Stranger with a Camera 2000
Distributed by Appalshop, Inc., 91 Madison Avenue, Whitesburg, KY 41858; 606-633-0108
Produced by Elizabeth Barret
Directed by Elizabeth Barret
DVD, color, 61 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Appalachian Studies, Criminal Justice, Ethics, Film Studies, Journalism, Media Studies, Sociology
Date Entered: 11/08/2007
ALA Notable: ALA.gif
Reviewed by Margaret M. Reed, Riley-Hickingbotham Library, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, AR
In her thought-provoking examination of the 1967 killing of Canadian filmmaker Hugh O’Connor, Elizabeth Barret investigates the fine line between social activism and social embarrassment.
Stranger with a Camera goes to Jeremiah, Kentucky, nearly four decades after Hobart Ison fired a deadly shot at O’Connor for trespassing on Ison’s rental property. Even when Ison learned that O’Connor had asked the tenants’ permission to take their picture, Ison held firm his decision to take matters into his own hands. O’Connor represented journalists who sincerely desired to improve conditions in Appalachia, while Ison stood for those who felt humiliated by the media swarm and their unflattering portrayals.
Barret frames the incident in the broader context of her own experiences as a resident of the area and later as a filmmaker who struggles with the ramifications of media coverage. Interviews with those who knew Ison and O’Connor reveal that people of good will still take sides, even though the event has long since passed.
In 2000, Stranger with a Camera won the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival and the American Historical Association’s John E. O’Connor Award. In the same year, the film was among the official selections at the Sundance Film Festival and was a finalist for the Independent Documentary Association’s Distinguished Documentary Achievement Award.
Highly recommended for school and university libraries, Stranger with a Camera is an excellent resource for journalism and sociology courses.