Appalachians Speaking for Themselves in the 1970s and 80s

218 Pages·2016·2.96 MB·English

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Theses and Dissertations--History History
2014
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Catherine N. Herdman
University of Kentucky, [email protected]
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Herdman, Catherine N., "Appalshop Genesis: Appalachians Speaking for Themselves in the 1970s and
80s" (2014). Theses and Dissertations--History. 19.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/history_etds/19
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The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on
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Catherine N. Herdman, Student
Dr. Ronald Eller, Major Professor
Dr. David Hamilton, Director of Graduate Studies
APPALSHOP GENESIS:
APPALACHIANS SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES IN THE 1970S AND 80S
DISSERTATION
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the
College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky
By
Catherine N. Herdman
Lexington, Kentucky
Director: Dr. Ronald Eller, Professor of History
Lexington, Kentucky
2013
Copyright © Catherine Nicole Herdman 2013
ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION
APPALSHOP GENESIS:
APPALACHIANS SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES IN THE 1970S AND 1980S
Appalshop, a multi-media and arts organization in Whitesburg, Kentucky emerged
in 1969 at the crossroads of several different developments. It started as a War on Poverty
program and its history exhibits the contradictory ideologies that fueled that effort and the
political changes that forestalled it. The production company began in the midst of
technological advances in media and is an early example of the democratization of
technology and the potential of portable video equipment in affecting social change. Most
importantly, its genesis is located within the context of a renewed interest in Appalachian
history and culture and the related issues of negotiating regional cultural identity in the
American national context. This one small organization in Eastern Kentucky provides a
window to a wide slice of American history and culture in the midst of profound changes.
Throughout the twentieth century the Appalachian region has been repeatedly
characterized in mainstream American culture in an overtly negative light. Appalshop
played an integral role in countering these characterizations and the stereotypes they
generated and reinforced. Technology became more accessible the second half of the
twentieth century. As a result, Appalshop was able to challenge these negative perceptions
of the region in the national mind by placing cameras, printing capabilities, drama, and
visual art in the hands of Appalachians. This allowed them to speak for themselves—first
to each other and eventually to the nation.
This dissertation focuses on the founding of the Community Film Workshop of
Appalachia, the subsequent abandonment of the project by the federal government, the
acquisition of control over its artistic output by artists and staff members, and its
expansion between 1969 and 1984. It also addresses the significant role Appalshop played
in the burgeoning Appalachian social movement context that emerged concurrently with
its founding and its related role as a social change organization.
Keywords: TWENTIETH CENTURY US HSITORY, APPALACHIAN HISTORY,
APPALSHOP, MEDIA AND SOCIAL CHANGE, DOCUMENTARY HISTORY
Catherine N. Herdman
Student’s Signature
11-25-2013
Date
APPALSHOP GENESIS:
APPALACHIANS SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES IN THE 1970SAND 80S
By
Catherine Nicole Herdman
Dr. Ronald Eller
Director of Dissertation
Dr. David Hamilton
Director of Graduate Studies
11-25-2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………………v
Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1
Chapter Two: Seeking Avenues of Expression and Change: From the Community
Film Workshop of Appalachia to Appalshop……..………….………….…25
Problem of Poverty……………………………………………………………....25
Community Film Workshops……………………………………………………30
Community Film Workshop of Appalachia……………………………………..33
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….53
Chapter Three: An Appalachian Consciousness Emerges….……...…..…………………………56
Community Film Workshop of Appalachia Films………………………………58
Press Coverage and Promotional Materials……………………………………..67
The Appalshop…………………………………………………………………..74
Appalachian Educational Media Project………………………………………...84
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….91
.Chapter Four: The “Great Leap Forward”……………………….………………………..……..94
June Appal………………………………………………………………………97
Roadside Theater……………………………………………………………......101
Photography…………………………………………………………………….107
Mountain Review Magazine..…………………………………………………..110
Films During ‘The Great Leap Forward”……………………………………….112
Video and Cable Television…………………………………………………….115
