Photography and Food in Appalachian Kentucky

Article Review:

“Food and Culture in Appalachian Kentucky: An Ethnography” by Christi Smith

Documentary:

The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia

Last year, I watched a photography documentary about Shelby Lee Adams, a photographer in Eastern Kentucky, who takes photographs of people living in marginalized Appalachian communities. This documentary follows Adams as he sets up his photographs and takes a closer look into his personal relationships with his subjects. His photography has been under much scrutiny because many critics, and people of the public, see his art as exploitive of these communities; However, Adams combats these critiques by explaining the beauty of the lives of Appalachian peoples, who have become some of his best friends.

Watching this documentary, in an art class, really had me thinking about how Adams is telling the story of Appalachia, one of which combats the negative stereotypical story of ‘hillbillies,’ through his photographs. The idea of using photographs to tell a ethnographic story has been floating in my mind ever since I watched this, as well as the interest in the people of Appalachia.

So it may come as no surprise that when I stumbled upon an article titled, “Food and Culture in Appalachian Kentucky,” I almost danced around in delight!

Christi Smith is a sociologist based out of Indiana University. She conducted interviews with 21 individuals, whom she was introduced to through family connections. Traditionally, the people of Appalachian Kentucky are resistant to outsiders, especially researchers, coming in to their communities, but through her connections, Smith was able to gain access to many people, all of whom were happy to ‘tell their side’ of Appalachia (Smith 2003: 65) During these interviews one of the topics that came up the most was food- memories, practices, and traditions. To many interviewees, food served as a ‘marker in time,’ because through the last few decades, food traditions and practices have evolved. 

Many traditional hunting methods used for sustenance in past years, have now been replaced with recreational hunting. Because meat and vegetables can be purchased at a market, the need to ‘hunt for dinner’ is not necessary; However, to keep tradition alive, hunting is now primarily a recreational activity. Even with this introduction of new resources, Eastern Kentuckians still maintain traditional methods of preparation and consumption of food are still greatly incorporated into everyday life.

Rather than conforming to outside pressures to be ‘brought up to date,’ the people of Appalachia strain to maintain their identities, which is primarily done through their foodways. Appalachians have created their own niche in Southern cooking, since they still do use seemingly obscure animals in their dishes, and although they are considered one of the poorest areas in the United States, they are proud of their creativity and resourcefulness in their foodways (2003: 68).

Out-migrants of Eastern Kentucky (those who left their home in Appalachia for work, school or other means) also use food as a key factor in their identity. Maintaining food traditions, has helped out-migrants stay familiar with their cultural heritage, even if they are hundreds of miles away. 

Eastern Kentuckians are still misconstrued as secondary citizens to the greater US public; however, they are anything but the stereotypes thrust upon them, such as being lazy, illiterate, ignorant, etc. To an outsider, these stereotypes may seem to be apparent at a glance, but the people of Appalachia are so much more than meets the eye. Maintaining cultural traditions, living off the land, and  celebrating family are just a few of the ways the people of Appalachia have kept their cultural identities in tact, in an ever changing world.

Appalachia would be an amazing field of research, but due to so many negative experiences with outsiders, it would be hard to gain access into the lives of its people. Hopefully more research is done, to further shut down the previously mentioned stereotypes, and a more accurate representation of Appalachia to surface to the greater US public.

-Holly

The Hog Killing '90

For more information on Shelby Lee Adams’ photography in Appalachia click here.

Sources:

Smith, Christi. “Food and Culture in Appalachian Kentucky: An Ethnography.” Journal for the Study of Food and Society. Vol. 6. No. 2. 2003: 64-71. 

Baichwal, Jennifer. The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia. Mercury Films Inc. 2002.

Photo Source:

http://shelby-lee-adams-napier.blogspot.com/  

Fast Food Culture in Norway

Article Review:

“Lovin’ it? A Study of Youth and the Culture of Fast Food” 

Article by Annechen Bahr Bugge of the National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO)

Annechen Bahr Bugge, a Norweigian sociologist, researches in the realm of food and eating habits, and more recently pertaining to teenagers. “Lovin’ it? A Study of Youth and the Culture of Fast Food” is a 2011 paper, based upon research by Bugge, exploring how youth in Norway interpret their foodscapes, in specific relation to fast food. To paraphrase Bugge, her main goal of this research was:

To explore teenagers’ representations and practices with regard to fast food. The intention of this article is to show that youth food culture is not as one-sidedly negative as is often claimed in the food-cultural debate. A look at fast food being used to show how young people interact and relate to the dominant food-cultural codes and values. (Bugge 2011: 71-2)

Theoretically, Bugge uses Miles’ 2000 sociological study of British youths’ lifestyles. Miles was greatly focused on how the youth perceive themselves, by their experiences and values. She uses this theoretical inspiration to focus on how youth interact with and are influenced by fast food culture in relation to their adult counterparts’ relationships with fast food culture. 

Bugge also briefly discusses the current ‘war’ on fast food, particularly through various forms of media, such as books, television and magazines. This ‘war’ has become ever present throughout the western world, and Norway is no exception. Much of the media attention is not only guided towards adults, but to youth as well, in youth magazines especially. Included in her methods section, Bugge made sure to remain aware of the media influence, by collecting various artifacts, such as magazine articles, blog posts, debates, etc. throughout the duration of her research.

