Extra Mythology

John Henry - Spirit of the Working Man (2021x1)

Air date: Jan 13, 2021

John Henry is a myth that embodies a lot of America. From the story of hard work and the working man overcoming the cold unfeeling steel of machinery; to its bitter history of exploiting marginalized people and infrastructure built on the bodies of those literally worked to death. As in a lot of Americana, the line between the historical figure and the mythical hero is blurry at best, if not entirely indistinguishable. What does the story of John Henry mean to you?