The "Real" South

The way that Hollywood portrays the south leads Americans to believe that everyone living in the Southern region of America is filled with hicks who deep fry everything and marry their cousins. The movie "Sweet Home Alabama" portrays a very "southern" Alabama. The trailer from the movie, click here or play below, is an accurate representation of what some very common stereotypes are. It perceives a civil war reenactment, a state filled with bugs, babies in a bar, and implies that Alabama should require a passport to travel to which leads the audience to believe that the south is a different country than the rest.

These stereotypes portrayed in the movie trailer are very common and not all entirely untrue. Civil war reenactments are common because of the importance of the war to many people who inhabit the south. If you have ever seen the movie, you know that there are many other stereotypes that stem from the movie. Eating, greasy fried food, are getting into a lot of trouble as a child are also common themes of the South in the movie.

While many of these assumptions can be deemed true for some of the South, saying that every southerner fits that profile is unrealistic. The post-modern south does not fit the profile of a minority of people in the south that this clip is perceiving it to. People who live in the post-modern south are ambitious, hospitable, good cooks, and very family oriented.

This South is not often portrayed by the media. That southern personal does not make interesting movies or shows that will entertain people. Because of this, many people tend to get the wrong impression of the south and are quick to judge every southern as the same. This can be seen by the blog of Shyla Martin, shown here. She is very quick to judge all southerners without thinking twice. I believe that people should think twice before making hasty generalizations about anyone. The south, the north, people of different races or ethnicities, every person is different, and judging people because of their background or where they come from is unfair and plainly ignorant.