Author Archive | Matt Box

Join us Thursday, October 22nd at 7:00 p.m. for a crazy comedy-horror movie the puts the “wild” in wildlife!

Admission is FREE – Tickets are required

This event will include a pre-show presentation by Dr. Tiffany Arnold

About the film

Loosely based on a true story, Cocaine Bear is the tale of a black bear in the forests of Georgia who happens upon a stash of cocaine that was lost by some smugglers. Like any curious and hungry ursine would do, the bear eats the powder. Now intoxicated from its meal of Columbian cornflakes, the bear goes on a rampage and starts killing everything in its path! Meanwhile, the smugglers can’t just let their product rot away in the forest, so they embark on a journey to track down their bricks – ultimately facing a showdown with a mean-tempered beast that stuck its nose where it didn’t belong.

About the speaker

Dr. Tiffany Arnold is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the College of Health Sciences and Professions where she coordinates the Appalachian Studies Undergraduate and Graduate Certificate Programs. Additionally, she teaches Public Health and Environmental Health Courses focused on Appalachian studies.

One of Dr. Arnold’s interests is the way that the Appalachian region is portrayed in films and in the media, and she draws upon this interest to help others think critically about their own perceptions of the region and, most importantly, where these ideas come from. Complicated portrayals in the media often come up in popular culture in the form of mainstream horror films or “thrill-billy” films. While the film Cocaine Bear is based on a series of true events, Dr. Arnold will discuss how dramatic interpretations of true events can be both problematic and entertaining at the same time.

Check out the rest of our Hills & Hollers Series Line-Up

This series is sponsored by University Libraries, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Honors Tutorial College, OU School of Film, and The Office of Signature Academic Experiences.

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Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online

95 MIN

Thursday 10/227:00

Join us Thursday, November 12th at 7:00 p.m. as our Appalachian Stories Series continues with a haunting and unforgettable documentary about coming of age in a landscape that has been left behind!

Admission is FREE – Tickets are required

About the film

This powerful, intimate, and multi-faceted documentary from filmmaker Laura Paglin delves into the day-to-day lives of the local residents of Piketon and Pike County, Ohio. As the story moves from person to person, an image emerges of a close-knit community struggling to keep its identity while factors like poverty, drug addiction, lack of opportunity, a constantly-shifting cultural landscape, the construction of a nuclear waste storage facility, and an unsolved murder all threaten to erase the values and quality of life that took generations to build. Though the future often looks bleak for Pike County, this film beautifully relates the struggle between the temptation to give up and the urge to hold on.

About the speaker

Laura Paglinis a documentary filmmaker whose more recent films have dealts pecifically with struggles of marginalized communities. No Umbrella–Election Day in the City, which brings us a street level view of election day chaos as it played out in one inner city poling location, premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and aired on HBO. Facing Forward: A Student’s Story, which follows a charismatic but troubled teenager at a strict new inner city charter school, aired nationally on PBS. Paglin’s Unseen tells the complex and horrific story of the Anthony Sowell serial murders that were discovered in Cleveland, Ohio in 2009. Distributed by Filmrise, Unseen has become one of the more popular documentaries on Amazon Prime, having made it to many “best of” lists.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT: As a long-time Ohio resident, I hadn’t known about Pike County until a 2016 mass murder brought it into the national spotlight. Curious, I visited in 2017, expecting to explore the tragedy’s aftermath but found myself more drawn to the people, the landscape and stories unrelated to the crime. To gain deeper access into the lives of the these individuals, I lived at the budget motel featured in the film. Over time, a larger story of generational struggles emerged—from drug abuse to environmental degradation, to the murders themselves rooted in a child custody dispute. I realized a traditional narrative wouldn’t capture Pike County’s complexity, so I adopted a thematic approach, allowing each story to stand alone while contributing to the community’s portrait. This method let me juxtapose the community’s pain with its caring, joy, and resilience.

Check out the rest of our Hills & Hollers Series Line-Up

This series is sponsored by University Libraries, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Honors Tutorial College, OU School of Film, and The Office of Signature Academic Experiences.

Share this Film

Click on Showtimes to Get Tickets Online

78 MIN

Thursday 11/127:00