conclude?

9. Are the Bowlings a dysfunctional family? (You’ll need to consider what the principle of dysfunctional family means to answer this deductive kind of question—no “according to Webster’s, please—ask if you want to know why not to) Why or why not? What are their strengths? Weaknesses? To what extent do all families have particular strengths and weaknesses? (How about families you know?)

10. People in the US middle class tend to feel contempt toward those on welfare. Yet a number of the Bowlings (some do hold factory jobs) can’t survive without assistance in a society with far more sophisticated, transient, and hectic requirements What would you have them do? What would they lose by leaving the holler? What would they gain? Some psychologists find it disturbing that we have lost the concept of extended family, that nuclear families are left with too few resources, remote from family, at stressful times. Extended families seem “impractical.” Yet the Bowlings seem to have one. Are you from an extended family? What are its benefits for you? Disadvantages? How does your extended family compare wit h the Bowlings? Are you from a nuclear family? What were the benefits and drawbacks? Is there any way to have the best of both?

11. Iree Bowling is, beyond even her husband, the leader of the family. What insights can you draw from her life, circumstances, and outlook on life?

12. Documentary films like American Hollow involve the filmmaker in an intimate relationship with his or her subject(s), especially so in Kennedy’s case, living with the Bowlings for a year. Surely they had an impact on each other. Indeed a number of filmmakers have an enduring connection with their subjects, as does Kennedy. She has, for example, made contacts that allow Iree to sell her quilts for a good price. But trust can be betrayed when the filmmaker must tell the truth through film and that truth may not be flattering to the subject. Under what conditions is it ethical to enter such a relationship? What sort of ground rules would you envision? Is it possible for a trusting relationship and artistic freedom to co-exist?

THE BOWLING FAMILY TREE