For many people who’ve grown up in the middle of the Midwest, visiting Branson in the Missouri Ozarks is a family tradition: a time to ride the Fire in the Hole roller coaster at Silver Dollar City, drive the Branson strip to see Christmas lights or spend a weekend at Big Cedar Lodge. In the view of Washington University performing arts professor and author Joanna Dee Das, music, dance, theater and comedy are Branson’s original — and underappreciated — main character.
In her new book, “Faith, Family, and Flag: Branson Entertainment and the Idea of America,” Das presents a history of Branson that recognizes its importance as a site for performing arts. She asserts that Branson’s performance scene has missed its due in national media attention, scholarly study and respect.
“In the 20th century, a lot of American cultural critics consolidated around the idea that listening to a whole opera or symphony, or a three-hour play, was highbrow. Branson keeps alive a vibrant tradition of variety entertainment [where] most of the songs people sing are covers. The jokes are corny,” Das said. “There is also the kind of classic comedic figure of Branson entertainment: the hillbilly. So Branson has been subject to mockery when really, to me, it's a vibrant part of the American popular tradition.”
Das’ book also explores the complexity of Branson’s political identity. Christian principles, family orientation and patriotic tenets run through productions presented on its stages. (The “Faith, Family, and Flag” appendix of shows mounted there for three or more weeks during tourist season between 1959 and 2024 fills almost 30 pages.) But Branson is not a monolith in the way its reputation for conservatism might suggest. Nor does it attract or appeal to any one group of people.
“There are some people for whom faith, family, and flag are universal values that are prepolitical, that these are values of human beings. Others take up the mantle of that ‘faith, family and freedom’ trifecta that has been a part of conservative political campaigns since the 1980s and see it as a particular vision of America that is exclusive to others. Different people in Branson feel different ways.”
The seeds for the book were planted more than 20 years ago, when Das was a New York University graduate student. She felt the premise of Thomas Frank’s bestseller “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” had missed something with his argument about “white, middle- and working-class Americans vot[ing] with their cultural interests but against their economic and social interests.”
“What popped into my head at that moment was: ‘He's wrong. If he would visit Branson, he would see how these strands of culture, economics and social values all weave together,’” Das said, “and that woven thread is represented by the three primary values of faith, family and flag. So it's a coherent message, not a contradiction, necessarily.”
Listener Kathy Turner called during Das’ appearance on St. Louis on the Air to share her experience visiting Branson for the first time last Thanksgiving on a whim, as “kind of a joke.” While she noticed a Christian nationalist element in the background, when she discussed her experience with neighbors, they were surprised at the sincere praise she had for Branson’s “overarching intense sense of family and community and, just like, love and friendship … not to sound corny,” Turner said and laughed.
Das responded: “That's exactly what Branson does promote. Many people there are very genuine in that being Branson's brand of hospitality, family friendliness, building community in the theater — all the things that people in the theater want to do in general across the country.”
“Branson [is] a very important place for live performance in America,” Das said, and can “tell us a lot about this idea of the American dream, what kind of values America represents, and the battle over those values.”
To counter the charge that she is “politicizing art,” especially in a time of deep political polarization, Das said she takes wisdom from W.E.B. Du Bois. “‘All art is propaganda and ever must be, despite the wailing of purists,’ by which he means all art reflects values: what we think is beautiful, normal, meaningful or important.”
“[This book] reveals what kinds of values, meanings and messages are transmitted through Branson shows — and moments when faith, family and flag really welcome in a community, and moments when those terms can be very divisive and exclude people.”
To hear why Silver Dollar City blacksmith and Mayor Lloyd Heller and failed candidate Barry Goldwater ended up with matching tattoos, how place and affordability have been key to making Branson such a popular tourist destination and what mixed response to a 2013 documentary about Branson life backstage revealed about the city’s brand and performers’ struggles, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, or click the play button below.
Related Event
What: Joanna Dee Das and Lauren Morrow author Q&A, book signing and alumni reception
When: 6 p.m. Nov 25
Where: COCA, 6880 Washington Ave., University City, MO 63130
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
