Hillbilly Talkback: Co-Creation and Counter-Narrative in Appalachia

The Appalachian region has been systematically stereotyped in popular media representations for over a century, contributing to many of the structural, economic, and psychological challenges faced by those who live there. In order to solve this issue, it is necessary to produce compelling counter-representations which undermine the dominant regime of representation around Appalachia. In this thesis, I explore some of the most common image types used to represent Appalachia in popular media and assess the potential of co-creative documentary practices to create representations which challenge these harmful images. I begin with an explanation of the importance of representation, drawing from the work of Stuart Hall in cultural studies, and an introduction to co-creative methodologies in media production. Next, I recount the history of four tropes commonly used to represent Appalachia in popular media. Finally, I examine two co-creative documentaries set in the Appalachian region – Elaine McMillion Sheldon’s Hollow and my own The Appalachian Retelling Project – to assess these projects’ approaches to co-creation and the counter-narratives that emerge from them. Ultimately, I argue that co-creation is an effective methodology for producing compelling counter-representations of Appalachia and for other groups like it who have been systematically misrepresented.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Justice, Elon B.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bald, Vivek

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
• Copyright retained by author(s)

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139417

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/139417