HBO documentary looks at Bend, Oregon, and other U.S. towns facing challenges

"Our Towns"

The HBO documentary, "Our Towns," is inspired by the nonfiction book by James and Deborah Fallows. (Photo: HBO)

After asking readers of The Atlantic to share stories about their towns that hadn’t received national press attention, journalists James and Deborah Fallows began traveling. They spent years visiting towns around the country, talking with local people about how their communities were dealing with challenges. From their reporting, the Fallows wrote “Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America,” a nonfiction book based on what they saw and heard.

In 2018, filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan joined forces with the Fallows to go back to eight of the cities included in the bestselling book. The result is “Our Towns,” a film that airs on HBO on April 13. The documentary visits Bend, Oregon; San Bernardino, California; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Columbus, Mississippi; Eastport, Maine; and Charleston, West Virginia.

At a time when so much of the news is distressing, HBO is emphasizing the positive elements that make up “Our Towns,” including putting a spotlight on local innovations, a sense of community and shared commitment to change as ways to help move forward.

In 2019, the Bend Bulletin reported on the documentary, as it was filming in the Bend area. The story quotes James Fallows, who said that he and his wife, Deborah, decided to include the town because of Bend’s success in carving out a reputation as a tourist destination, following the decline of the timber industry that had long been an economic driver for the region.

Deborah Fallows is also quoted, discussing how the authors were motivated to share stories that reflected a more upbeat portrait of the nation and its people than was being widely reported at the time.

“As the country was having its national challenges, people became more interested in wanting to hear these stories as another view of what was going on in America,” Deborah Fallows said in the Bulletin report. “It wasn’t just going to hell-in-a-hand basket story of America. It was another story of America that was different, but equally true.”

“Our Towns” premieres at 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 13 on HBO, and will stream on HBO Max.


-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

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