“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
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| 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/
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