Presentation
In this presentation I am going to explore how and why Rednecks are represented in cinema in such a negative way. From my research I have discovered that a moral panic was being created before cinema was even a popular art form, that being the ''Rednecks''. This is due to the countless movies and texts that portray the American rural communities as a threat, therefore subliminally reinforcing the ideology into consumers minds that ''Rednecks'' are something to worry about, due to challenging the social norm. According to The Rhetoric of Appalachian, a book by Todd Snyder the word Hillbilly has Scottish origins. ''Though Harkins recognises the term's connection to Scottish terms such as 'Hill-folk' and 'Billie,' he argues that the term Hillbilly did not become a part of mainstream America's vocabulary until the 1900s.'' This suggests that the first known use of the word Hillbilly was used in an article by Julian Hawthorne ''The first known use of the term ‘hillbilly’ in print is often attributed to Julian Hawthorne, a writer for the New York Journal. In 1900, he wrote a political piece that marvelled at the rural poor he had come across on a recent trip.'' This quote from Hal Lyons' article Hillbilly Horror: Rednecks and their cinematic counterparts, could imply that a moral panic was being created which could in later years form a hegemonic representation of the infamous 'Redneck'. If this ideology is true, this could imply that Julian Hawthorne's political piece influenced the countless films that portray 'Rednecks' in a negative way, the precursor being The Deliverance. This can be reinforced with another quote from Hal Lyons ''The key model for “hillbilly horror” would arrive in 1972 with Deliverance.'' This quote reinforces that The Deliverance is one of the key films to set a trend in 'Hillbilly Horrors', which is why it is one of the films I'm going to analyse, due to it being one of the first films to demonise 'Rednecks' and create a blue print for the countless films that followed. The next film I'll analyse is The Hills have eyes, this is due to the physical appearance that was created in The Deliverance being enhanced through the use of physical disability, ultimately creating an even more negative representation. The final film I'll analyse is Tucker and Dale Vs Evil, this is due to it being a different genre to the other films I'm going to analyse and also because it challenges the representation of Rednecks that have been created through the other movies I'm going to analyse.
The duelling banjos scene in The Deliverance promotes its key themes subtly through the use of its cinematography, as even though in the scene the rural community and the characters from the city appear to be getting along, through the use of cinematography, both archetypes are represented as outsiders through both archetypes' perspectives. Ways in which the cinematography could suggest both archetypes are represented as outsiders is through the use of shot types, that more specifically being long shots, as through the use of long shots both archetypes are positioned in a way that keeps the characters distant to the audience, unable to familiarise or emphasise with them, ultimately representing the characters as outsiders. This could allegorically imply a north-south divide between the two cultures, as through the rural communities' perspective the people from the city are viewed as outsiders and this is vice versa with the characters from the city. This would give the 'Rednecks' a motivation to be the antagonists within the film as they are rejected from American culture ultimately, in extremely loose terms giving them a reason for what they do. The use of a lack of non-diegetic music helps create a more darker, uncomfortable tone which emphasises that the characters from the city are not welcome in the 'Redneck's' environment. A quote which reinforces the ideology that the rural community view the city dwellers the same way in which the city dwellers view the rural community is a quote from Hal Lyons in which it says ''The hillbillies are shown to be poor, mysterious people, gawking at the “weekend warriors” that plan on traveling a river that is known to be dangerous. Director Boorman isolates the audience in a foreign environment where the so-called “normal” people are viewed with either distrust or outright hostility.'' This can allegorically connote that due to the 'Rednecks' being isolated from cities and mainstream civilisation they are territorial over what little they have and will protect it with dire consequences.
Apart from the cinematography, which I will go into in more depth later, the ways in which the characters look helps create a more vivid representation, as it helps strengthen their stereotype. For example the boy playing the banjo clearly appears to have some sort of disability which is a recurring iconography throughout Hillbilly horrors such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. Through research I have discovered that this stereotype that is being created could be for a reason rather than a shortcut to identity, this is evident from the quote ''Whereas it’s implied the hillbillies of Deliverance are too poor for insurance or doctor’s visits, the hillbillies of Rituals suffer at the hands of the supposedly sophisticated medical community. '' This quote yet again from Hal Lyons' could allegorically imply that rural communities were suffering medical malnutrition due to being 'outsiders' in the rest of societies eye's, or purely because they live too far away from a hospital. This could mean that John Boorman isn't intending to depict the American rural community as a 'backwards' community, but maybe a a forgotten, rejected one. This can be reinforced from a quote from Stuart Hall's book Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices, in which it says ''Representation means using language to say something meaningful, or to represent, the world meaningfully, to other people.'' This quote can create an argument to as whether John Boorman is attempting to highlight how the American rural community are a community that are forgotten about and when discovered are heavily discriminated, or a community to be forgotten about due to their old fashioned ideologies and appearance. All this allegory is created just through the sheer appearance of the 'Rednecks' and can create many meanings, as it could suggest their appearance reflects the ideologies the rural American community hold, hence them being physically disabled. If it's true that John Boorman is attempting to highlight a north-south divide and highlight an inequality that would mean the rape scene in the movie wouldn't exist, as this scene completely contradicts that argument.
