Wanda

MOUNTAIN LAURELS MEDIA INSTAGRAM

MOUNTAIN LAURELS MEDIA SUBSTACK

SUPPORT MOUNTAIN LAURELS

Happy October everyone. I know I can’t be the only one excited that it’s finally fall in the mountains. Don’t get me wrong, I love most of what summer has to offer, including the wonderful bounty I was able to produce in the garden this summer, but I’m tired of mosquitoes and sweating in places unseemly. Of course, the colder weather presents new challenges, like the two mice my cats have been chasing around my house, but at least they seem to be having a good time…

The fall also means it’s time for this podcast to crank into high gear again, and I’m so excited to be starting season 3 off with an episode focused on Barbara Loden, a writer, director, and actress from the mountains of Western North Carolina. Barbara starred in films such as WILD RIVER and SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS, both directed by her husband Elia Kazan, as well as several Broadway productions, like The Highest Tree (opposite Robert Redford) and Arthur Miller’s After the Fall, for which she won a Tony Award.

Barbara’s most notable work is the 1970 film WANDA, which she wrote, directed, and starred in. Set in the coalfields of western PA, the film follows the main character, Wanda, as she drifts through life a bit aimlessly and finds herself as an accomplice in a bank robbery gone wrong. I’m going to admit this is not a perfect, or maybe even good, synopsis, but I’m being intentionally vague because I think it’s a film everyone should watch.

If you’re wondering why you may not have heard of Barbara or the film WANDA in your Appalachian studies class, there’s reason for that, and Lora Smith, who joins me for this episode, is on a mission to reclaim Barbara as an Appalachian artist.

I hope you enjoy this conversation, and if you haven’t seen WANDA, no worries. There are no big spoilers in this episode, but hopefully after listening, you’ll be eager to watch.

You can find WANDA streaming via the Criterion Collection app, and it also happens to be on HBO MAX right now!

Thank you to Hayden Miles, who created the music for this episode. I’ll be back in two weeks with a new episode! Until then, I hope you stay warm and enjoy the beautiful foliage the mountains have to offer this time of year. Talk soon!