Web site: www.wnpt.net/appalachians
Details
The vast Appalachia region stretches across 13 states and is home to more than 23 million people, yet it may be the least understood culture in America. Appalachia has existed for generations as a region apart, isolated physically and culturally by its rugged mountains. The ethnically diverse Appalachian people - including many of the country's first immigrants - played a profound, and often overlooked, part in the nation's history and cultural and economic development. THE APPALACHIANS, introduced by country music star Naomi Judd, is a comprehensive historical and cultural overview of this distinctive region. This three-part series documents the unique legacy, courage, character, arts and culture of the central and southern Appalachian people. The film includes the work of outstanding Appalachian historians and scholars, writers, poets and musicians, including Ricky Skaggs, Loretta Lynn, Vince Gill, Alison Kraus and traditional folk artists from the region.
TV Schedule
#103
[TV-G]
As the 20th century begins, the phonograph and the radio expose the mountain people to new influences and take mountain music across America. But times are hard, and Appalachia falls into an economic depression even before the rest of the country. President Roosevelt's New Deal brings electricity, WPA and CCC jobs, and new infrastructure, and FDR becomes a hero in Appalachia. Then World War II begins taking many young people away from the mountains, and postwar mechanization replaces coal miners and sends more people to Northern cities in search of jobs. For those who try to stay home, it becomes harder to hold onto land as state and federal governments claim property for dams and family farmsteads are flooded. The 1960s War on Poverty again sends federal aid into Appalachia, but television and magazines show painful images of hunger and poverty, reinforcing the stereotype of the poor hillbilly.
- KETKY Saturday, May 18 at 11:01 pm EDT
- KETKY Wednesday, May 22 at 9:00 pm EDT
- KETKY Thursday, May 23 at midnight EDT
- KETKY Friday, May 24 at 7:00 pm EDT
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DVD:
Price available upon request.
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