The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia

Rating:
Summary: Definitely worth watching for Appalachian scholars
Review: This film does a good job of presenting an unbiased examination of Adams' photography. If you are unfamiliar with his images, find some and examine them...some of them are almost haunting in the way they portray poverty in Appalachia. The problem, as most Appalachian scholars in the film see it, is that his photographs are often staged (completely) and can be seen as portraying a slanted/biased view of poor Appalachians as stereotypical hillbillies. I offer no conclusions on this issue; Adams says this was not his intent and that he's not responsible for his audience's interpretation. I have a hard time reconciling some of the staged shots as anything but exploitative, but I'd have to become more familiar with Adams' work to draw a solid conclusion. In any case, this film would be an excellent introduction to the idea of stereotypes in the region in a basic Appalachian Studies course. It offers several topics that could lead to course-long discussions that could serve as a foundation for an entire course.