September 4
Inventing the Indian: This is a fascinating one, focusing on the public image, the common perception of what being a Native American aka Indian is, and how much of that is just fabrication by the media.
With Rich Hall’s copious film references, particularly on the adaptations of Geronimo’s life and the book The Last Mohican, and with Indian hosts and interviewees, you get a real sense of what life is like in the reservations and what Indians think of the United States and its people.
September 18
Continental Drifters: This is the only Rich Hall documentary you can’t easily find on YouTube with good quality, but I managed to get my hands on it anyway, so if you can, I do recommend it.
Unlike the other documentaries on this list, this film doesn’t look at a state or culture through the film lens but is instead an exploration of a film genre, using many examples to explain its themes, tropes and of course, history, including its parallels with human history and how their times influenced the spirt of the genre.
The genre in question is the Road Movie, from the adaptations of The Grapes of Wrath to Thelma & Louise
September 25
How The West Was Lost: Through films such as The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, Little Big Man, The Wild Bunch and Unforgiven, Rich charts the rise and fall of America's obsession with its own creation myth - the Wild West. He explores how the image of the cowboy as a moral, straight-talking heroic figure was created by Hollywood but appropriated by Washington, as one president after another sought to associate themselves with this potent symbol of strength and valour.
From Tombstone to Texas, Montana to Wyoming, Rich travels across a landscape that is both actual and mythic in the minds of not just Americans, but all of us. With his customary wit and intelligence he unpicks the truth from the fiction of Hollywood's version of frontier life, draws parallels between popular western narratives and America's more questionable foreign policy, and celebrates the real heroes of the west - John Ford, John Wayne, Sam Peckinpah, Arthur Penn and Clint Eastwood.
Filmed on location in Arizona, Montana and Wyoming and incorporating interviews and archive clips of some of the best-loved westerns of all-time, the film is Rich Hall's personal salute to a genre of film he feels passionate about.
October 2
You can go to Hell, I’m going to Texas: This colourful titled documentary explores, as you might guess, the state of Texas and what it’s like living there, the culture in particular and what it means to be Texan. It’s an attitude, there are bragging rights and certain things you can only do and get away with if you’re Texan.
October 9
The Dirty South: In this documentary, Rich Hall explores how cinema represents southern USA, from the northern stereotypes to the self-delusions from the region itself and how some of the most prominent works from the south have backfired, creating world-known images of retardation (cue banjo sounds) in the South.
In addition to this it also explores the politics, history, religion, music and society of the South from the early 20th onwards.
October 16
Working for the American Dream Award-winning comedian Rich Hall explores the American dream and the dictum that came over with the very first pilgrims who set foot on Plymouth Rock - work hard and you will succeed.
With his sharp wit and acerbic insight, Rich looks at how Americans strive to achieve this dream and how it's been explored and perpetuated by politicians, industrialists, artists, writers and film-makers.
Rich also looks at the dark heart of the American dream and considers what happens when the dream turns into a nightmare, including the Great Depression of the 1930s, the boom and bust of Detroit and the modern demise of America's shrinking middle class. The land of opportunity has attracted all comers to live the American dream, and Rich Hall explains if it actually exists or if it's just a myth that's become unobtainable for Americans.
October 23
Countrier Than You Award-winning comedian Rich Hall takes a country music journey from Tennessee to Texas to look at the movements and artists that don't get as much notoriety but have helped shape the genre over the years.
With the help of prominent performers and producers including Michael Martin Murphey, Robbie Fulks and Ray Benson, Rich explores the early origins of country music in Nashville and Austin. He visits the rustic studios where this much-loved sound was born and discovers how the genre has reinvented itself with influences from bluegrass, western swing and Americana.
Rich also explores how the music industries differ between these two cities and how they each generated their own distinct twist on the genre, from cosmic country and redneck country to the outlaw artists of the 1970s. Through Working Dog, a three-minute self-penned soap opera about a collie dog, Rich illustrates how different styles can change.
As he unearths the roots and inner workings of country music, Rich finds it's more than just music - it's a lifestyle.
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