Whitesburg Epic - Vietnam War Responses
Whitesburg Epic (Bill Richardson, 1971) 9 minutes
One of the very first films in the Appalshop catalogue, Whitesburg Epic, is unique in that it uses “man on the street” reportage to investigate the issues faced by people of Appalachia. The young filmmakers headed out onto Main Street in Appalshop’s hometown of Whitesburg, Kentucky and interviewed local people about growing up in a small town, their reactions to the war in Southeast Asia and the recent massacre at Kent State. Shots of youth outside of Main St. businesses and a spontaneous point-of-view car ride around the downtown strip – accompanied by the bluegrass music classic ‘Salty Dog Blues’ by a local mountain group – all combine to provide a energetic, playful (evident in the ‘Epic’ of the film title) but particularly moving portrait by the filmmakers of their community.
Preservation made possible by a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Preservation work done by Cineric, Inc.
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