>> elaine mcmillion sheldon is an oscar nominated author born and raised in western virginia. if you were describing this area, gun rights important. that's not going to resonate at all. in fact, it sounds threatening. >> elaine: right, but both sides are saying the same thing. both sides feel threatened by each other. and i would say a majority of people that live in this region want to be left alone. the traditions of this place, the things that we value, whether that be family, interpersonal communication, not having cell phone technology to distract us, those types of things sort of butt up against america's idea of progress. and it's why we've always been looked at as being backwards. ♪ being part of the media, but living here, is a really big challenge because rarely, people like myself actually are the ones that control our narrative, that control our story. ♪ >> anthony: it was always too easy to come gawk at west virginia.