Hillbilly : a cultural history of an American icon / Anthony Harkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harkins, Anthony.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mountain people in popular culture--United States.

Mountain people in popular culture.

White people in popular culture--United States.

White people in popular culture.

Popular culture--United States.

Popular culture.

Group identity--United States.

Group identity.

White people--Race identity--United States.

White people.

Mountain people--United States--Public opinion.

Mountain people.

White people--United States--Public opinion.

Public opinion--United States.

Public opinion.

United States--Civilization.

United States.

United States--Race relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 324 p. ) ill., ports.,

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This text argues that the hillbilly - in his various guises - has been viewed by mainstream Americans simultaneously as a violent degenerate who threatens the modern order and as a keeper of traditional values and thus symbolic of a nostalgic past free of the problems of contemporary life.

In this pioneering work of cultural history, historian Anthony Harkins argues that the hillbilly-in his various guises of "briar hopper," "brush ape," "ridge runner," and "white trash"-has been viewed by mainstream Americans simultaneously as a violent degenerate who threatens the modern order and as a keeper of traditional values of family, home, and physical production, and thus symbolic of a nostalgic past free of the problems of contemporary life. "Hillbilly" signifies both rugged individualism and stubborn backwardness, strong family and kin networks but also inbreeding and bloody feuds. Spanning film, literature, and the entire expanse of American popular culture, from D. W. Griffith to hillbilly music to the Internet, Harkins illustrates how the image of the hillbilly has consistently served as both a marker of social derision and regional pride. He traces the corresponding changes in representations of the hillbilly from late-nineteenth century America, through the great Depression, the mass migrations of Southern Appalachians in the 1940's and 1950's, the War on Poverty in the mid 1960's, and to the present day. Harkins also argues that images of hillbillies have played a critical role in the construction of whiteness and modernity in twentieth century America. Richly illustrated with dozens of photographs, drawings, and film and television stills, this unique book stands as a testament to the enduring place of the hillbilly in the American imagination.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Introduction: Race, Class, Popular Culture, and "the Hillbilly"

Chapter one: From Yankee Doodle to "Devil Anse": Literary, Graphic, and Ideological Progenitors, 1700-1899

Chapter two: The Emergence of "Hillbilly," 1900-1920

Chapter three: Country Music and the Rise of "Ezra K. Hillbilly" in Interwar America

Chapter four: Luke, Snuffy, &amp

Abner: Hillbilly Cartoon Images in Depression-Era America

Chapter five: Hollywood's Hillbilly in Mid-Twentieth-Century America

Chapter six: The Hillbilly in the Living Room: Television Representations, 1952-1971

Epilogue: From Deliverance to Cyberspace: The Continuing Relevance of "Hillbilly" in Contemporary America

Postscript

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Non-Print Cultural Productions

Films

Radio Programs

Songs

Television Programs

General Index.

Notes:

Formerly CIP.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-307) and indexes.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-280-53200-9

9786610532001

0-19-803343-5

1-4337-0012-3

OCLC:

922953034