[Country Boys] In some ways, we’re all ‘Country Boys’

From The Kansas City Star

By AARON BARNHARTThe Kansas City StarWhy spend six precious hours immersing yourself in the lives of two young Appalachian teenagers as they go through the often mundane motions of turning from boys into men?

Because it is a privilege to do so. Or rather, filmmaker David Sutherland makes it a privilege to walk side by side with Chris Johnson and Cody Perkins during three crucial years that will steer the trajectory of their lives. Nothing is special about either boy, except insofar as there is something special about every boy.
Thanks to Sutherland’s eye and ear for detail, we form an impression of Chris and Cody and their family situations, their vulnerabilities and their potential, all in the first half-hour of this three-night “Frontline” presentation on PBS.
And as events unfold in Cody’s and Chris’ lives, details are added, and we feel that sense of caring known as shared experience.

As a storyteller, Sutherland uses our time well. He insinuates himself so deeply into our empathies, in fact, that we find ourselves responding to Cody and Chris like the nurturing parents that neither boy had. The second reason to watch “Country Boys” is that it is impossible not to realize, at some point, that your TV has turned into a looking glass.

Yes, there are moments when the hollers of eastern Kentucky seem about as removed from our realm of understanding as the earthquake-ravaged areas of Pakistan. But more likely, especially if you are a male — and in particular, a male who grew up among broken families — you will have “there but for the grace of God” moments watching “Country Boys.”

Alcohol, drugs, teenage pregnancy, emotionally needy parents, the loss of a job. Any one of these things can make the difference between happiness and misery no matter who you are.

At the same time, Sutherland provides constant visual reminders of the pervasive poverty that grips that region. In such conditions, there is almost no margin for error. Either boy’s dreams could be disrupted at any moment.

And yet, though they live in deepest Appalachia, Chris and Cody are fortunate to attend a private alternative school where they are mentored by teachers who are ready to give them every opportunity to succeed in life.

There is nothing special about these mentors, either. That, I think, is the message of “Country Boys,” as it challenges us to pay closer attention to the children coming of age around us.