Interview with Herb E. Smith, September 19, 2015

Partial Transcript: Um, it is September 19th, 2015.

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks about an experience he had involving a film shown by the Black Panther Party. He talks about how that experience shaped his views on film. He talks about how the political climate influenced the ideas he portrayed in his films.

Keywords: Black Panthers Party; Christianity; Churches; Coal industry; Council of Southern Mountains; Elders; Films; News; Old Regular Baptists; Poverty

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social life and customs; Appalachians (People)--Kentucky--Social conditions; Appalshop, Inc.

Partial Transcript: And, and these things, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm--I really enjoy that you're seeing the connections between that first, you know, Council of the Southern Mountains meeting...

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks about the production of "Coon on a Log." He talks about some of his decisions for making documentaries. He discusses some of the ideas that made it into the film that he didn't necessarily agree with.

Keywords: "Coon on a Log"; Documentary; Dogs; Faith; Hunting; Raccoons

Subjects: Appalshop, Inc.; Motion pictures--Editing.; Motion pictures--Production and direction.

Partial Transcript: Well you were making that film at the sa--the same time, roughly, that you were working on "In Ya Blood," too, which we talked about last time.

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks about making his first dramatic film. He talks about getting involved with Appalshop and going to Vanderbilt University.

Keywords: "In Ya Blood"; Drama; Editing; High schools; Ideas; Journalism; Vanderbilt University

Subjects: Appalachians (People)--Kentucky--Social conditions; Appalshop, Inc.; Education, Higher; Motion pictures--Production and direction.

Partial Transcript: Last question about this for me is just that, uh, you say you're running around with people who are activists and going and spending time with Myles Horton, um, on your way back and forth.

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks more about his education at Vanderbilt University. He talks about learning through hitchhiking 30,000 miles around the country. He describes the educational culture at Vanderbilt.

Keywords: Activism; Nashville (Tenn.); Students; Travelling; University of Kentucky; Vanderbilt University

Subjects: College students--United States--Intellectual life; Education, Higher

Partial Transcript: Well and then, in, in the middle of that you make a film about religion.

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks about some of the movies that he and his Appalshop friends made. He talks about developing his editing skills.

Keywords: Baptists; Cameras; Editing; Film; Religion; Skills; Techniques

Subjects: Appalshop, Inc.; Motion pictures--Editing.; Motion pictures--Production and direction.

Partial Transcript: In making the film, I'm, I'm curious about your, uh--if you don't mind talking about it, your, your, your relationship to, um, religion.

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks about making the film about the Old Regular Baptist Church and his relationship to the congregation. He discusses the parts of the Old Regular Baptist Church that he and his friends were attracted to, though he is not religious.

Keywords: Churches; Doctrine; Film; Filmmaking; Morals; Old Regular Baptists

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Religion; Appalshop, Inc.

Partial Transcript: Um, well it's, it's, uh--I enjoy knowing those connections, and, and, and, uh, I'm, I'm also interested in sort of seeing them together then.

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks about the role that Appalshop had in the identity of Appalachia. He discusses how Appalshop was in the middle of two viewpoints.

Keywords: Buffalo Creek flood; Country people; History; Regional issues; Strip mining

Subjects: Appalachian Region; Appalachians (People)--Kentucky--Social conditions; Appalshop, Inc.

Partial Transcript: In the late '70s too, did that--did the work become more about, kind of, uh, establishing Appalshop and, and, and maintaining these connections than, say, working on specific film projects, for you?

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks about what happened with Appalshop in the late '70s to solidify their position in the community. He discusses some of the things that made it possible for Appalshop to make their place. He talks about how people have responded to their criticism of the coal industry.

Keywords: Buildings; Coal companies; Community; Criticism; Economic conditions; Family

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Appalshop, Inc.; Coal mines and mining--Appalachian Region

Partial Transcript: I'm gonna, um, ask a, a couple more questions, uh, before we wrap up today, but I'm--I wanna kinda take what we were just talking about...

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks about some of the people who were influential in shaping Appalshop in the early years. He talks about the importance Appalachia has in politics, and how other regions affect Appalachia.

Keywords: Authors; Harlan County (Ky.); Mentors; Politics; Songwriters; Voters

Subjects: Appalachians (People)--Kentucky--Social conditions; Appalshop, Inc.

Partial Transcript: And, and, I think the reason we got on that, and this is where I want to go back to for one second is that--this idea of, um, you, you were saying you know that Appalachia is not a colony.

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks about the comparison of Appalachia to a colony and the similarities between economic conditions in Appalachia to colonialism. He talks about the problems in Appalachia's economy and how it should change.

Keywords: Coal companies; Colonialism; Creative destruction; Economy; India; Ukraine

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Economic conditions; Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Coal mines and mining--Economic aspects.

Partial Transcript: And I just wanted to kind of dig deeper, drill down a bit on that, because I think--I associate so much with the, the late '70s politics of the Appalachian studies, kind of, movement.

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks more about the similarities between Appalachian conditions and colonialism. He talks about the mining conditions in Russia and Ukraine in 1999.

Keywords: Coal companies; Colonialism; Creative destruction; Economies; Russia; Ukraine

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Economic conditions; Appalachians (People)--Kentucky--Social conditions

Partial Transcript: Well, it's fine. We've been going for a while and I guess that we're--we need to probably wrap up...

Segment Synopsis: Smith talks about the direction that Appalshop was going in the 1980s and how they solidified their position in the community.

Keywords: Community involvement; Films; Growth; Radio; Television

Subjects: Appalshop, Inc.; Motion pictures