Shane and Amy Are going to Harvard

You probably remember The Gauntlet's interview for Shane and Amy Bugbee from a few weeks back. They traveled the country and interviewed several people from the underground, including Possessed's Jeff Becerra, Gene Hoglan, Ian Mackaye and many others. Now they are headed for Harvard.

For an entire year, Shane and Amy Bugbee traveled across America with their dog and turtle, a laptop, and a camera. They had no funding, no grants, and not even a credit card. The project became their new book and movie "The Suffering and Celebration of Life in America".

The couple, their dog and turtle, will again travel with no safety net as they spend their rent money to drive to Harvard for a presentation. They have only the hope that this might lead to further opportunities, and that they can successfully fund it with a kickstarteresque crowd funding campaign.

Shane and Amy Bugbee present an informative, edgy, and entertaining look at the fabric of America. Their book and movie resides in a class well above the typical travel tale, this is a trip that few would take on for a week let alone a year. They covered the election year without discussing candidates, but rather the climate of America and topics most are taught never to discuss in polite company - Politics, Art, Religion, and Revolution. Against all odds, the duo managed to produce more than 150 short videos, over a hundred blogs, more than 1000 hours of footage, and some 10,000 photos, which manifested into a 532 page book and 70 minute movie.

They survived as pioneers of new media, using websites such as Craigslist to find odd jobs and places to lay their head thanks to the kindness of strangers. They fed their minds by documenting the people they encountered, some random, some sought out. On their journey they captured an America that few scholars see and the media ignores. They spent time with artists, pig farmers, revolutionaries, waitresses, atheists, creationists, metal heads, and all points in between. They called it a "litmus test of America", and in the end it truly was.

Shane and Amy Bugbee come from outside the outsiders, as true underground trailblazers. They are conceptual artists and social commentators of the highest degree, but not from the ivy league, they are from the trailer park and the factory. Had they gone to the “right” school or come from the “right” zip code their plight and their view would be different. Then again, the stories they acquired never would have been told if anyone else was asking.

The Cultural Studies Club at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education will host a multimedia presentation from Shane and Amy Bugbee, who will discuss their travels and present short videos of several interview subjects, they will also explain the events that led to such a drastic venture.

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Appian Way, Cambridge, MA

April 30th, at 7pm

THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

• More on the book and movie

• The funding campaign

• The event on Facebook

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Tags:  Amy Bugbee, Shane Bugbee   

Jason Fisher    April 15, 2013