Blog 4: Carsey's Barber Shop

One of my favorite places to go in all of Athens is the old fashioned barber shop, Carsey's, located just at the end of Court Street. Upon opening the door, you are immediately greeted with welcoming smiles and hello's, as well as the aroma of shaving cream and barbicide (the blue disinfectant the combs are put into). I have been in there quite a bit over the past couple of years, mostly for a great old-fashioned haircut, but also to sit and listen to the stories and wisdom of older gentlemen.

I've heard all sorts of stories during my simple haircut from ones about one man being a Navy Seal during his day, to one about the time a man hit a fastball off a future major leaguer. Being in there almost seems like a movie setting with the big leather chairs, the traditional red-white-blue swirling post, and the decorative pieces hanging on the walls that are from a time that only my grandpa would know.

One day I was looking around the shop and noticed a picture of a man that looked older at the time, and the picture must've been taken awhile ago. So I asked the man cutting my hair who was in that picture, and he notified me that was, in fact, his father. His father was the original Carsey, and founded the barbershop in the 1940's. It has been an establishment ever since then here on Ohio University's campus, for all students and Athens residence to enjoy. He talked about stories of his father meeting a countless number of people a day, yet still having a good thing to say about them all. He also told of the time when the store moved locations, and also about how he decided he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps.

Carsey's Barber Shop is a true time capsule of Athens, OH and Ohio University itself, and I encourage anyone to stop by for an old fashioned haircut, or at least a good history lesson.

Blog 3: Around the World

One of the most notable stories that has always been told to my family members is the one he tells about him sailing around the world. Now before you get too excited, he was not like that teenager who just recently accomplished that feat on his own, rather it was in the 1950's while he was in the U.S. Navy. My grandpa was part of the USS Rudolph, and was mostly stationed in various islands in the Pacific Ocean as he was part of the Korean War. However, when war time was over, he was given the luxury to be able to sail around the world on the aircraft carrier.

He tells many stories of his experiences while on the ship, whether it be the time his best friend was almost eaten alive by a shark, or the many claims he has of meeting countless girls in every country. But whichever side-story he throws in there to spice things up, he still is able to exhibit an overall attitude of pride an accomplishment for what he did while serving our country,

My favorite part of the story is the more tangible item that comes with it. In my grandpa's basement is a huge certificate that is decorated with maritime figures and mermaids, etc and congratulate my grandpa for his achievement of sailing around the world. It lists the starting port, and ending port, as well as the dates. It is very detailed and extravagant, and truly a sight to see. 

This story is something I will definitely pass down to my children, as it is always a popular conversation already among my cousins, siblings, aunts and uncles.  

Blog 5: Breaking Amish, an Appalachian Exploitation

    In general, I'm not big fan of "Reality Television." I've taken a few classes on documentary film, and have even worked on a couple myself, and therefore know enough to postulate that few, if any, filmic representations are fully "real." Even within the realm of cinéma vérité docs, such as Barbara Kopple's academy award winning film "Harlan County, USA," there are always issues of truth. Any piece of footage which is "edited" thereby surrenders it's contextual complexity in favor of a narrative arc, which we refer to as "writing the doc". Often, contributors will be credited as "co-director" or "co-writer," in addition to "editor," as the process of shaping footage into documentary is so creativity-based. Filmmakers like to refer to editing as "discovering" the documentary, much like how Michelangelo explained sculpting; but what gets lost in the pile of gravel that's been chiseled away?

    As I've written in many of my blogs, my family farm is located near the heart of the largest Amish population in the world. The Amish I've known have always been neighborly, hardworking, and fair, and yet I find aspects of their culture oppressive, and even cruel. This duality persists, in my mind, due to the secrecy and isolation of their culture, one which relies on the threat of "shunning" as a means of dissuading defection. I believe that the rituals and practices that define the Amish lifestyle have both merits and deficiencies, and that the community's lack of transparency falls into the latter category. For this reason, I became extremely interested in TLC's "Breaking Amish" from the moment I first saw it advertised. Even better, one of the show's subjects, Jeremiah, grew up just a few miles from our farm.

    The Amish and Mennonite men and women of "Breaking Amish" have much to share with us. We experience with them their first airplane rides, their first hotel rooms, and their first time eating Sushi. From abhorrent dentistry to old world chauvinism, and even as far as bestiality, these kids air all of the dirty laundry they can think of. Between the elongated reaction shots, the intense mood music, and the frequent "next up" montage advertisements built into the episodes, the work feels very handled. The editors' method of presentation relies heavily on heightened suspense and the guttural "awkwardness" feeling you get when you watch someone embarrass themselves. It's effective, in that it keeps the viewer engaged with the characters, and, therefore, the commercial breaks, but it's also hard to swallow.

Reality TV Gossip: Is Breaking Amish Fake? 

    Entertaining as it may be, "Breaking Amish" is a difficult series to regard as "genuine." The exploratory essay I wrote details my understanding of the subjects' naiveté, biases, and truthfulness, as well their network exploitation. There were many skeptical online blogs, and even a few local investigative news reports, leading up to the 90 minute reunion special in which all of the "myths" of the show were finally debunked. Apart from the identity of Rebecca's child's father, the only remaining question is: what's next? They're clearly shunned from returning home, but are also, quite suddenly, internationally famous! What semblance of a normal life will they be able to salvage after this? And, now that the success of this show has almost guaranteed TLC will produce additional seasons, where, if ever, will it end?

