For many Americans, the concept of Appalachia as a singular place has been created through images in popular culture, often stereotypical. This thesis presents an evolution of Appalachian representations—or, more appropriately, a chronology of images in stasis, as they seem to have remained fairly unchanged over time. Responses to those images, however, have changed greatly. Most importantly, responses from within Appalachia have transformed, with regional people gaining power over the types of images of the region in popular culture. There is, however, a paradoxical dualism in the responses from within the region, as some Appalachians grow weary of being stereotyped on the screen while others welcome clichés as commercial opportunities. This thesis will shed some light on not only the history of visual representations of Appalachia but also on their future.
","abstract_html":"<p>For many Americans, the concept of Appalachia as a singular place has been created through images in popular culture, often stereotypical. This thesis presents an evolution of Appalachian representations—or, more appropriately, a chronology of images in stasis, as they seem to have remained fairly unchanged over time. Responses to those images, however, have changed greatly. Most importantly, responses from within Appalachia have transformed, with regional people gaining power over the types of images of the region in popular culture. There is, however, a paradoxical dualism in the responses from within the region, as some Appalachians grow weary of being stereotyped on the screen while others welcome clichés as commercial opportunities. This thesis will shed some light on not only the history of visual representations of Appalachia but also on their future.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Trollinger, Elizabeth Rose Barnes"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Southern Studies","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Southern Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Andy Harper","David Wharton","Jessica Wilkerson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:06:07Z","subjects":["Appalachia","Film","Photography","Regionalism","Stereotype","Television","American Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/884","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Andy Harper","David Wharton","Jessica Wilkerson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Trollinger, Elizabeth Rose Barnes"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-06-20T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Southern Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Southern Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Appalachia","Film","Photography","Regionalism","Stereotype","Television","American Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/884"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["For many Americans, the concept of Appalachia as a singular place has been created through images in popular culture, often stereotypical. This thesis presents an evolution of Appalachian representations—or, more appropriately, a chronology of images in stasis, as they seem to have remained fairly unchanged over time. Responses to those images, however, have changed greatly. Most importantly, responses from within Appalachia have transformed, with regional people gaining power over the types of images of the region in popular culture. There is, however, a paradoxical dualism in the responses from within the region, as some Appalachians grow weary of being stereotyped on the screen while others welcome clichés as commercial opportunities. This thesis will shed some light on not only the history of visual representations of Appalachia but also on their future.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["“The Hard Work is Done in the Looking”: Analyzing Representations of and Responses to Appalachia in Popular Culture"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Andy Harper","David Wharton","Jessica Wilkerson"],"dc:creator":["Trollinger, Elizabeth Rose Barnes"],"dc:date.available":["2019-06-20T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["For many Americans, the concept of Appalachia as a singular place has been created through images in popular culture, often stereotypical. This thesis presents an evolution of Appalachian representations—or, more appropriately, a chronology of images in stasis, as they seem to have remained fairly unchanged over time. Responses to those images, however, have changed greatly. Most importantly, responses from within Appalachia have transformed, with regional people gaining power over the types of images of the region in popular culture. There is, however, a paradoxical dualism in the responses from within the region, as some Appalachians grow weary of being stereotyped on the screen while others welcome clichés as commercial opportunities. This thesis will shed some light on not only the history of visual representations of Appalachia but also on their future.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/884"],"dc:subject":["Appalachia","Film","Photography","Regionalism","Stereotype","Television","American Studies"],"dc:title":["“The Hard Work is Done in the Looking”: Analyzing Representations of and Responses to Appalachia in Popular Culture"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Southern Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Southern Studies"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:06:07Z"}