Interview with Marty Newell, November 14, 2015

Partial Transcript: Alright. It is November 14th, 2015. Rayna Gellert and Jeff Keith sitting here with Marty Newell, um, and, uh, in your home.

Segment Synopsis: Marty Newell is introduced. He talks about his family's connections to Appalachia. He talks about his father's education and work with Consolidation Coal Company and a coal company run by the Gatliff family. He talks about other relatives' involvement in politics.

Keywords: Ancestors; Coal companies; Coal economy; College; Connections; Consolidation Coal Company; Family history; Farming; Fathers; G.I. Bill; Gatliff family; Herb Smith; Jim Webb; Laid off; Lewis County (Ky.); Maysville (Ky.); Miners; Mining engineers; Mothers; Moving; Navy; Politics; Relatives; Siblings; State Senate; University of Kentucky

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Coal miners; Coal mines and mining--Appalachian Region; Education; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Families.; Family history.; Jenkins (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: So through all this you moved a lot and I'm gonna now--

Segment Synopsis: Newell describes his childhood in the coal camp of Highsplint. He talks about the economics of company towns, and the hierarchy of workers and their families. He talks about pickets, segregation in the camp, and why he did not attend the school in the camp.

Keywords: Awareness; Brookside Strike; Bus stations; City schools; Commercial bus; Commissary; Doctors; Driving; Duke Power; Gatliff family; Harlan County USA (film); Houses; Mothers; Non-union; Power structure; Railroad tracks; Roving pickets; Scrip; Section manager; Small communities; State police; Upbringing

Subjects: African Americans--Segregation; Childhood; Coal miners; Coal mines and mining--Kentucky--Harlan County; Company stores; Company towns; Harlan County (Ky.); Highsplint (Ky.); Rural schools--Appalachian Region

Partial Transcript: So how, uh, how old were you when you all moved from H, from--

Segment Synopsis: Newell talks about how his life changed when his family moved to Whitesburg. He briefly talks about the politics of the Vietnam War. He talks about meeting Herb Smith and Bill Richardson in Whitesburg, and his introduction to what would become Appalshop. He talks about the media attention Whitesburg was receiving around the time his family arrived in town.

Keywords: Bill Richardson; CBS; Differences; Establishing shots; Herb Smith; Home; Media attention; Moving; Representation; Schools; Student deferment; Tensions; The Mountain Eagle; Town; Vietnam War

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Appalshop, Inc.; Letcher County (Ky.); Whitesburg (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Um, I was going to ask about that but what I want to ask about now is, uh, related more to the Gishes.

Segment Synopsis: Newell talks about his family's views on activism and their relationship with local activist families the Gishes and the Caudills. He talks about the difficult economic conditions in Appalachia due to the boom and bust coal economy, and talks specifically about his own family's hardships. He talks about his own early political thoughts regarding the coal industry and the Vietnam War.

Keywords: Archives; Bankruptcy; Boom and bust economy; Caudill family; Caudills; Coal economy; College; Consolidation Coal Company; Family; Finance; Gish family; Gishes; Money; Mothers; Mutual respect; Opinions; Political activism; Stressful; Tensions; Vietnam War; Whitesburg (Ky.)

Subjects: Activism.; Appalachian Region--Economic conditions; Coal mines and mining--Kentucky; Politics and government

Partial Transcript: I want to backtrack before we talk about UK a little more because I'm--I, I didn't run with it 'cause I wanted to hear more about the, the politics...

Segment Synopsis: Newell talks about his early interest in film, influenced by a film crew visiting Whitesburg, as well as Bill Richardson and what would become Appalshop. He talks about the early equipment he worked with, mainly recording local high school basketball games. He talks about Bill Richardson as a mentor, and his reflection on the question of why they were filming what they filmed. He discusses his education. He talks about the differences between film and video.

Keywords: "So what?"; Basketball games; Bill Richardson; Cameras; Carl Bennett Banks; Classes; Connections; Dave Adams; Different; Display windows; Enduring; Existential questions; Film crews; Film editing; Film equipment; Films; Frame of reference; Journalism; Lasting; Learning; Math; Mentors; Permanent; Reel to reel; Reflection; Science; Shooting film; Stories; Teachers; Teaching; Technology; Video; Video recording; Whitesburg High School; Writing

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Appalshop, Inc.; Documentary films--Production and direction.; Documentary films.; Ethnographic films.; Motion picture cameras.; Motion pictures and teenagers; Motion pictures and youth.; Motion pictures--Editing.

Partial Transcript: I'm curious about your, uh, perspective on the culture of Appalshop in those early years.

Segment Synopsis: Newell discusses the culture of Appalshop and the relationships between the older members and the younger members. He talks about the inherent political messages in the films they made. He discusses why the young filmmakers were interested in making films about the people of their grandparents' generation.

