bitemeloser145

planktonrules says this is the type of film wishes s/he wishes they could "force children and teens to watch," and I wholeheartedly agree. I *will* be showing this film to my (college-level) literature classes in the near future. My primarily white students need to see this because they desperately need to see and hear people of color (in particular black folk in this film) as complex, deeply human humans, and my students of color need to see people like them/more like them, to hear their voices, recognize themselves, for their experiences to be legitimized on screen.

This film interviews a variety of people--black men, white men, and especially "dark girls" of every complexion and body type, not shying away the uncomfortable and complicated facets of skin color, especially in the US, but also globally.

I grew up in the Ozarks, a member of a hillbilly clan buried deep in the hills, and this movie met me homesick. It's a wonderful portrayal of Cracker culture--the pain, the joys, the violence, the lyricism, the misery, the beauty of poor white Southern life. It's a way of life that is largely unknown except through gross caricature. This stunning documentary manages to catch a glimpse at it largely without condemnation, pity, or derision. I must admit, however, it does throw in a hefty dash of Southern Gothic.

As several commenters have pointed out, this is not a complete view of Southern culture, but merely one sliver. I'm not sure that the movie would make that entirely clear to outsiders. Of course the small town (white Pentecostal) South is not "the South." Nevertheless, it is a strand of Southern culture that deserves artistic scrutiny. This documentary is an excellent effort in that direction.