The rape scene in the Deliverance completely demonises and alienates American rural communities due to how savage and serious the subject matter of rape is. The fact in which the 'Rednecks' don't have names suggests it isn't of importance, as it says ''We never learn the names of the rednecks that rape Bobby; they are merely toothless thugs that loathe everything about the city boys.'' This quote from Hal Lyons can imply that the rapists could be any rural American, if not all of them. The severe domination in the scene could allegorically imply to the lack of dominance they actually have in reality and could connote jealousy as due to the characters in the gang coming from the city, it could imply that the 'Rednecks' are stripping everything that Bobby has by committing such a heinous act. The use of obscure shots within the scene positions the audience to be in a position in which they are voyeuristically watching what is happening, as if they are almost hiding from the 'Rednecks'. Due to the Deliverance being the first of its kind, that being 'Hillbilly horrors' it is able to create a serious moral panic through the use of hegemony, as before this rural American communities were represented as more of a humour based text, almost something freakish rather than to be feared. This changes audiences perspectives of rural American communities as Stuart Hall's book Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices says ''Meaning depends on the relationship between things in the world-people, objects and events, real or fictional- and the conceptual system, which can operate as mental representations of them.'' This can imply that from audiences consuming texts that represent rural American communities in a negative way can be reminded of them texts through visual signifiers, for example a petrol station in the middle of nowhere, that would remind me of a typical 'Hillbilly horror'. This leads me to my next film The hills have eyes in which the opening sequence begins in at a petrol station in the middle of nowhere.
Because of the Deliverance creating iconographies that many 'Hillbilly horrors' have followed it is no surprise that the 1977 Hills have eyes, directed and written by Wes Craven follows a similar format, that being a group from a more civilised part of America finding themselves in a remote, rural area in which they are then attacked by the community that live there. Hills have eyes is based on a case in Scotland as it says in a review from Variety Staff ''Reputedly based on genuine 17th-century Scottish cave-dwellers, these savages terrorize a strip of Californian desert in which the Carters are stranded by a snapped axle.''With the evidence that the word 'Hillbilly' came from Scottish origins and that The hills have eyes is based upon 17th century Scottish cannibals, it could be implied that the stereotypes of 'Rednecks' share an increased amount of iconographies with rural Sottish communities than we may realise.
The physical appearance in The hills have eyes is over exaggerated due to the living conditions the 'Rednecks' live in, as we learn throughout the narrative of the film that where the 'savages' live is where the military use it as an air testing range. The physical appearance could be purely as a caricature type method, emphasising distinctive, stereotypical features that we tend to see on 'Rednecks' such as their teeth or the height of them which can be used a short cut for meaning as it says ''Representation is an essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture.'' This quote from Stuart Hall's book Representation: cultural representations and signifying practices could imply by Wes Craven emphasising distinctive features, we as an audience are able to gather meaning from the mise en scene and understand that the 'savages' within the film are 'Rednecks'. Another way in which the physical appearance can promote ideologies is through the theory that allegory is involved within the film, as due to the military using the 'Rednecks' land as an air testing range in the narrative, it could allegorically imply that there is a sense of realism to what The hills have eyes is attempting to portray, but until the US government officially announce that this is true we can only rely on unacademic theories.