Keywords: "In Ya Blood"; "Uncle Dave"; Bill Richardson; Changes; Connections; Courthouses; Dave Adams; Documenting; Elders; Existential questions; Films; Gas stations; Interviews; Joe Reynolds; Josephine Richardson; Kent State Massacre; Older generations; Political; Rebelliousness; Shooting film; Stories; Subculture; Visiting grandparents; Wood carving; Young people; Youth culture

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Appalachians (People) in motion pictures; Appalshop, Inc.; Collective memory and motion pictures.; College students--Political activity.; Documentary films--Production and direction.; Documentary films.; Ethnographic films.; Filmed interviews.; Motion picture producers and directors.; Motion pictures and teenagers; Motion pictures and youth.; Motion pictures--Philosophy.; Motion pictures--Production and direction.; Motion pictures--Social aspects.; Regionalism--Appalachian Region

Partial Transcript: Thank you for that answer.

Segment Synopsis: Newell talks about how the young filmmakers got paid in the early days, first through creating commercials for Appalachian Adult Basic Education, then later receiving a grant from OEO. He explains how Appalshop was able to keep the equipment loaned to them by the OEO training program.

Keywords: Appalachian Adult Basic Education; Bill Richardson; Carl Perkins; Commercials; Community Film Workshop Council (CFWC); Contracts; Film; Film equipment; Funding; Gear; George O'Halloran; Jobs; Mode of operation; Money; Need-based compensation; Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO); Paid; Politics; Representation; Training programs; Video; Whitesburg (Ky.)

Subjects: Appalshop, Inc.; Documentary films--Production and direction.; Documentary films.; Motion picture cameras.; Motion picture industry--Finance.; Motion picture producers and directors.; Motion pictures--Production and direction.; Wages--Motion picture industry

Partial Transcript: And the nineteen--let's see, probably in 1972, early '72, there was--yeah, there--a--we heard about a grant program from the Episcopal Church called the General Convention Youth Program.

Segment Synopsis: Newell talks about how Appalshop became associated with Al Cox to make films for the Episcopal Church. He talks about traveling across the country, as well as internationally to film. He talks about Al Cox and the Maysles brothers as mentors.

Keywords: Al Cox; Albert and David Maysles; College; Film equipment; Film making; Filming; Funding; Grants; Interviewing; Mentors; Mimi Pickering; Shooting film; Traveling

Subjects: Appalshop, Inc.; Documentary films--Production and direction.; Documentary films.; Episcopal Church; Filmed interviews.; Motion picture cameras.; Motion picture industry--Finance.; Motion picture producers and directors.; Motion pictures--Production and direction.; Wages--Motion picture industry

Partial Transcript: Alright this is Jeff Keith and Rayna Gellert interviewing Marty Newell.

Segment Synopsis: Newell tells stories about traveling across the country as well as internationally to film for the Episcopal Church. He talks about learning about political consciousness across diverse communities including Mexican Americans, Black Panthers, and Native Americans. He tells a story about filming in Guadalajara and being taken to a brothel. He discusses what he calls a "watershed moment" in his life.

Keywords: Al Cox; Appalshop, Inc.; Black Panthers; Brothels; Chicanos; Coors Brewing Company; Coors beer; Dee Davis; Devalued; Driving; Drugs; Guadalajara, Mexico; Language barriers; Marijuana; Meetings; Mexican Americans; Nightclubs; Paul Gordon; Pay inequality; Political consciousness; Politics; Scott Faulkner; Seminary students; Serendipity; Taxi cabs; Tony Slone; Traveling; Watershed moments; Young people

Subjects: Appalshop, Inc.; College students--Political activity.; Community activists.; Documentary films--Production and direction.; Documentary films.; Ethnographic films.; International travel.; Motion picture cameras.; Motion picture producers and directors.; Motion pictures and teenagers; Motion pictures and youth.; Motion pictures--Philosophy.; Motion pictures--Production and direction.; Motion pictures--Social aspects.; Political activists.; Politics and government

Partial Transcript: Well I, I'm--want to wind this down cause we've been going for--

Segment Synopsis: Newell talks about his self-awareness as an Appalachian and how that affected his work as a filmmaker. He talks more about the inherent political nature of Appalshop films. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: "Place"; Appalachians; Coal mining; Council of the Southern Mountains (CSM); Ethnographic filmmakers; Films; Graduate students; Myles Horton; Outsiders; Perspectives; Reactions; Roles; Self-awareness

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Appalachians (People) in motion pictures; Appalshop, Inc.; Collective memory and motion pictures.; College students--Political activity.; College students--Social conditions; Documentary films--Production and direction.; Documentary films.; Ethnographic films.; Motion picture producers and directors.; Motion pictures and teenagers; Motion pictures and youth.; Motion pictures--Philosophy.; Motion pictures--Production and direction.; Motion pictures--Social aspects.; Political activists.; Politics and government; Regionalism--Appalachian Region