The Rural America Documentary Project; The Darlene Chronicles
- Episode
- The Darlene Chronicles
- Producing Organization
- WPSX-TV (Television station : University Park, Pa.)
- Contributing Organization
- The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip-526-hq3rv0f354
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- Description
- Series Description
- "Most documentaries capture a moment in time. A few capture a life as it was lived, year by year, over many years. The Darlene Chronicles is an observational documentary shot over a 25-year period about an Appalachian woman living in rural poverty. It is part of WPSX-TV's long running public affairs series on rural life titled 'The Rural America Documentary Project.' "Darlene (27 years old when we first meet her, in 1970) lived in a converted hunting cabin without running water or indoor plumbing. Visiting With Darlene was the first of three programs produced about Darlene's rich and complex life--a life with her husband, 5 children, and male companions. Visiting has been used by hundreds of colleges, universities, secondary schools and community groups since 1970 in efforts to understand the personal dimensions of poverty. "Over the next quarter century, documentarian P.J. O'Connell (author of Robert Drew and the Development of [Cin'ma V'rit'] in America), followed Darlene as her children grew up, moved away and became estranged from their mother. In a longitudinal study matched only by the '7 UP' series, O'Connell returned again and again to Darlene and her family. O'Connell was a nearly invisible presence, recording their day-to-day lives without the intrusion of outside voices or views. "Then, in 1995, as Darlene moved form the tumble-down cabin into the deteriorating home she spent decades saving to buy, O'Connell assembled a 25-year chronicle of Darlene's life. This new home still lacked indoor plumbing, but Darlene's personal life was as complex as ever as a new companion had entered her life and her grandchildren began growing up in the same poverty she knew so well. Through it all, Darlene remained as open as ever in allowing the most personal details of her life to be recorded. "Enclosed for your consideration please find articles about WPSX-TV's public affairs series, 'The Rural America Documentary Project' which was created by P.J. O'Connell in 1976 and featured Darlene in its very first program."--1995 Peabody Awards entry form.
- Broadcast Date
- 1995-01-18
- Asset type
- Episode
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
-
-
Producing Organization: WPSX-TV (Television station : University Park, Pa.)
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the
University of Georgia
Identifier: cpb-aacip-35d48ded3b9 (Filename)
Format: U-matic
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
- Citations
- Chicago: “The Rural America Documentary Project; The Darlene Chronicles,” 1995-01-18, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 27, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-hq3rv0f354.
- MLA: “The Rural America Documentary Project; The Darlene Chronicles.” 1995-01-18. The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 27, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-hq3rv0f354>.
- APA: The Rural America Documentary Project; The Darlene Chronicles. Boston, MA: The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-hq3rv0f354