October 4, 2013

Yesterday, The Oregonian’s Steve Duin featured a story on a recent Hollywood Theater screening of the powerful documentary American Winter.

American Winter follows eight Portland families during the Great Recession. It highlights the struggle too many families face every day to keep a roof over their head, put food on the table, and pay their medical bills.

Duin writes how the story breaks down many stereotypes about poverty in our country.  He writes:

These children — a churlish segment of the population and the U.S. House of Representatives would have you believe — are the wards of the ‘nanny state.’ Their parents — college-educated, many of them, and recently laid off from solid, well-paying jobs — are the lazy, selfish "welfare queens" who are bankrupting the U.S.economy.

American Winter strips that nonsense to the bone.

The film’s tagline says it all: “In the richest country on Earth, millions of families have been left out in the cold.” One job loss, one emergency room visit, one unfortunate accident, and a family trying to live the American Dream can easily slip into an American nightmare.

To learn more about American Winter or to order the DVD visit the www.americanwinterfilm.com

Steve Duin: A timely evening with 'American Winter'

Steve Duin in The Oregonian