The Wild & Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

I purchased this so I could show it to my friends when they come over. It is nuts!! Hilarious! Redneck! And a little terrible to see how some people live.

Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia,This documentary is a teeny tiny glimpse at what is going on in these United States of America.Officials may see it as a flagrant misuse of the "system" however I view it as point and casethat "We The People" are failing each other. Many will persecute this family for taking advantageof our countrys federal dissability funds. However it clearly states that when the Father at thehead of the family tree was still working full time, he pleaded with the government for assistancewith medical bills for his family (natural born) and others aquired through social circumstances.His plea for help was denied. So he did what any survivor would do, he figured out a way to "work"the system to get what he needed. Initially this started as a man/father providing for his familythe best he could. Since then it has bread generation after generation of "entitled" dependants.These people and countless others truely believe the world owes them a "Living".It is as simple as monkey see monkey do. Each generation degrading themselves and the system worsethan the last. In the documentary this family is referred to as the Last American Outlaws. You may wishthey were the last, sadly they are a small fraction of what is going on in epidemic proportions intodays society. I can relate to this family on many levels, or should I say I can relate becauseof several relatives.I too have some hillbilly outlaws in my family tree. Given the right opportunitiesthey do crazy enough things that people would pay to see them fail miserably at their contributionsto todays society. Watching this with my jaw dropped I could not help but feel like a rubber necker at thesite of a horrible crash. I love the genuine honesty of this family while at the same time my heart breakswatching the little faces of the children as they observe their examples. The new generations of the White familyare taught early to give up on life, education,goals,gainful employment, and sobriety. They are a strong enoughfamily that some one right now already has the capability to stop the cycle, but given their lack of financial resources and the history their name bears it makes it nearly impossible. One of the White sons has broken thecycle for he and his family by removing himself from the area. This man and his family were interviewed in the film.You could still see the family resemblance however the ethics and day to day priorities were far from those still in Boone County.Bottom line- Dont judge these people, take a look at your self and how you may be contributing to this type of life. Churches and families used to pull together and help each other out in times of need. Now our government hastaken over and they are failing all of us miserably.Weather you are a welfare recipiant or a financial sponsor(taxpayor) each and every one of us is playing a role.Still It is not my place to judge them nor is it any one elses. There is a lot to learn from the White family.As they are a small glimpse into the reality of our world today.

Excellent Documentary, but sadly this is only one family of perhaps 10's of thousands in America

This documentary focuses on a year in the life of the "White" family from Boon County, West Virginia - a rough, uneducated group of offensive, offending, shiftless, law-breaking, carousing, drug- and alcohol-addicted "hillbillies" who seem proud of their defiance of civilization, their ignorance, their confederate flag (a ubiquitous motif) and their talent for violence, murder and early death. Apparently, they have garnered some measure of notoriety, if not fame, in their locality for their relentless and chronic criminal exploits as well as their deceased father's legendary country tap dancing prowess.While it is unquestionably fascinating and provocative to observe and consider how chaos and aimlessness have taken over generations of this family, the bleak emptiness of their lives quickly overshadows the comical ridiculousness of their uninhibited buffoonery, especially when ignored and neglected (fatherless) children appear randomly in the periphery of a scene - cursing, smoking, climbing walls after 30 Coca Colas, and acting out imaginary scenes of violence. I found myself wondering whether any of them had ever read a book or gone to school, their ignorance seems so all-consuming. Yet, they are clever cheaters: their coal-miner patriarch (perhaps the last one who held a legitimate job in this family) apparently managed to ensure that all of his offspring qualified for - and collected - Social Security disability benefits on the basis of mental illness. This, ironically, is not far off from the truth of things, it seems to me.There are hints as to why this family disintegrated into entrenched poverty and dependency: the legacy of a coal-mining company town which held its miners and their families in virtual servitude to poor pay, ill-health, and dangerous working conditions. These hill communities developed around mining operations which monopolized and controlled the local economy and drove out any competition, severely restricting opportunity for the residents. In the wake of decades of this grinding exploitation (apparently before labor laws and unions leveled the playing field somewhat) many hill people fell into ruin, despair, and cynicism - the sad ethos of the Whites."The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia" is a film hard not to watch and laugh at, like a bad reality show where the 'stars" will say and do just about anything for attention. The film-makers, however, short-change us on the pathos of their subjects, creating caricatures rather than character-studies. They tantalize us with clues as to the complex reasons for the White's destructiveness and destruction, but don't examine the underpinnings in rich enough detail or nuance to satisfactorily account for this family -, whose born and unborn members seem permanently, eternally doomed - which is really no laughing matter at all.

Does not play on blu ray DVD player

thumbs up!

Excellent!

One of our favorite documentaries of all time.