Documentary project in W.Va. involves residents in hopes of helping McDowell County turn itself around

A documentary project focused on the McDowell County in southern West Virginia is asking residents to use various forms of technology to discuss the many stereotypes associated with the Appalachian coalfield community, including population loss and its potential for the future.

Then-Sens. John F. Kennedy
and Jennings Randolph with
coal miners. (State archives photo)

Hollow, An Interactive Documentary, combines personal documentary video portraits, user-generated content, photography, soundscapes, interactive data and grassroots mapping on an HTML5 website and will consist of 20 to 50 community-made short documentaries in efforts to build engagement and social trust and empower the community to work together for a better future, according to the filmmakers' website.

McDowell County (Wikipedia map) has experienced a boom-and-bust economy, but its experience is similar to many rural towns, reports Brittany D. McClure of the Valdosta Daily Times. Over the past 25 years, more than 700 rural counties, from the Plains to the Texas Panhandle to Appalachia, lost 10 percent or more of their population, she writes, adding that population loss has negative effects not just on the economy, but on the overall quality of life for those residents who remain.

“There’s a lot of places across the country that have sort of been hollowed out,” Valdosta State University assistant professor Jason Brown, who contributed to the project, told McClure. “This project is really about trying to talk about how to continue these communities.” (Read more)