Blog 4: NPR's "Modern Hunting" Segment

    Last month, NPR's "Talk of the Nation" ran a segment featuring huntress Lily Ragg McCaulou, author of the new book, "Call of the Mild: Learning to Hunt My Own Dinner." A few years back, McCaulou left her home in New York City for rural Oregon, in order to better understand where her food comes from. She has since become an avid hunter and spokesperson for local meat, and hopes to encourage more young people, especially women, to follow in her footsteps.

Talk of the Nation: Modern Hunting Lures A Younger Pack

   "Talk of the Nation" is one of a handful of NPR programs that I podcast, and, as usual, I was listening to this episode while I cooked dinner. Lucky coincidence brought this piece on as I was slicing up the last of my 2011 venison for Szechuan Chinese night. It was the final meal I cooked for my housemates before hunting season began, and McCaulou's careful arguments in favor of personal meat harvesting really spoke to my motivations as a hunter. This year, I was able to shoot a 4 pt. buck my first day out, and I can't wait to have fresh venison again. 

    I'll be going into further detail about this issue in future blogs and essays, but this article is a good jumping off point. Appalachia has a rich tradition of hunting as a food source, one that I hope will continue for as long as possible. As this article points out, the advent of a younger, and increasingly female, generation of hunters is coming. I'm a part of that generation, and I'd be glad to discuss it with anyone who's interested. If the only arguments for and against hunting you've heard have come from either the NRA or PETA, and you'd like to hear more from those of us in between, please start here.

Tucker & Dale Discourse

Scott O’Lone

ENG 3080J

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

Discourse

            In class we talk a lot about media that portrays Appalachia negatively. I have watched the film Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, multiple times and thought it was a good example of a positive representation of Appalachia. The film plays on the simple horror film genre, using two groups of characters. One group is all college students, while the other group is composed of two sensitive “hillbillies.” The film shows both sides, but this time the college students are the bad guys. The hillbillies are just trying to fix up their vacation home. The college students use those stereotypes to fuel their attack on these two innocent hillbillies. I think that the film is great because it disproves Appalachian stereotypes by making a joke out of it. This may be a new movement in media, where Hollywood continues to play on stereotypes, but also disproves them in the process. 

Blog 6: Discourse

                                                

                At the beginning of this course I was very unaware about the lives of people from the Appalachian region. To be honest, I really never had to think about the people of Appalachia because it really never affected me in any way. Now I am proud to say I have learned something new about the people of a hidden culture. Negative stereotypes filled my mind when I began this class and coming out of this class I have a better understanding of the more positive aspects of this society. Family values, strong community bonds, and hard working individuals is all that fills my mind now when I think of the people of Appalachia.

                When looking into why I previously thought this way, I am able to set blame upon the media, ignorance, and myself for not looking into something before forming an opinion. The people of this region are some of the most independent, hard working individuals that I have read about and met thus far. These people face issues that many people do not even need to think about and this is what creates their socially constructed views on society. It is sad to see how people nation wide to not know these people and what they have to deal with. One example of this is fracking and coal mining. These are two huge aspects in their society that really only they are directly affected by. The guest speakers who came in to speak to the class really gave great opinions on their stance of this society and the problems they face which was very interesting to hear about.

                                                      

                I think that nationally, our people need to start looking into these problems and meeting the people that deal with these particular issues. If this was accomplished I feel like people will not be so divided and stereotypical with their assumptions. Although I can blame myself for my ignorance, taking this class was a great step forward in providing me with insider’s views of a variety of different issues. I am glad I finished this class and actually took something out of it because many classes here at Ohio University you are able to go through and not taking anything from it. This on the other hand proved differently and a better understanding of this culture was the main goal.

Blog 2: Whistlin' and Crowin' Women of Appalachia

                                                           

            The book called Whistlin’ and Crowin’ Women of Appalachia: Literacy Practices Since College by Sohn has been a very interesting read. It lures you into the deep rhetoric behind the people of the Appalachian culture. It lets the outsider take a look into the lives of various people from Appalachia throughout the whole book that normally people would not see. More specifically, Sohn takes the reader into the lives of women and how their hardships have shaped their well-being and personality in today’s world. Each woman had shared their own obstacles and difficulties that they had to face while trying to earn a modest living and education. It was very interesting to see how different people in Appalachian culture viewed education and the way women went about their educational endeavors. 

            What was very surprising to me was the hardships that women of this region had to face in their everyday life. It was interesting to read about their journey to becoming educated and their struggle in Appalachian culture to become the breadwinner in their family. Although many of the women I have met are very intellectual and study to become something bigger in life, I figured the women of Appalachia would have been on the same boat as well but in fact, they were a little behind.

                                                 

            This book really showed me the positive attitude that Appalachians had towards their success in life. Up until this book, I only had the negative stereotypes to go by because the media and peoples’ opinions really don’t show the positive aspects of their society. I think that Americans should really open their eyes to these cultures that aren’t necessarily well known in order to have a better understanding of these specific cultures and this will in turn provide us with a different attitude towards ‘outsiders.’