Along with artifact collection, Bugge utilized numerous other ethnographic methods in her research. These included forty in depth interviews with teenagers (of both genders) between the ages of 15-16; non-participatory observations of the lunchtime cafeterias and within classrooms; photographic analysis of food and eating situations; and finally, quantitative survey data analysis. By utilizing these methods, Bugge was able to gain two ‘umbrella’ findings, each of which has supportive sub

findings,

1. Young people’s talk about fast food; and
2. Fast food and young people’s identity work

What interested me most about Bugge’s findings is constant theme of gender. In Norway, Bugge asserts, one of the main contributors to the ‘fear’ of becoming overweight is attention, or lack thereof, from the opposite gender (however, intent to attract he same sex is most likely present as well, but Bugge does not discuss this). According to her informants, body shape and looks were frequently cited as main proponents of the desire to stay slim. Many of the comments made by the young people interviewed, solidified Bugge’s idea that slimness is related to becoming the ideal of attraction and desire.

Within this gender dichotomy, Bugge explored the idea of ‘gendered foods,’ how some foods were seen as ‘boy foods,’ and others seen as ‘girl foods.’ Girls tended to over think their foodscapes, in regulating the amount and types of food they consumed, while boys were more relaxed in their eating habits, typically citing that they do more physical activity.

Bugge continues to cite more examples of differing Norwegian youth foodscapes, including food in differing socioeconomic groups and food for rebellious youth. I think this analysis could have been enhanced by focusing on one finding, such as the gender dichotomy, and expanding the analysis; however, I do see the connection in these three sections of gender dichotomies, socioeconomic differences, and social differences, in order to gain a more overarching perspective on how Norwegian youth interact and interpret their relation to fast food.

Although youth in Norway seem to be resistant towards fast food culture, they still participate in this culture, even if one rare occasions. Bugge concludes that Norwegian youth, although partaking in fast food culture, see this participation as an activity of ‘others’ in contrast to themselves. She also calls for more studies on youth and fast food culture relations, which I full heartedly agree with. This study is a great starting point for any anthropologist interested in researching fast food culture, not only in western society, but potentially in non-western society, since globalization is ever present in the modern day. 

-Holly

Bugge, Annechen Bahr. "Lovin' it? A study of youth and the culture of fast food." Food, Culture & Society. Vol. 14, No. 1: 71-89. 2011.

Blog Review: The History Kitchen

Blog Review: The History Kitchen
Blog by Tori Avey

Blog overview:

The History Kitchen is one of the two blogs, avid blogger, Tori Avey maintains (the other one is The Shiksa in the Kitchen). Avey’s short bio on the blog is what brought me to it in the first place:

   "Tori Avey is a culinary anthropologist, food writer, recipe developer, and creator of the popular food blog The Shiksa in the Kitchen. She explores the story behind the food - why we eat what we eat, how the foods of different cultures have evolved, and how yesterday's food can inspire us in the kitchen today.” (The History Kitchen, Home Page)

Reading this, made me want to explore more about her culinary anthropology, since I’m trying to discover mine. From reading around, the goal of this blog is to dive deeper into “all facets of food history,” which could be anything from food in ancient cultures, to food popping up in modern TV shows.

Posts are divided into two major sections, ‘What They Ate’ and ‘Did You Know...’ For the purposes of being concise, I focused on reading through some of the ‘Did You Know...’ posts, since those seemed to be more anthropologically inclined. Most of these posts are histories of certain foods, or food related topics. In these posts, she gives the history, but does include a cultural connection, and a look at how this food fits into today’s culture.

Diving Deeper:

A post that stood out to me is titled, “The History of Pie in America” from July 2011. Avey talks about why the pie is such a quintessential American food, beginning with the Pilgrims baking pies as a easy, efficient meal. Pie spread out around the country, being adapted to each state, placing itself deep into American culture. Pie is a ‘classic’ American food, one that exemplifies the further construction of individual American identities. I think I would agree with Avey, that if there was one food to be the face of America, pie would definitely be a contender. One of the most interesting topics she discusses is how the pie slightly disappeared from American tables for a while due to advertising in the mid-nineteenth century through WWII. Looking at the relationship women have with food, their roles involving food, and how that affects family food culture would be a great research topic, one I may look into in the future. 

If I had to critique Avey, I would say that she calls herself a culinary anthropologist, but her anthropological angles are buried deep within her historical analysis of her posts. I wish she could bring up more anthropological angles within her posts, but she is trying to appeal to a mass audience, many of whom probably don’t have the vocabulary or knowledge of anthropology, or it’s analytical angles. Her other blog, The Shiksa in the Kitchen, discussing Jewish food, traditions, and customs seems to have more anthropological potential, but since it’s more recipe focused, the same lack-of-analysis issue arises.

Of course, this is all coming from my anthropological brain, so when I turn to my foodie brain, I see these blogs in simpler light... I totally enjoy Tori Avey’s stories, histories, and recipes, and plan to keep following her discoveries in the food world.

-Holly

http://thehistorykitchen.com/2011/07/04/the-history-of-pie-in-america/