Dolly Parton

What is Dolly Parton’s America?

Well, Dolly Parton’s America would be the same as Dolly Parton’s world.

Hey, I’m Jad Abumrad. Let me explain how I got here to a podcast about Dolly Parton. I grew up in Tennessee, which means I grew up in ...

 DOLLY PARTON: Dolly Parton’s world.

Dolly’s world. She was everywhere. She was looking down at you from billboards, coming out of car radios. She was on commercials. She just infused the air. So as a consequence, I didn’t really think about her a lot…. But then, a few things happened. 2016. I’m living in New York. Dolly is on tour. And she comes and does a stadium show here in Flushing, Queens. And just the level of excitement of people around me was, like, other-worldly. Everybody around me was like ...

PAMELA FOSTER: Dolly Parton is a goddess. SUSAN HARLAN: She’s a saint. FAN: To me, Dolly is a superstar who brings herself to the level of the people. JAD: I was like, "Whoa, I -- I missed this."

• 1. Attention grabbers – A startling statement and an inspirational quote

• Attention grabbers- An inspirational quote and a rhetorical question

• 1. Attention grabbers – A rhetorical question and a personal story

• 1. Attention grabbers – A personal story and a startling statement 

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What is Dolly Parton’s America?

• Introduce the question that will be explored throughout the podcast and how the narrator is connected to it 

• Introduce Dolly Parton for those who don’t know who she is as well as the narrator 

• Introduce Tennessee culture and explore how it collides with New York City culture

• Introduce the diversity of Dolly Parton’s fans to show what an inspiration she is

Which TWO forms of evidence does Jad Abumrad use to prove Dolly is viewed as a unifier in episode 1?

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Connections and networking in life often opens paths for careers. How did Jad use his connections to land this project?

• Jad started working with reporter Shima Oliaee who is a big Dolly fan. 

• Jad’s career is in radio so he was able to make a connection to Dolly through the music industry. 

• Jad asked his dad for a favor since his dad formed an unexpected friendship with Dolly after treating her when she was in a car crash. 

• Jad went to a Dolly concert and one of Dolly’s fans gave him the idea for a podcast. 

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The tragic subject matter in both of these ballads are similar in that…

• They both involve poisoning 

• They both involve breakups 

• They both involve the loss of child 

• They both involve mother and son relationships 

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Pick out a statement/quote from the lyrics that you think summarizes the message of the song and explain why.

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Why do you think it’s a song many working women can relate to? 

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Based on the theme of the entire episode, you can infer Dolly’s manager most likely made the statement, “We did not approve this request. And we do not approve requests like this of a political nature” after Elizabeth Warren used the song 9 to 5 at a pollical rally because…

• Dolly Parton is a Republican whereas Elizabeth Warren is a Democrat.

• Dolly Parton does not support a female presidential candidate.

• Dolly Parton wants royalties from the use of her songs at political rallies.

• Dolly Parton does not want to directly endorse a political candidate of either party.

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What is the overall theme of Dolly Parton’s America?

• An alternate vision of America is attainable through embracing and working to understand differences.

• America is doomed if it continues down its divided path.

• America needs a great unifier like Dolly Parton to run for president.

• America needs a saint like Dolly to save us.

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By bringing in Wandee from British Columbia and Esther from Nairobi, the producers…

• Use the interviews to refute a point they present to avoid bias.

• Use the interviews to illustrate a global enchantment with Dolly Parton.

• Use the interviews to diversify the point of views in their podcast.

• Use the interviews to connect the two women with a common goal.

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