Harnsberger, Daniel, interview by Delainey Morgan Bowers, Occupational Folklife Project, Library of Congress, June 28, 2020, audio recording, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021655325/.
- The interview particularly considers stereotypes of people in Appalachia and stereotypes surrounding the professional wrestling community. When considering classroom texts that address Appalachian perspectives, such as Barbara Kingsolver’s contemporary fiction Demon Copperhead and Jeannette Walls’s memoir The Glass Castle, consider that Harnsberger’s interview touches on the culture, lifestyle, and belief systems of the community he wrestles in. Particularly, he discusses how his wrestling persona is an attempt to counter the Appalachian community. Therefore, his wrestling persona aligns with the protagonists of many Appalachian texts in which characters hope to broaden their worldly perspective beyond Appalachia. Therefore, the selected segments of this interview ignite more insight into the people and the character creation that exists around Appalachian identities. The following segments and their description can guide classroom use:
- Segment 1: 06:50–16:22
- Harnsberger introduces his wrestling persona and his relationship with the crowd on the Appalachia circuit. He further discusses the people of Appalachia and their general dislike of his character.
- Segment 2: 41:57–45:50
- Harnsberger reflects on his “Progressive Liberal” wrestling persona and his perspective on the approaching 2020 election.
- Segment 3: 48:05–51:05
- Harnsberger reflects on the state of the US and the concerns he has for the future, as a nation and as a world. (Note: The f-word is used at the beginning of this segment.)
Harnsberger’s interview, part of a series on independent professional wrestling in central Appalachia, explores his wrestling persona as the “Progressive Liberal,” who is a “heel” (i.e., a professional wrestling bad-guy or villain) to the Republican audience that dominates Appalachian culture. The interview comes before the 2020 election and amid the COVID-19 shutdown, during which independent wrestling was halted across the country.
Daniel Adam Harnsberger, known in the professional wrestling ring as “Progressive Liberal,” discusses his wrestling persona, particularly his character’s relationship with the audience in the Appalachia circuit. He also considers the importance of wrestling personas as a reflection of self. In a Southern community of wrestling fans, he creates his wrestling character to interrogate political conversations in and beyond the wrestling ring. At the time of the interview, COVID-19 had put a pause on independent wrestling.
- What does it mean to create an authentic character? How does Harnsberger’s consideration of his wrestling persona reflect the characters we encounter in other works of fiction?
- How does Harnsberger’s considerations of change for tomorrow align with the work he does in the ring? How can professional wrestling and other modes of the performing arts illustrate social issues?
- What are the major takeaways about Appalachian culture, and how does Harnsberger’s identity enable new insight into this lifestyle?
Common Core State Standards
ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3: Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).
- Considering the importance of setting and place allows students to consider the author’s choices more critically in relation to the characters and the story. By examining an author’s choice to set a story in a particular place, students can carefully examine the impact of social, cultural, and political factors impact the setting development in a story.
As an introduction to the culture of Appalachia for any text set in the region, Harnsberger’s interview presents a focus on cultural stereotypes, bias, and community identity. Consider pairing the interview segments with an article such as “Dispelling Myths of Appalachia” or “Appreciate the Diversity in Rural Places,” which further explore such stereotypes, assumptions, and myths.
When preparing students to read a text in which the setting forms as rich a character as do the people in the text, it is essential to thoroughly study the cultural, social, and political aspects of that place. Therefore, the use of this interview and the others in its collection further pose authentic perspectives on Appalachian life.
- Harsnberger’s episode is politically charged in that he openly discusses the Trump presidency and his election opponent, Hilary Clinton. The heightened divide in modern politics means that certain topics and texts may be challenged.
Links to resources for approaching those topics
- Harnsberger’s interview is one in a series of twelve audio recordings titled “Independent Professional Wrestlers in Central Appalachia: Archie Green Fellows Project, 2019 to 2020.” The other eleven interviews can be examined in place of Harnsberger’s interview, or alongside it to provide additional perspectives on Appalachian culture.
Additional References
- NCTE’s promotion of Demon Copperhead: Build Your Stack contributors discuss the Kingsolver novel and its connection to works of nonfiction
- The NCTE book rationale for Jeanette Walls’s The Glass Castle: This teaching rationale advocates for the memoir’s use in classroom curriculum, particularly in relation to its thematic and literary merit.