O Brother, Where Art Thou

O Brother, Where Art Thou is probably one of my favorite movies in general and it's filled with images of what we think the South was or even is. It's actually based on Homer's Odyssey. For a complete review, check out the summary at Wikipedia. First of all, it's set in Mississippi 1934 during the Great Depression, so the setting, the locations, the images are all the director's interpretation of the South. Many of the songs in the soundtrack are typical Southern style of the time like folk music, bluegrass, and so on. Also, the main characters are entranced by the baptism they see by the river. So, this idea of religion and Christianity is definitely portrayed in the movie. Also, the KKK and the burning cross, Grand Wizard are further portrayed, and in a sense suggests that the South must be represented with these images. Of course, most, if not all the accents in the movie are the typical Southern drawl, which have to be included in the movie to make it a genuine Southern movie. And also, on a deeper level, the plot shows the transition of the Old South to the New South. The plot is three men traveling around trying to get to a valley and find the treasure and money one of them buried there before it is flooded by the creation of a hydroelectric power plant. And on the way to the valley, they go through the Southern farmlands and forest. So, the audience gets to ideas of the South, one of industrialization but also agriculture. You can check out this video of a song that the main characters sing here.

Stupid is as Stupid does

One of my favorite movies and the best example of southern stereotypes in movies is Forrest Gump. The most offensive stereotype is that southerners are all stupid, portrayed through Forrest who is slow, but a good-hearted southern boy from Greenbow, Alabama. When asked if he is "stupid or something" he comes back with "Stupid is as stupid does". He unintentionally teaches Elvis to dance, busts the Watergate scandal, meets John Lennon and John F. Kennedy, and becomes a "gazillionaire" through Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. However, Forrest is not the only with a low IQ. After enlisting in the army he meets Bubba, who is also dumb and talks about nothing other than shrimp and the family shrimping business all day.

Nothing in the South is bigger than college football. In Forrest Gump, Forrest is offered a scholarship to play at Alabama because he can run, but he is so dumb he runs the ball for a touchdown and keeps running through the tunnel, and Coach Bryant says "That kid may be the stupidest I have ever seen, but he sure is fast". However, this shows that anyone in the South can go to college and graduate if Forrest can.

Another common stereotype of rednecks and incest is shown through Forrest's best friend and true love Jenny, who runs away from a sexually abusive father. Her childhood drove her to run across country and finding escape through drugs and men.

In the movie, Forrest cuts grass for free because he loves riding the lawn mower so much. This refers to the stereotype that all southerners are rednecks with tractors and lawn mowers.
However, on the more positive side, the movie also shows that southerners are very hospitable and loving through Forrest's love and forgiveness for people. He loves Jenny and lieutenant Dan no matter how they treat him. Forrest Gump is a very entertaining comedy that I can watch over and over, even though it is poking fun at southerners and contributing to the stereotypes southerners are constantly trying to get rid of.

The Andy Griffith Show

I don't know about my favorite southern movie, but my favorite southern TV show would have to be the Andy Griffith Show. The show's main character, played by Andy Griffith, is a sheriff in the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina.

Most of the plot revolves around the sheriff's duties keeping the town in order while taking care of social problems. Both issues are always light, allowing humor and a happy ending.

Despite its great humor and storytelling, the show was still full of southern stereotypes. For example, the town is always peaceful, and the sheriff, Andy Taylor, doesn't even carry a gun, while his deputy carries a gun with only one bullet. The show tries to represent an image of a better time gone by similar to that of Gone With the Wind.

The show was also somewhat racist. It did not show blacks as inferior, because it hardly showed them at all. The show was aired during the height of the civil rights movement, yet there wasn't a single black person with a speaking part in the first five seasons.

Sweet Home Alabama

There are many movies that portray southern stereotypes, but one of my favorites is Sweet Home Alabama. I personally have never lived or submersed myself into Alabamian culture, but if I did I honestly think that it might correlate with the stereotypes seen throughout the movie. That is my stereotype of Alabama, whether it is true or not.

Even in the trailer for the movie, many southern stereotypes can be pointed out. The way that southerners view the north, the reenactment of battles fought in the south, the concept of having babies in a bar, rodeo type dances and the great outdoors filled with mosquitoes, all some type of southern stereotype, come into play throughout the movie. This movie is filled with southern stereotypes that can be followed closely throughout the movie. As soon as Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) leaves the north, the way she acts and her identity completely changes. There is an enormous difference between the north and south in this movie and is portrayed very distinctly. This shows the effect that the northern and southern cultures have on people and how they can change the way they act and talk.

The trailer, as seen below, incorporates many southern stereotypes in order to draw in the audience and show the portrayal of the southern culture.

Sweet Home Alabama is one of my favorite movies. Maybe it is because it is a romantic love story, I am not really sure, regardless, I will watch it over and over. I find the southern humor relatable, even being from the south. I was not offended by its assumptions, even though they could have been directed towards me and my background. This movie does correlate with some of the stereotypes even I, a native southerner, think of when referring to Alabama. These may or may not be true, but if I, someone who lives in the south, thinks of those things, then non-southerns are definitely going to think the same. This movie portrays many typical southern stereotypes, from the way people talk and dress to how they view the north. But that is not why i love the movie. Most of all, it has an interesting and amusing southern plot, funny scenes, with a happy ending. What's not to love?

Topic

What is your favorite southern movie and what stereotypes throughout the movie make it southern?

Southern Accents

Everyone knows the stereotype of the slow southern drawl. But how common is it really? In my southern hometown, far less than half of the people I knew had what would be considered a southern accent. In fact, a large percentage of my high school was born outside of the south. I never even felt conditioned to the southern accent, if I heard someone with a heavy accent it would sound strange to me.

Of course, Tech is even more of a counterexample for the accent stereotype. Hearing Asian languages or accents is far more common than hearing a southern drawl. As the south is becoming more connected globally, we are seeing a disappearance of these stereotypical properties (which in some cases may have never existed at all).



Paula Deen embodies many southern stereotype, specifically that of the accent. Yet, if I heard her talking on the streets of Atlanta, it would sound very odd to me. I think this shows that in many places, the southern accent is a thing of the past.

Passion

The main reason why football is so dominant in the South, especially the SEC conference, is the influence sports have on families in the South. Parents sign up their children in sports at a young age. These parents pay for lessons and take them to practices and camps for that sport and sacrifice whatever it takes to make their child better. As the child grows up and the sport gets more competitive, the crazier the parent becomes, coaching and yelling from the sidelines, arguing with coaches about playing time, and bragging to everyone they know about how great their child is. Because children in the South start out in sports at such a young age they develop a love and obsession for the sport and will do whatever it takes to make it to the next level and play for their college. This love and dedication carries over to the team and makes southern teams dominant for their true passion.

Another important reason the SEC dominates sports is the fans and their passion for and dedication to the sport and their team. In the south, many children are brought up with a die-hard love for their team. These fans never miss a home game, even travel to some away games, wear crazy outfits or paint up for games, and fight any person trashing their team.

However, having been a die hard Tech fan since I was born and after all this talk about the SEC and how dominant it is I just have to say...GO JACKETS!!!! TO HELL WITH georgia!!!