| Movie Review | The Journal of American History, 88.3

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 282 words from this article are provided below; about 328 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the Organization of American Historians, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a member of the Organization of American Historians, you can:: • Join the OAH and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the Journal of American History.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two-hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American History (86.1-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Journal of American History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Movie Review | The Journal of American History, 88.3 | The History Cooperative

Movie Review

Stranger with a Camera. Prod. by Elizabeth Barret. Appalshop and the Kentucky Network, 2000. 60 mins. (California Newsreel, 149 Ninth St./420, San Francisco, CA 94103)

Elizabeth Barret uses the tragic death of Hugh O'Connor as a prism for exploring the "complex relationship between social action and social embarrassment." O'Connor was a promising young director for the National Film Board of Canada. He had earned a respected reputation developing cutting-edge technology (Labyrinthe), making documentaries dealing with humanity in distant settings, and exhibiting a personal sensitivity toward his subjects. In 1967 O'Connor went to eastern Kentucky, without much awareness that the people were, as the historians David Whisnant, John Inscoe, J. W. Williamson, and others have shown, far more complex, culturally rich, and concerned over image problems than the stories about strikes, disasters, and strip-mining abuses had indicated. Hobart Ison was a native of the hills and hollers who had suffered reverses ranging from collapses in the coal economy to being jilted by a lover. He used money received from the railroad for a right-of-way over family property to build rental units, which had over the years fallen into disrepair. He took his hard work, his hard knocks heritage, and the protection of personal privacy and property rights seriously. Although O'Connor had received permission from some renters to film them, Ison took exception. He shot and killed O'Connor as he was obeying orders to leave the property. While many people outside the region were shocked by this act of violence, local residents rallied behind Ison. After his first trial resulted in a hung jury, Ison pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He was paroled after serving one year of a ten-year sentence. . . .

There are about 328 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.