Southern Highlanders was a part of the Ford Motor Company’s “Americans at Home” series and tells the story of folks living in the Great Smoky Mountains in 1947. It has more emphasis on the positive aspects of mountain life as opposed to many other films primary focus on poverty. The film captures the music, faith, and lifestyle of rural Appalachia as well as anything I have watched from the era.

This is the only episode of the Americans at Home series that I’ve seen so far but it must’ve been designed to have more of an uplifting tone and take on the subject matter they present. I like to watch things that leave me feeling more of a sense of pride and celebration rather than gloom and doom, as is too often the case.