The Whittaker family, an Appalachian household recording centuries of inbreeding, is a raw ode to isolation, viral attention, and its consequences. Their story, which took place in West Virginia, poses broader questions about the ways media consume and expose human vulnerability. Their documentary’s popularity turned them into well-known faces, which makes viewers think about the effects of a family being both the subject of a movie and a spectacle. And it is open for everyone to watch.

How to watch the detailed movie on the Whittaker family that documented their lives and made them famous?

The Whittaker family has been the subject of a 12-minute documentary, which is available on YouTube for free via the Soft White Underbelly channel of Mark Laita, who publishes interviews and portraits of the human condition. The first major entry, Inbred Family - The Whittakers, was published on July 4, 2020, and now has more than 45 million views. A range of videos on the family captures their Christmas, the death of a family member, and more. Netflix does not have any documentaries on the Whittakers, as Laita's work is original.

The Whittaker family is a multi-generational clan living in Raleigh County, West Virginia, and is sometimes considered one of the most inbred families in America. Their saga became public when Mark Laita's interviews and 17 video portraits exposed their origins, family structures, genetic isolation, disabilities, and squalid living conditions, which attracted millions of viewers and intense media scrutiny. All the clips are available on YouTube to watch, as these stories often go unnoticed by big streamers. However, its virality also led to major shocking chaos that the family suffered later on.

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Though Laita set up a fundraiser for the family's home repairs and sustenance, viral fame brought dire consequences, as evident in several cases documented on Netflix.

A recent report revealed that due to the documentary's exposure, several family members were taken from their home by West Virginia's adult protective services. According to the Daily Mail, Ray Whittaker, 72, his sister Lorene, 79, and her son Timmy, 46, were the ones taken away from their decaying compound without leaving any explanation to their sister Betty, 73, and brother Larry, 69. Meanwhile, the officials from West Virginia’s Department of Human Services declined to comment on the matter per the outlet.

The Whittaker family's collapsed gene pool can be traced back to a marriage between two sets of cousins who directly descended from identical twin brothers. According to Mark Laita, the family's neighbors have been protecting them from intruders for a long time. However, that never effectively stopped the curious public from snapping pictures of them regularly. As for Betty and Larry, they continue to live in their dilapidated home with insects on the kitchen counter, and piles of trash all around. All Betty told the outlet about their separated family was: “They said they were helping them, and they couldn’t live here no more." Though Laita's YouTube documentary gave their story exposure, they still faced the harsh consequences.

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