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Article: ATTENTION OR EXPLOITATION?(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Sojourners
- Article date:
- July 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Sojourners. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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What is the proper role of the filmmaker ?
The Clampetts. A coal miner's daughter. Children eating dirt. Dueling banjos. These are images of Appalachia you won't find in the new documentary Stranger With a Camera.
Many of these stereotypical images were cultivated during the early 1960s, when a huge wave of government and social service agencies shone a spotlight on Appalachia's level of poverty and unjust economic systems, along with an influx of filmmakers and journalists wanting to bring greater attention to the struggle. There also were those looking for a hot story. Says Stranger's director, Elizabeth Barret, "The same [economic] system that brought ...