Distribution……………………………………………………………………...118
Film Screenings and Live Performances………………………………………..121
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………127
Chapter Five: Appalshop and Appalachian Social Movements……...……………..……...……129
Appalachian Social Movements-Antecedents and Influences………………….130
Appalshop and Appalachian Social Movements……………………………….134
Human History Project…………………………………………………………163
Institutional Changes and a New Building……………………………………..174
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...178
Chapter Six: Conclusion-- Hope for the Future: Documentary, Identity, and Social Change..….184
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….…………..195
Vita…………………………………………………………………………………………….....210
iv
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1, Appalachian Regional Commission Official Map of Appalachian
Region and Subregions…………………………………………………..20
Figure 2, Appalachian Film Workshop’s Humble First Home……..………..…….41
Figure 3, Versions of Organizational Diagrams…………………….…...…………96
Figure 4, Red Fox’s Second Hangin’…………….………..………………………104
Figure 5, Subject Index…………………………………...……………………….162
Figure 6, Appalshop 1982-present………………………...……………………….178
v
Chapter One
Introduction
“Appalachians Speaking for Themselves”—In the 1970s this goal inspired the
founders and helped direct the development of one of the nation’s most important regional
media, culture, and arts organizations. The simple idea underlying this slogan is pregnant
with complexities about America in the second half of the twentieth century. The
organization that became Appalshop emerged in 1969 at the crossroads of several different
developments. Film production began in the midst of technological advances in filmmaking
and Appalshop’s films were early examples of the potential of portable recording
equipment. The new technologies available increased the utility and effectiveness of
documentary film in social movements for justice, equality, and minority rights emerging
from countercultures and minority groups that challenged the status quo in American
society. Appalshop’s genesis was also an integral part of a renewed interest in Appalachian
history, culture, and society—an Appalachian renaissance in the 1960s and 70s. This one
small arts and media organization in Eastern Kentucky provides a window to a wide slice of
American history, culture, and media in the midst of profound transformation.
Appalshop began as the Community Film Workshop of Appalachia (CFWA), which
was one of many Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO)-sponsored job training programs
for minorities across the United States. Rapidly improving recording technology was part of
the inspiration for the film programs because it made the processes easier and the necessary
equipment more portable. The students at the CFWA were immediately more interested in
filmmaking than in job training—in part because they had little hope of securing
employment in the target fields without relocating away from home. The program required
1
three minute practice films, but the first CFWA film was ten minutes in length and
subsequent films were increasingly longer and more in-depth.
OEO program funding provided access to expensive equipment that made the
workshop student artists’ work possible. For the first time, amateurs could easily transport
and use cameras capable of synchronous sound recording. When the program was
discontinued in 1971, the director and some of the original students kept the equipment and
continued to produce documentaries about communities in the Appalachian region under the
new name of Appalshop.1 Appalshop quickly became both an integral part of the
Appalachian renaissance and a salient example of cutting-edge international trends in
documentary filmmaking made possible by the newly available technological
advancements.
Appalshop artists began screening their films almost immediately. They were
generally well received and, in some cases, celebrated with glowing reviews and awards. In
creating these films, the students at the CFWA were participating in an international trend in
documentary filmmaking. Documentary film cannot be easily or rigidly defined. Broadly
understood it includes films ranging from straightforward informational pieces to avant-
garde visual experiments so complex they are impenetrable to the average viewer. The
advent of portable digital technology, docudramas, “reality” television, and amateur
recording popular in recent years has complicated the genre even further. However, to
generally be considered a documentary a film must purport in some way to be non-fiction,
authentic, real or true. Documentaries are important “reality-shaping communications”

1 The one exception to the characterization of Appalshop’s early films as documentaries is In Ya Blood,
which is a fictionalized docudrama. In Ya Blood, directed by Herb E. Smith, (Whitesburg, KY: Community
Film Workshop of Appalachia, 1971), VHS.

2