Appalachian Outlaws

By Heather Adcock ENGL 336:001

Frostburg’s Historic Palace Theatre is a quaint establishment. Its atmosphere is reminiscent of days past, the creaking of the wooden floorboards and the slightly musty smell of the rustic building seem to send those seated within back in time. It is the perfect place to show a film featuring one of Appalachia’s most notorious families, the Whites. The film is entitled The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. Released in 2009 it documents Boone County, West Virginia’s White family, moving from its artistic routes to the families’ now current drug-addled and violent state.

The story of the White family begins with the man D. Ray White. An accomplished tap-dancer he was the patriarch of his family. Jacob Young, producer of an earlier documentary of the White family, spoke fondly of D. Ray White and his abilities: “he was one of the greatest artists to come out of the hills.” D. Ray however met his end in 1985. Gunned down in a drug deal gone wrong, his death sent the White family spiraling downward into the unrelenting grip of drug addiction and violence.

The documentary follows the family for a year, gaining insight into the inner workings of the clan and the true depth of their dysfunctional nature. Drug usage is a daily occurrence throughout the family. Members do not hesitate to list off their drugs of choice on camera, as well as how they both acquire and gain profit from them. One scene in particular stood out among the rest, showing just how drug centered the family really was. It was Bertie Mae’s, family matriarch and D. Ray White’s widow, 84th birthday party. Despite her constant protests, her children and other family members spent the party snorting up and ingesting a variety of different drugs. This scene made it quite clear that, as Young stated, there is a “desperate need for intoxication” within the family. It’s as if they need it to function.

Other incidents are brought to light as well, including the sentencing of Brandon White. Brandon received a 50 year prison sentence for the attempted murder of a family member and a night long stand off between police. Kirk White was also shown attempting to overcome her drug addiction in order to regain custody of her, then newborn, child.

This film weighs heavy on the mind. It shows a level of despair many can not even imagine. “It just damn depressing!” Young laments after the film. This statement is as true as any. A depressing truth is laid upon the audience as the film closes. No sense of closure is given, no sense of finality or triumph. It only leaves the viewer cold, wondering what would happen to the family next.

Young urges the audience however not to focus on the violence and the drugs, “it’s not all about drugs and drinking. There’s an art beneath all of it.” He claims if the viewer takes anything away from the film “take away an interest in D. Ray’s art, his dancing and his music.” This is the best advice to be given concerning The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. The families struggle is a hard and bloody one. It is shocking as well as saddening, but it was not always this way. There is good in this family, there is a lesson to be taken away from their triumphs as well as their mistakes.