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Open Country is an absolute revelation, pulling back the curtain on the real, working-class roots of country music. This film brilliantly uncovers the transatlantic influences and the rich, multicultural contributions that have shaped the genre. As a Brit with a deep appreciation for genuine storytelling, I was utterly amazed by how it challenges the sanitized, corporate version of country music we've been fed. It's an eye-opening journey that reminds us of the true spirit of the people's music, rooted in struggle, solidarity, and resistance. This is a must-see for anyone who cares about the authentic history of country music and its powerful impact on our collective culture.
- Jack Clarke, Independent Manchester (UK) based film producer, photographer, and host of the UK desk for Arts Express on WBAI 99.5FM.
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This film is an antidote to the right-winging of country music, reminding us of the multicultural contributions, labor struggles, and resistance to oppression and grinding poverty that was the crucible of country music. It makes many of today's
good 'ol boys
whining about drinking and losing the lover they misbehaved with (and being forced to travel in $250,000 tour busses) seem more like a collection of commodifiedbrands
pretending to be representing a romanticized past.- Peter Coyote is an accomplished actor who has appeared in more than 160 films. He is also a distinguished writer, a songwriter, a musician and an Emmy Award-winning narrator of over 200 documentaries including the recent 8-part series on Country Music that aired on PBS.
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Open Country tells the real history of the people's music in an un-slick and authentic style that matches the true working-class origins of country music. Get ready to see the whole corporate notion of
country music
get blown up!- Bill Daniel is an artist; author; Guggenheim recipient; and filmmaker of Who Is Boxo Texino?, a documentary on railworker and hobo graffiti.
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Open Country offers a fresh take on received truths about country music. The film is a thoughtful, provocative and entertaining journey through an alternative narrative revealing where one of American popular culture's biggest industries came from.
- Fred Glass, author, From Mission to Microchip: A History of the California Labor Movement.
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Through the lens of folk music vs. country music, Open Country brilliantly explains the corporate and cultural forces that have worked to obscure natural alliances among poor whites and poor blacks in the US South and elsewhere.
- Constance Penley is a feminist film and media theorist, a professor, a Rednecks for Black Lives supporter, a founding editor of Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies and a contributor to White Trash: Race and Class in America.
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Inspiring! Finally, a film that dispels the long-held myth that country music is the music of bigots and racists.
- Hy Thurman is the author of Revolutionary Hillbilly; founder of the Northern Alabama School for Organizers and Blues to Bluegrass, Inc; and co-founder of the Young Patriots Organization, a group that organized urban communities in Chicago with the Black Panthers and the Young Lords as part of the First Rainbow Coalition.
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Open Country raises a beautiful middle finger to the rich and reminds us that the roots of Country music spring from working-class solidarity!
- James Tracy, author of Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times.
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A fun, self-driven documentary!
- Monica Stark, journalist, The Davis Enterprise.
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This film shows us how radical old-time country, gospel, country and protest songs have shaped the heart and soul of this country. We need to tap into this radical inspiration again NOW! A beautiful, powerful and extremely moving film.
- Beth Stephens is an artist; educator; co-producer/director with performance artist Annie Sprinkle; and creator of the film Goodbye Gauley Mountain, An Ecosexual Love Story, about environmental destruction in West Virginia.