by Gail Hairston

(Jan. 27, 2015) ‒ From Reverence to Resistance, a series of lectures about Appalachians on film, begins today with “Genre and Jessica Lynch” at 2 p.m. today in William T. Young Library Auditorium.

Stacy Takacs, author of “Terrorism TV,” will discuss how Hollywood can “spin” a war. Her lecture will answer the question “Was West Virginia soldier Jessica Lynch really a female Rambo, and did the military make her a damsel in distress who needed to be saved from Iraqis?”

The next lecture, Hillbilly Horror, is slated Feb. 24, presented by Emily Satterwhite, author of “Dear Appalachia.” The lecture will focus on Appalachian slasher films like “Wrong Turn,” a series of six movies about deformed cannibals hunting in West Virginia.

The last lecture in the series, Goodbye Gauley Mountain, takes place March 24, and welcomes filmmakers Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle to campus to discuss their documentary about the Appalachian Mountains in the age of King Coal.

The events are sponsored by American Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, Appalachian Center, the English Department, and the Environmental Sustainability Program. All events are free and open to the public.