Moundsville
A Small American Town in the Age of Trump
"An Appalachian Saga That Is Different From Most Youāve Already Heardā¦. The Moundsville film, by Miller and Bernabo, presents the results in a way different from most other documentaries Iāve seenā¦ worth watching."
ā James Fallows, The Atlantic
After PBS Run, āMoundsvilleā Goes Free on YouTube
Dave and I never dreamed our movie about a classic American town, made with a $4,000 grant from the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, would end up on 338 PBS stations.
Moundsville: A Small American Town in the Age of Trump
"Moundsville" is the biography of a classic town, from the Native American burial mound itās named after, through the rise and fall of industry, to the age of WalMart and shale gas, and a new generation figuring it all out. Told through the voices of residents, the story covers an arc that includes Moundsvilleās Native American origins, white settlement, Marx toy plant (it made Rockāem Sockāem robots), legendary prison, first black mayor, post-industrial decline, and current small businesses. The constant is the mound, a Greek chorus reciting timeās insistence on change. By reckoning with deeper truths about the heartland and its economy, without nationalist nostalgia, liberal condescension, or talking about Trump, āMoundsvilleā plants seeds for better conversations about Americaās future. This film is funded in part by the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council through the LIFT Grant. Visit moundsville.org for more information and a wealth of articles about the town of Moundsville, West Virginia.