‘Tol’able David’ up next in Appalachian Silent Cinema series

On Nov. 7, the Film Studies Program will be screening “Tol’able David” at 7 p.m. in the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough as the next screening in their Appalachian Silent Cinema and Live Old Time/Bluegrass Screening Series.

The screenings are organized by Film Studies Program Co-Directors Dr. Chelsea Wessels and Dr. Matthew Holtmeier. Wessels elaborated on why “Tol’able David” was chosen for the series.

“‘Tol’Able David’ is not only set in Appalachia, but it was shot here and the director, Henry King, is also from Appalachia,” said Wessels. “The series is using films that are in the public domain, and we prioritized accessible films from the region that would appeal to a range of audiences and could open up conversations about other issues in relation to Appalachia.”

Following the screening of ‘Tol’able David,’ there will be a discussion of gender and masculinity with Dr. Phyllis Thompson of the Women’s Studies Program in relation to this coming-of-age film.

“Today, media is taking up the question of gender, recognizing gender as historically, socially, politically constructed and integral to an examination of power,” said Thompson. “Film has for some time been interested in exploring constructions of masculinity in communities across regional boundaries and national borders, as well as across various times in history.”

According to Thompson, media and film is important to the framework of viewing who and how and what gets represented.

“In ‘Tol’able David,’ we have opportunity to also discuss the ways in which interlocking aspects of identity – or intersections such as class, race, sexuality – affect the ways in which masculinity is performed and the potentially damaging consequences of associating violence, protection and/or financial providence with masculinity,” Thompson said.

“Whether a silent film from 1920 or popular media today, media tracks these associations over time: traces the role of men and boys in perpetuating or resisting structures of gendered inequality and archives perceptions in specific cultural locations of time and place,” Thompson said.

The event is free and will include live music in conjunction with the film by the Roper Twins, students in the Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Studies program at ETSU.