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Director: Elizabeth Barret
During the 1960s, filmmakers from around the world came to Appalachia to document the dire conditions of the region’s poorest residents. Media focused the nation’s attention on economic justice and helped to lead to the declaration of the War on Poverty. But the use of the striking images of poverty also raised questions about whether media-makers with otherwise good intentions exploited and perpetuated long-held stereotypes of Appalachia.
In 1967, this tension between media and community led to an extreme and tragic response, when eastern Kentuckian Hobart Ison shot and killed Canadian filmmaker Hugh O’Connor, who was in the region to document conditions of poverty.
Stranger with a Camera revisits this tragedy as a way to examine the relationship between media-makers and the communities they portray in their work.
Free admission! Following the screening, please join us for a panel discussion about representation of Appalachia in the media.
This event is sponsored by the Appalachian Rural Health Institute, Athena Cinema, Center for Campus and Community Engagement, OHIO Honors program, and University Libraries.
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61 MIN
