MovieChat Forums > The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2010) Discussion > I Like My Rebels to Have a Cause

I Like My Rebels to Have a Cause

posted 12 years ago by jjsjjs
2 replies | jump to latest

I saved this documentary to watch until I'd have time to savor it. Expecting to immerse myself in a different culture, different problems, solved in different ways.
I thought they'd be doing things like poaching to put food on the table, cutting wood illegally to heat with (maybe even high as a kite while doing it), dangerous jobs ....something redeemable in their rebellion or a cause they were working/fighting, for/against, for family survival. I got none of that out of it. And the matriarch's struck me as enabler's not saviors.

[–] sandifay62 12 years ago

You aren't supposed to get anything redeemable out of it. The movie isn't about inspiring people. It's about people that are in a dangerous, violent, abusive cycle. These aren't people you want to be. The family even says so in so many words.

They're what happens when generations of a family don't address their mental issues, live in a drug culture, and don't have any way with coping with problems besides drug use and violence. It's said by one of the town officials that they are a family with no purpose, no ambition, and just party all day everyday. Jesco mention how his family just can't get it together.

That's the point, this family is effed up and can't understand why, when it's obvious to us. They have addiction, anger issues, depression, and a whole lot of problems that can be addressed, only they don't want to. It's not a moral message movie, it's a character study. This isn't a "how we overcame" movie.; it's a "don't let this happen to you" movie.

[–] SweetD19 10 years ago

This movie kind of glorifies thier behaviors. Nothing about this really reads as a cautionary tale to me. Some of it is dark and sad but it seems to kinda be like just keep partying, someone else will pay for it.