A Cuban in Mayberry : looking back at America's hometown / Gustavo Perez Firmat.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pérez Firmat, Gustavo, 1949- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

City and town life on television.

Andy Griffith show (Television program).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (192 p.)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Austin, Texas : University of Texas Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Half a century after viewers first watched a father and son walking to the local fishing hole, whistling a simple, yet unforgettable, tune, The Andy Griffith Show remains one of the most popular sitcoms in the history of American television. Tens of millions of viewers have seen the show either in its original run, its ongoing reruns, on DVD, or on the internet. Websites devoted to the show abound, hundreds of fan clubs bring enthusiasts together, and a plethora of books and Mayberry-themed merchandise have celebrated all things Mayberry. A small cottage industry has even developed around the teachings of the show’s episodes. But why does a sitcom from the 1960s set in the rural South still evoke such devotion in people today? In A Cuban in Mayberry, acclaimed author Gustavo Pérez Firmat revisits America’s hometown to discover the source of its enduring appeal. He approaches the show from a unique perspective—that of an exile who has never experienced the rootedness that Andy and his fellow Mayberrians take for granted, as folks who have never strayed from home or lived among strangers. As Pérez Firmat weaves his personal recollections of exile from Cuba with an analysis of the show, he makes a convincing case that the intimacy between person and place depicted in TAGS is the secret of its lasting relevance, even as he reveals the surprising ways in which the series also reflects the racial, generational, and political turbulence of the 1960s.

Contents:

""Acknowledgments""; ""Introduction. To the Fishing Hole""; ""Part One. The Place""; ""1. A World unto Itself""; ""2. Against Change""; ""3. Stopping the Story""; ""4. Great Pages in History""; ""5. From R.F.D. to R.I.P.""; ""6. The Road to Mayberry""; ""Part Two. The People""; ""1. Sheriff without a Gun (Andy)""; ""2. Imagination (Mr. McBeevee)""; ""3. Life Imitates Fife (Barney)""; ""4. A Face in the Crowd (Mr. Schwump)""; ""5. Growing Up, Growing Old (Opie and Floyd)""; ""6. Old Geezers (Judd and Asa)""; ""7. Mayberry Maidens (Aunt Bee, Helen Crump, and Thelma Lou)""

""8. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Ernest T. Bass and the Darlings)""""9. Otis Regrets (Otis Campbell)""; ""10. Love in the Country (Gomer, Goober, and Howard)""; ""11. Trashy Women (Daphne and Skippy)""; ""Conclusion. Old Sam""; ""Epilogue. A Cuban in Mayberry""; ""Appendix. List of Episodes""; ""Notes""; ""Index""

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-292-75924-X

OCLC:

891081369