Appalachian poverty gets so much attention, in my 'pinion, because of the landscape. People and things stand out in relief against the hills and are that much easier to focus on. It's just as easy -- easier -- to find a family bypassed by prosperity in the Chad Brown Housing Project of Providence, but the scenery sucks. Public housing in an urban landscape don't afford the contrast that the verdant hills do. ^Thanks to some of the comments on this thread, I'm looking forward to seeing "American Hollow," but I still fear it may extend the stereotyping of Eastern Kentucky or. ^I visit the area as often as I can and spend a week or so catching up with folks who are about as middle class as my neighbors in Massachusetts.