Did anybody else watch Frontline last night?

[AlCzervik]

a three part series called "country boys" set in Kentucky, i was hooked after 10 minutes, part 2 is on tonight.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/countryboys/

[quiet.american]

1. Saw the trailer and still forgot to watch -- thanks for the reminder. n/t

[NYCGirl]

2. TiVoed it, haven't watched it yet. Glad to hear it's good. NT

[AlCzervik]

3. yes it is, i found my self rooting for them to succeed, especially Chris.

[triguy46]

4. Since PBS was first to air reality TV 30 years ago,

time for them to redux and join the mass media.

[kentuck]

5. Yes...

It was almost like they were living in two separate worlds - one in the computer age and one in the poverty of 100 years ago.

I thought the "pig scene" was quite memorable...

[AlCzervik]

6. omg that was really something and that pig was huge.

i really, really hope for the best for both these boys.

[kentuck]

8. Since I left that part of Kentucky about 25 yrs ago...

It was very interesting to me to see how much has changed and how much has stayed the same. The religion aspect has not changed. In desperate places, religion will always be prominent. And the relativity of circumstances - how they felt like they had moved into a mansion when they moved out of the trashy trailer and into a new double-wide. Very touching to me...

[AlCzervik]

12. yes the trailer part was touching, i had preconceived notions, i won't lie

but watching this showed me another side that i think i probably wouldn't ever see.

[kentuck]

15. ..and the conversation the boys had about the "government"..

As they were hiking on what looked like a strip road of a coal mine, and discussing SSI and survival, and one of the boys pointedly said, "we'd be dead if it wasn't for the government.."

[Bozita]

19. ... and churches

Pining for a kinder, gentler church.

[truth2power]

48. Well yeah, but in tonight's segment

the teacher was telling the class that according to Darwin, we all descended from apes, and then goes on to talk about how that's contrary to the bible, and of course all the kids agreed.

I was really put off by that. First of all, evolution does not claim that man descended from apes, but that humans and apes had a common ancestor. This was the science teacher, and just because she's teaching in a poor Appalachian area doesn't mean she should get a pass on teaching junk science. :grr:

[William769]

7. Being from the Appalachians in Kentucky

I can relate.

[blueknight]

9. it took me back to my roots.

even though i left there many years ago, it still bought a tear to my eye. i make trips back every now and then and sometimes it is a though time stood still

[William769]

10. I'm from Harlan County.

Then moved to Bell County when I was older. How about you?

[kentuck]

11. Born and raised in Bell Co.

Where did you live?

[William769]

14. Avondale Avenue. East end of town

By the entrance to the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (boy has that area changed since I was a kid).

[kentuck]

16. Close to the KY Fried Chicken ?

:) I was born and raised on Greasy Creek, down on 92.

[William769]

18. The other end of Avondale Avenue

Where the road use to go out to 25E, but because of the tunnel that end has been closed down (by the trailer park).

[Stephanie]

13. I missed the first ten minutes -

tell me what happened. How did they wind up in that private school? Is it a Christian school? I am definitely watching part two tonight. Fascinating story.

[AlCzervik]

22. no not a private or Christian school, an "Alternative" school for troubled

kids. Watch tonight, they'll fill the rest in, also the link has background info.

[Stephanie]

32. actually it is private and Christian

They seemed to have really good teachers.

About The David School

* Founded in 1974 with 10 students
* Private, non-denominational and founded on Christian principles
* Enrolls 75 to 100 students a year
* Costs $6,500 to educate each student annually, but tuition is token;most families only pay $30/month
* Supported by private donations plus funding from foundations
* Much of the school building was built by volunteers with donated materials
* Many teachers are long-term volunteers who receive a monthly stipend of $400 to $500
* Students (and teachers) do much of the day-to-day work at the school, from preparing lunchtime meals to sweeping the floors
* Before they can graduate, students must have a well-paying job or plans for further education
* Roughly 50 percent of graduates go directly to a two-year college or vocational training program
* About 30 percent go directly to full-time employment

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/countryboys/readings/greene.html

[peekaloo]

17. I saw part of the late (local PBS) rerun.

Did that one kid, Chris(?) ever produce his newspaper? He seemed like a good kid, just has little, if no self confidence.

[Stephanie]

21. No, he completely bailed on the newspaper

One excuse after another. Finally he said that he couldn't do it because the article were already outdated. This after he missed deadline after deadline to produce it. His mother's mantra is "manana." She encourages him to put off until next year (graduation) what you don't want to do now.

[peekaloo]

23. Thanks. Too bad. I fell asleep when he returned from Christmas break.

:-(

[kentuck]

29. He was helping his family move into their new trailer...

and he said his family was more important than the "newspaper"..He used that as an excuse..

