“Faith, Family and Flag”: New book explores Branson’s enduring appeal
Branson is a top destination for Midwest families, not only for the colorful celebrations during the Christmas season but throughout the year. In her new book “Faith, Family and Flag: Branson Entertainment and the Idea of America,” Washington University professor Joanna Dee Das delves into the area’s appeal.
“In the 20th century, a lot of American cultural critics consolidated around the idea that listening to a whole opera or symphony, or a three-hour play, was highbrow,” she told St. Louis Public Radio. “Branson keeps alive a vibrant tradition of variety entertainment, where most of the songs people sing are covers. The jokes are corny. There is also the kind of classic comedic figure of Branson entertainment: the hillbilly. So Branson has been subject to mockery when really, to me, it’s a vibrant part of the American popular tradition.”
Her book also explores the complexity of Branson’s political identity. Christian principles, family orientation and patriotic tenets run through productions presented on its stages.
“There are some people for whom faith, family and flag are universal values that are prepolitical, that these are values of human beings,” Das said. “Others take up the mantle of that ‘faith, family and freedom’ trifecta that has been a part of conservative political campaigns since the 1980s and see it as a particular vision of America that is exclusive to others. Different people in Branson feel different ways.”
The seeds of the book were planted more than 20 years ago, when Das was a New York University graduate student. She felt the premise of Thomas Frank’s bestseller “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” had missed something with his argument about “white, middle- and working-class Americans voting with their cultural interests but against their economic and social interests.”
“What popped into my head at that moment was: ‘He’s wrong. If he would visit Branson, he would see how these strands of culture, economics and social values all weave together,'” she said, “and that woven thread is represented by the three primary values of faith, family and flag. So it’s a coherent message, not a contradiction, necessarily.”
Simply put, Branson is authentic in its Midwestern family values.
“Many people there are very genuine in that being Branson’s brand of hospitality, family friendliness, building community in the theater — all the things that people in the theater want to do in general across the country,” Das said. “Branson is a very important place for live performance in America and can tell us a lot about this idea of the American dream, what kind of values America represents and the battle over those values.”
–Dwight Widaman
