This conflict revolves around issues of race and representation. Granny believes the filmmakers have no right to film her, her family, and her home without obtaining permission. In contrast, the filmmakers intend to use her life to make a state-sponsored political and social statement about black rural poverty. They view her family as "representative" or "typical," while Granny sees her family as unique individuals. This clash in perspectives is apparent from their first meeting. When the filmmakers initially approach Granny, they fail to greet her, prompting her sarcastic interjection, "Good mornin." They respond awkwardly, appearing guilty. They further offend her by addressing her as "aunty," a term often used patronizingly for older black women. When Camera repeats this term, Granny retorts, "Your mama and I are not related." Later, the filmmakers insult Granny by complimenting her home, with one man saying, "Nice things here," as he films the yard, the pecan barrels, the sled, me and Cathy, the flowers, the painted stones along the driveway, the trees, the twins, and the toolshed. By referring to the narrator and Cathy as "things" and equating children with driveways or flowers, the filmmakers objectify people. Granny recognizes this objectification; her first line in the story is to instruct someone, "Go tell that man we ain’t a bunch of trees." She counters their assessment of her home by asserting, "I don’t know about the thing, the it, and the stuff,... Just people here is what I tend to consider."

The filmmakers are producing a movie about food stamps, seemingly to argue against the federal program intended to assist the impoverished. This intention is clear from Smilin’s comment to Granny: "I see you grow your own vegetables... If more folks did that, see, there’d be no need—" This suggests that the issue of class is closely connected to the topic of race. The filmmakers aim to present Granny as self-reliant, implying she doesn’t require government aid, thereby labeling her as "nice." Although Granny and others’ opinions on this topic aren’t directly expressed, the filmmakers' crude and disparaging actions lead us to question narratives about poverty and entitlements that rely on uninformed, stereotypical portrayals and disregard the actual experiences of people.

A final, related issue of representation can be examined by delving into the narratives within the central story. Granny and Cathy act as the family's storytellers, and their tales emphasize the damaging intrusiveness that comes from observing and portraying others' difficulties. Granny narrates a story about a man poised to jump off a bridge. A crowd gathers as a minister and the man's girlfriend try to talk him down. Then, a photographer arrives and starts capturing the scene. Granny notes that the photographer saved a few images, suggesting he planned to document the man's jump and its consequences, implying he might have wanted the man to jump. When the twins ask if the man jumped, Granny silently gazes at them until they understand the inappropriateness of their question, even if they don't completely recognize how their curiosity mirrors the photographer's insensitive and voyeuristic approach.

Cathy then recounts the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. While typically perceived as a harmless and cute tale, Cathy retells it to emphasize Goldilocks’s rude behavior: she "barged" into a stranger’s home, "messed over the people’s groceries and broke up the people’s furniture." The twins ask if Goldilocks had to pay for the damage she caused. Both stories remain unfinished but highlight the same theme: the indignity of invading strangers' lives for sensational or selfish reasons. Furthermore, these embedded stories, told in the third person, contrast with the main narrative, which is presented in the first person. This distinction underscores the theme of self-expression and the significance of narrating one’s own story.