My friends have been bugging me to watch this thing which they described as the jaw dropping funniest thing they’ve ever seen.
It has some funny moments, but man did anyone ever notice that like 99% of the “trouble” these wild rebels find themselves in revolves around procuring and selling narcotics and xanax? How was this just not a story about an entire family of drug addicts driven to crime by poverty and lack of treatment. Is there a methadone clinic in their area of West Virginia?
I’m not kidding the entire family is literally snorting opiate painkillers 24/7, seems none of them can go more than a few hours before taking a toot. One woman takes a toot right after the birth of her child in her hospital room, they keep the healthy looking baby for 72 hour observation(baby going into WD?) they are tooting while at the grandmothers birthday party. I can’t even remember how many times narcotic pills are shown, named, used, bought, sold etc etc.
This whole thing was kinda sad, they need treatment not to be idolized as rebels and free spirits.
I’ll raise you one and take it to ‘extraordinarily sad’. I don’t see why people love this show so much. It’s not even entertaining in a train-wrecky sort of way to me. If ever there were people who had no business having children…
That said, I love listening to Jesco White talk. Can’t put my finger on what it is exactly about his accent that’s so pleasant.
Yes, that it part of the point of that documentary. However, The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia isn’t the first or even the best documentary about them. Dancing Outlaw is much better and funnier but I don’t think it is on Netflix. It gives the history of the family but focuses mainly on Jesco as a much younger man (it was released by PBS in 1991) and how he took up the unique form of mountain dancing that his father invented before he was murdered.
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is more like a bastard sequel to Dancing Outlaw that focuses on the trash in their whole extended family. It works much better if you watch Dancing Outlaw first to know the real background story on it. Otherwise, it seems like just another reality show focusing on white trash - which it is in a way but Dancing Outlaw is something else.
It’s funny and atrociously sad. There are some things that are just meant to be out and out funny…but there’s a lot that is just straight. I don’t think it’s presented as a “funny” documentary at all.
I don’t think either of these is the intended reaction:
Both of those are really reductionist. There are parts that are funny but the family is extremely fucked up - and yes, most of their problems were of their own making to the point that your sympathy wears thin or runs out - but I don’t think you’re expected to view them only as rebels or screwups.
I don’t know but they do show you how to do the Boone Country mating call with them. You take the bottle out at a party, hold it up and shake it like a rattlesnake.
… not that one couldn’t make a documentary about real people handling snakes and speaking in tongues then or now, just that this documentary ain’t about that kinda hick.
My favorite part of that movie is when they cameraman is interviewing the mayor of the town and he says, “There was a kid raised down here from a very humble upbringing - he was admitted to MIT. Why aren’t you doing a documentary about him?”
Like Shagnasty said, you have to watch Dancing Outlaw to understand the whole Jesco story. I saw it not long after it came out with friends from work (I worked in Public Television for several years). The first time you see it it’s hard to believe what you’re watching is real. This coming from someone who grew up in rural Alabama.
Weird timing, just watched part of this film last week. I couldn’t finish it because I wanted to jump through the screen and beat the tar out of every one of those mouthbreathing, shit-for-brains, tumors on society.
I decided a long time ago that I wouldn’t use the word “hate” about anyone, but that film came awfully close to making me hate the Whites (except for their poor Grandmother).
Yeah, that movie made me sad and pissed me off. Especially the part where HWIII sings–they don’t take nothing from nobody… or something like that, and then later it’s revealed that they are all on SSI! Whatta load of crap.
