HThat’s both naive and crazy thinking, the title of the new Max series: Dolly for President. But: interesting. I would also choose Dolly Parton over Trump. Among the TV series about choosing America, Ilse DeLange and Frank Evenblij have an original approach.
‘Best friends’ Ilse and Frank took a road trip through Parton’s ultra-conservative home state of Tennessee, for four Fridays to see ‘where she came from’, of all things. Their perspectives are different; Ilse loves music and Frank loves stories. This also sometimes leads to sanding.
Dolly doesn’t judge
Ilse is: admirer. He knew all the songs and could sing them so beautifully. He recognized himself as Twente in lyrics about a village where you know your neighbors and ask how they are. On a local radio show he appeared with a banjo player who had once played with Dolly. A
‘too fat a man’, he calls himself, but Dolly doesn’t judge. “He sees your heart
and talent.” Ilse: “Dolly looks at people.” Him: “Exactly, in all areas.”
This already seems to be a political thing, but it’s still a moment where the series wants to touch you emotionally. That’s fine too, but I was hoping for a more journalistic search into what still unites people in ‘the world’s most divided country’. And it just goes to show: Dolly Parton, to quote Frank New York Times from 2019.
Ilse the admirer has a different view from Frank the journalist. When they are curious and want to see the real Trump store – ‘American Patriot Gear’ – it was painful, Ilse actually didn’t even want to go inside because of the resistance and discomfort. Does that mean he wants to deny us those reportage pictures? At least now we see T-shirts hanging ‘Fuck Biden’ and Trump pissed on his name. Subscribers talked about abortion being a big issue in the election, along with gay rights, because of the Democratic Party’s lack of following the Bible.
Amid the rifts, it remains true that everyone loves Dolly. Is the question then very strange, can he become president at the age of 78? His age was not extraordinary, Reagan was also just an actor and just like Trump, he also ran a multi-million dollar business with impeccable business sense. However, Frank and Ilse don’t really delve into this, instead they retrace his youth and life, although they later revisit the profession. American Dolly Parton at the University of Tennessee. Most importantly, Ilse says: Dolly rarely expresses judgment. “My dad’s a Republican, my mom’s a Democrat, I’m a hypocrite,” he says in self-mockery – he just doesn’t want to turn his back on his fans. But the banjo player sees it more sincerely: “He likes to share love”.
doll wood
The connections are great, but politics is divisive. So, what does Dolly stand for? He always said how proud he was of his hometown of Sevierville, “his people,” who provided them with so many tourists. With the Dollywood theme park he created four thousand jobs in a poor redneck area. He gave everyone who lost their homes in the village due to forest fires a thousand dollars a month for six months. The founder of Dolly Parton’s American university course, historian Lynn Sacco, puts it this way on her website: Her America was ‘based on a loving, caring, generous, appreciative, hard-working, and happy life’. Dolly for President? Not so bad here in America.
Four times a week, Maaike Bos and Renate van der Bas write a column about television.