[Arkansas Granny]

26. No, Chris didn't get the newspaper published. I think he was

overwhelmed by the project. He does seem like a good kid and I hope he succeeds in the next episode. It would be a tremendous boost to his self esteem. With his mother being uneducated (dropped out of school at 16) and his father an unemployed alcoholic, they don't seem capable of giving him the support and guidance he needs. I grew up with kids like this and it can be a dead end street for some of them.

[reelcobra]

20. amazing

Frontline is consistantly the best program on television. They did great pieces on Saddam when he was in power.

[Arkansas Granny]

27. I totally agree with you about Frontline. Even when they tackle

a controversial subject they carefully examine all sides of an issue and leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions. Great show with none of the hyped up drama you get with the corporate media "investigative reporting".

[newyawker99]

33. Hi reelcobra!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[u4ic]

67. Welcome to DU, reelcobra!

:toast:

[MsUSA]

24. Love Frontline:

will watch for sure, and thanks for the heads up.

[AlCzervik]

25. yw and please do wath, you'll be glad you did.

[recoveringrepublican]

28. Wish I could, but it wasn't closed caption. hmmmpf nt

[A-Schwarzenegger]

31. It was here in L.A.

[recoveringrepublican]

50. I think it might be my cable company, not sure how it works really

MSNBC was closed captioned when we had Dish Network, now we have Knology and only the first 30 minutes is CC. Some of the HBO channels also. Gonna have DH call and complain.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

51. Are you deaf or hard of hearing?

My hearing is not the best, and CC really helps with
shows with accents and mumbled talk and, with this show,
with a narrative going over conversations. Also use headsets
plugged into the TV (though they have wireless now).

[recoveringrepublican]

53. very hard of hearing

my aids help, but sometimes barely, though I think a lot of it may be in my brain. When I first put my hearing aids in and realized how much I had NOT been hearing, my confidence in what I hear just plummeted. Does that make sense? I have little problem hearing those I am use to, though you will hear me say "please repeat that" once in a while. Trying to have a conversation with strangers can be outright exhausting for me.

My mother is also hearing impaired, so I've been use to CC since I can remember. Headsets would do nothing for me, more so since those who make tv and docus love to put soundtracks over narration. sigh lol

[raccoon]

55. I love your handle. nt

[A-Schwarzenegger]

30. Kicked, it's wonderful, heartbreaking.

The asking-for-a-date scene, wow.

[Armstead]

34. Yerah, I could relate to that, and I'm well past teen=agerdom

[OKNancy]

35. You can watch online

at the PBS website.

[Stephanie]

36. Oh geez who saw that last shot?

OMG. That shot broke me up! If you go to the website, you see that the founder of the school is an idealist Brooklynite who went to Fordham, who went to Kentucky as a volunteer in the sixties and devoted himself to helping troubled students like himself.

When the incredible principle says her goodbyes and then they cut to him, it is heartbreaking. Imagine someone like him who devotes his life to helping others. What a life! How deeply he must feel that, when she leaves.

[Stephanie]

39. and I will just add, that the blonde principal or counselor or whatever

was incredibly brilliant! did you see the way she turned Chris around? that woman is a genius and I wish her the best of luck in future and I'm very sorry for the David School to lose her.

[Cats Against Frist]

37. I wanted to kick this thread

And thank you for posting. I watched part one, online, today, and just finished watching part two -- and I'm totally bawling. Maybe it's PMS, but I'm so emotionally involved. This is truly fascinating. If you like this, I would also recommend the documentary "Stevie."

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. Watching it now

These people are way strange. But I am hooked too.

[Stephanie]

43. the real hero of it all is LIZ

Liz is amazing. She saves that boy Cody single-handedly. And if you look at the website, she raised a family and then she raised six other kids - I don't know if they were grandkids or foster kids or what. But she saved Cody for sure. But he is such a bright kid.

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. Yeah what happened to his family?

Why did she take him in?

I missed the beginning.

[Stephanie]

52. His mother committed suicide post-partum.

His dad had six wives, and he murdered the last one and then killed himself. Liz is his step-grandmother from one of the marriages. The aunt who was supposed to manage his money but might be stealing it is from his dad's side of the family.

[hiaasenrocks]

40. I saw most of it last night, and most tonight.

By the halfway point tonight, I was hooked on it. Looking forward to tomorrow night's conclusion.

I'll admit that when I started watching it, it was because it was so foreign to me (the rural life) and there were some funny moments. Like the guy saying they should join the Army so they can get tattoos (and he was serious) and the comment "We should go get shots for that someday" (speaking seriously, of meningitis), and Chris coming up with the idea for the paper and then spending his Christmas vacation figuring out how to "get off the hook" and not do it, depsite it being his idea in the first place. I thought the people were funny. And, I admit, I was laughing at them.

However, as the story progressed, I really started to like the people, and I'm interested in how they turn out.

By the way, the reason that I have no problem admitting that I was laughing at them is because the show did what it was supposed to do: it educated me, and changed my mind about something I was obviously clueless about and about people I was looking down on.

