Those awful reality shows that poke fun at Southerners (home, to live)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I find it interesting how people love to bash the South but yet act so interested in us.
Mockery is a form of flattery. I don't think that most non-Southerners actively dislike the South although they often use it and what they perceive as its flaws as a foil for their own insecurities (i.e. 'I'm dumb, so I'll point out a dumb redneck.' or 'There is a lot of racial tension in my area so I'll bring up the legacy of slavery in the South.')
Mississippi and Alabama seem to take the brunt of it while Georgia and North Carolina are pretty well regarded outside the region these days.
Not a reality show, but Portlandia is devoted to making stereotypical Portlanders look silly.
The New York Times used to write about every weirdness in Berkeley they could find, but they seem to have moved on to Portland too.
Ths South is in a funny position in American life. There is a lot of elitist mockery of the South. On the other hand, the South often plays a dominating role in national life. From 1988 to 2008 all of the Presidents, from either party, were from the South. Even today the Republican Party, which still controls the House of Representatives, is a heavily Southern party. It can feel like the South, or at least the Republican version of it, is dictating terms to the rest of the country on politics, on religion, on gun culture etc.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,025,008 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlite
Not a reality show, but Portlandia is devoted to making stereotypical Portlanders look silly.
The New York Times used to write about every weirdness in Berkeley they could find, but they seem to have moved on to Portland too.
Ths South is in a funny position in American life. There is a lot of elitist mockery of the South. On the other hand, the South often plays a dominating role in national life. From 1988 to 2008 all of the Presidents, from either party, were from the South. Even today the Republican Party, which still controls the House of Representatives, is a heavily Southern party. It can feel like the South, or at least the Republican version of it, is dictating terms to the rest of the country on politics, on religion, on gun culture etc.
Bush Snr wasn't from the South, and W was actually born in CT.
Enlightening thread! I always assumed Southerners were upset with the way they were portrayed in the media and on shows like Honey Boo Boo, that there was an unfair media stereotype from an elitist northern perspective that they were resenting. I guess that it captures something true about the place and so people like it. I really will have to visit the South some day and become acquainted with its rich history and culture.
Ever since Jerry Springer, but I just saw another one of those 'dumb southerners/hicks' reality show which was hilarious and so cheesy/obviously staged, and it got me noticing there are an awful lot of these shows that make fun of Southerners/rednecks. From Swamp People to Honey Boo Boo Child, it's like Southerners are one group you can have a laugh at the expense of without feeling guilty. They perpetuate a lot of ignorant stereotypes about the South, even if they contain some truth.
What do you think about them? Let us know if you're a Southerner or not. And have they had a negative impact on perceptions of Southerners/stereotypes?
Ignorance most certainly extends north of the Mason Dixon line if people believe everything they see on the 'History' channel lmao.
As a southerner, I'll put it this way --
"Jersey Shore" was a depiction of an authentic american lower-class culture. I never took it literally as a depiction of all people from NJ or the Italian-American diaspora residing in the northeast.
Now I haven't seen all of these shows about southerners, but I can say that, like Jersey Shore, at least some of them are accurate depictions of how some people living in the south actually behave. It doesn't bother me that people like this are documented , nor would I jump to conclusions that these shows are all necessarily scripted.
Lol is that possible? They make regular rednecks seem like New York socialites.
oh it's definitely possible that honey boo boo and her family would be acting like this , even if there were no cameras. i would imagine that they've cleaned up a bit for the camera.
there's a huge % of southerners that are uptight and polite. then there's other subcultures -- rural black trailer parks, rural white appalachia, etc., that develop in isolation some really odd small-group behavior.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
