The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia

Shelby Lee Adams has been taking pictures of poor subsistence farmer families in rural Appalachia for around 30 years. This documentary shows Adams interacting with the family members and organizing the photo taking. It examines their lives and the effects of coal mining as well as other things over the years.

It's a question of realism or constructed art by the photographer artist. It's a matter of the eye of the beholder or the intent of the camera. Are the poor being taken advantage of? Is it condescending to ask? Do they understand the images they project? What is right and what is wrong? The movie asks a lot of questions and lets the audience decides. It makes the academic arguments about art come alive.