I'm thankful I stumbled upon this show.

[Stephanie]

42. that's the genius of it

these are people we just don't know - but they are so cool - the problem is some of them are so damaged, too damaged to raise kids

[ornotna]

41. Yep

Watched last night and tonight. Tomorrow night should be a good show.

[faithnotgreed]

45. this thread caused me to watch part 2 tonight - a question

thanks everyone for discussing it
i watched tonight and like everyone else am by turns crying and laughing and hoping so much for those 2 (and their parents and the principal and everyone else i saw in it)

such dysfunction all around and such odds to overcome which is certainly not unique to kentucky
poor chris

so heres my question - what was going on in that scene in the parking lot between chris and his mom
after they had all talked in the principals office he says that his mom made him take the fall for giving kim drugs? and that he took the blame so that he could get back in school because she needs his ssi money which he will only receive if he stays in school (or turns 18)

whaaaaaat was going on with that
i felt i had come into the middle of a situation/conversation and had no clear idea about what i was hearing from him

what was everyones take on that scene

oh and im grateful for the principal
she was so great

[Bozita]

47. That was just Chris ... (It's somebody else's fault)

[faithnotgreed]

49. thats what i initially thought but she didnt deny a word of it

from what i saw anyway

thats part of what was so strange
he said she forced him to take the blame and his mom didnt dispute it
did i miss something
as i said it was like coming right into the middle of a complicated situation

but yes
chris definitely doesnt own up to his action/inaction
though he clearly wants to work hard and do well

[AlCzervik]

57. yes she asked him to say that, i was so angry and sad for him.

and when Mitzy left i was crying with them.

[faithnotgreed]

58. thats what i thought chris said and since

she didnt dispute it i was pretty confused
that came out of the blue for me and wasnt sure i had all the information

if true
with dysfunction THAT big this poor kid needs to get out of there
though he wants someone (who will listen to him) so badly im afraid for him on that front too

thanks for the response

[Cleita]

46. I saw the first part tonight. (My PBS is a day late.)n/t

[Beausoir]

54. Husband and I are hooked on this show.

Those two boys are just breaking our hearts. We keep waiting for something terrible to happen, but the boys just seems to perservere and keep moving forward.

Incredible strength.

[AlCzervik]

56. 2 things from last night, the first with Cody when he went to see his

grandmother because she wanted him to sign the paper saying he was happy with how they managed his money, he looked at the curtains she was messing with and she said they were expensive and you just tell by looking at his face that he knew they screwed him out of that money, that pissed me off. The other was with Chris, did you catch the part when his mother told him to say that he gave that girl the speed so he could still be considered a discipline problem so he could keep getting ssi. I felt really bad for him.

[Beausoir]

59. I hope they resolve what happened to his money.

Did his grandparents steal his money?

And yes, Chris's mom appeared to confess to wanting Chris to screw-up so she could continue to live off his SSI. And did anyone else notice the drastic change in her appearance? Dare I say it? Meth?

[AlCzervik]

60. I think his granparents did take his money, hoprfully it will be

resolved tonight. Cody said that his grandparents have to submit all the receipts and records of where the money went so that should be interesting.

[kentuck]

61. DU has several posters who were raised in that same area....

of Appalachia. They bring their perspectives to DU almost every day. They have lived in more abject poverty than the trailers - without heat, without electricity or running water. They have been down in those coal mines as children. Religion and music are very much a part of many of their lives. I am fascinated by this story since it has been about 25 years since I have lived there...

[boot@9]

62. riveting story...

makes me think of the David Alan Coe song...mama, trains,drinking,prison. Sublte shots of church signs. Wonder how many of the adults vote republican?

[kentuck]

63. I think the majority of counties in Eastern Ky are registered Repubs..

They voted for Eisenhower 'cause Lincoln won the War, as John Prine noted in one of his songs.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

64. Kick for Night Three.

On here in half an hour.

[XOKCowboy]

65. It bears a lot of resemblance to the Oklahoma...

I grew up in. People growing up with very little, very little prospects and still have lives like anyone else. Just a little difference in accent.

[Beausoir]

66. Damn! Chris didn't make it to college!

Just finished watching episode III of the fantastic documentary.

Those boys are both such wonderful people.

I hope they both find the success they deserve...whatever that may be.

[Stephanie]

68. Poor Chris

I feel really bad for him. It really does look like nurture won out over nature here. Cody had a suicidal mother and a homicidal/suicidal father. You'd think he might have inherited some of that emotional instability. But you see him with his families-of-choice - Liz, his girlfriend's family, his maternal grandparents, and you just see love and support from all of them and he turns out great. While Chris still has his family of origin, but they are too damaged to support him and he really feels it. Cody was an orphan but he was better off than Chris.

[kentuck]

69. Excellent point Stephanie...

Exactly.