The ETSU Honors College Student Council will host an evening with Appalshop filmmakers Elizabeth Barret and Herb E. Smith that will take place at ETSU today in Rogers Stout Room 102. The event will begin with a 5:30 p.m. screening of Barret’s documentary Stranger with a Camera, followed at 6:30 p.m. by a talk on “Documenting Appalachia” by Barret and Smith. There will be a reception at 7:30 p.m., and a further screening at 8:30 p.m. of “Strangers and Kin: A History of the Hillbilly Image.”

This event is free of charge thanks to funding provided by BUCS Fund.

Barret and Smith will talk about the ethical challenges of documenting Appalachians, and indeed, of representing any community of people. They will also speak about how their documentaries raise essential questions about representation, prejudice and documentary form and provide insights into the politics of representation.

In “Stranger with a Camera,” Barret examines the 1967 death of Canadian filmmaker Hugh O’Connor, who was shot by a local landlord as he was documenting poverty in the mountains of central Appalachia. O’Connor’s death serves as a lens to explore the complex relationship between those who make films to promote social change and the people whose lives and locales are represented in such media productions. Through first-person accounts of the killing and the perspective of three decades of reflection, “Stranger with a Camera” leads viewers on a quest for understanding – a quest that ultimately leads Barret to examine her own role as both a maker of media and a member of the Appalachian community she portrays.

A native of Hazard, Kentucky, Elizabeth Barret is a veteran documentary filmmaker, and as one of the founding generation of Appalshop, she is committed to producing and preserving work in media about the history, culture, and social issues of the Appalachian region and rural America. Barret has been the recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship and a Kentucky Arts Council Fellowship for her award-winning documentary “Stranger with a Camera,” which was recognized in 2001 by the American Historical Association for its outstanding interpretation of history through the medium of film, chosen as an official selection of the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, and broadcast nationally on the PBS series P.O.V.

Appalshop, celebrating its 40th year of production, documents the history, celebrates the culture, and voices the concerns of people living in the Appalachian region. The independent non-profit media, arts, and education center based in the coalfield town of Whitesburg, Kentucky grew out of an economic development project during the nation’s War on Poverty. Appalshop’s mission is to enlist the power of education, media, theater, music, and other arts: to document, disseminate, and revitalize the lasting traditions and contemporary creativity of Appalachia; to tell stories the commercial cultural industries don’t tell, challenging stereotypes with Appalachian voices and visions; to support communities’ efforts to achieve justice and equity and solve problems in their own ways; to celebrate cultural diversity as a positive social value; and to participate in regional, national, and global dialogues toward these ends (for more information, see appalshop.org).

Herb Smith has played an active role in Appalshop’s governance since 1969, and as a filmmaker he explores the cultural, social and economic issues of the Appalachian region. His latest film, “The Ralph Stanley Story,” is a portrait of the mountain musician who had been performing for more than 55 years. His films have been shown throughout the country in venues from community centers and union halls to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Using funny, often poignant examples, Smith’s Strangers and Kin shows the development and effect of stereotypes as technological change collides with tradition in the Southern mountains.

The film traces the evolution of the “hillbilly” image through Hollywood films, network news and entertainment shows, dramatic renderings of popular literature, and interviews with contemporary Appalachians to demonstrate how stereotypes are created, reinforced, and often used to rationalize exploitation.

For more information about the event, please contact the Director of Film Studies, Dr. Jennifer Barker at 439-6678.

Author