The blue print that The deliverance created is evidential in The hills have eyes that being the savagery and violent, sexual nature, thankfully not as severe in The hills have eyes, that being the violent, sexual nature. As well as the 'Rednecks' being enhanced in this film as they're radio active cannibals, the 'protagonists/victims' of this film are enhanced as there is a direct quote from one the characters which says 'You never used language like that until you moved to New York city.' This could imply the bigger the city you're from the more ignorant you are which tends to be the character that dies first in most traditional horror films. A scene that portrays the American rural community as 'savages' is in the scene where one of the 'Rednecks' bights off the family's budgie's head, this portrays the American rural community as deprived, animalistic, this can be reinforced from Hal Lyon's article Hillbilly Horror: Rednecks and their cinematic counterparts, as it says ''As does happen with any niche group, the hillbilly culture was picked up by the entertainment industry. The creation of the Lil’ Abner comic strip and the Ma and Pa Kettle films painted a picture of the hillbilly as a slack-jawed idiot that spent most of their lives covered in filth and existing in perpetual poverty.'' This can connote that John Boorman and Wes Craven could be inspired by media texts such as this through the use of hegemony, which is why even though the 'Rednecks are portrayed as psychotic and cannibalistic, they're presence is some what humorous and over exaggerated. The use of poverty is a motive within most 'Hillbilly horrors' and is a means to as why they carry out their actions, this is evident in Texas Chainsaw Masacre, as a once thriving community suddenly becomes abandoned which forces the family to be cannibals, which is similar to The hills have eyes, which yet again could allegorically imply something serious about American society.
The duelling banjos scene in The Deliverance promotes its key themes subtly through the use of its cinematography, as even though in the scene the rural community and the characters from the city appear to be getting along, through the use of cinematography, both archetypes are represented as outsiders through both archetypes' perspectives. Ways in which the cinematography could suggest both archetypes are represented as outsiders is through the use of shot types, that more specifically being long shots, as through the use of long shots both archetypes are positioned in a way that keeps the characters distant to the audience, unable to familiarise or emphasise with them, ultimately representing the characters as outsiders. This could allegorically imply a north-south divide between the two cultures, as through the rural communities' perspective the people from the city are viewed as outsiders and this is vice versa with the characters from the city. This would give the 'Rednecks' a motivation to be the antagonists within the film as they are rejected from American culture ultimately, in extremely loose terms giving them a reason for what they do. The use of a lack of non-diegetic music helps create a more darker, uncomfortable tone which emphasises that the characters from the city are not welcome in the 'Redneck's' environment. A quote which reinforces the ideology that the rural community view the city dwellers the same way in which the city dwellers view the rural community is a quote from Hal Lyons in which it says ''The hillbillies are shown to be poor, mysterious people, gawking at the “weekend warriors” that plan on traveling a river that is known to be dangerous. Director Boorman isolates the audience in a foreign environment where the so-called “normal” people are viewed with either distrust or outright hostility.'' This can allegorically connote that due to the 'Rednecks' being isolated from cities and mainstream civilisation they are territorial over what little they have and will protect it with dire consequences.
Apart from the cinematography, which I will go into in more depth later, the ways in which the characters look helps create a more vivid representation, as it helps strengthen their stereotype. For example the boy playing the banjo clearly appears to have some sort of disability which is a recurring iconography throughout Hillbilly horrors such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. Through research I have discovered that this stereotype that is being created could be for a reason rather than a shortcut to identity, this is evident from the quote ''Whereas it’s implied the hillbillies of Deliverance are too poor for insurance or doctor’s visits, the hillbillies of Rituals suffer at the hands of the supposedly sophisticated medical community. '' This quote yet again from Hal Lyons' could allegorically imply that rural communities were suffering medical malnutrition due to being 'outsiders' in the rest of societies eye's, or purely because they live too far away from a hospital. This could mean that John Boorman isn't intending to depict the American rural community as a 'backwards' community, but maybe a a forgotten, rejected one. This can be reinforced from a quote from Stuart Hall's book Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices, in which it says ''Representation means using language to say something meaningful, or to represent, the world meaningfully, to other people.'' This quote can create an argument to as whether John Boorman is attempting to highlight how the American rural community are a community that are forgotten about and when discovered are heavily discriminated, or a community to be forgotten about due to their old fashioned ideologies and appearance. All this allegory is created just through the sheer appearance of the 'Rednecks' and can create many meanings, as it could suggest their appearance reflects the ideologies the rural American community hold, hence them being physically disabled. If it's true that John Boorman is attempting to highlight a north-south divide and highlight an inequality that would mean the rape scene in the movie wouldn't exist, as this scene completely contradicts that argument.
The rape scene in the Deliverance completely demonises and alienates American rural communities due to how savage and serious the subject matter of rape is. The fact in which the 'Rednecks' don't have names suggests it isn't of importance, as it says ''We never learn the names of the rednecks that rape Bobby; they are merely toothless thugs that loathe everything about the city boys.'' This quote from Hal Lyons can imply that the rapists could be any rural American, if not all of them. The severe domination in the scene could allegorically imply to the lack of dominance they actually have in reality and could connote jealousy as due to the characters in the gang coming from the city, it could imply that the 'Rednecks' are stripping everything that Bobby has by committing such a heinous act. The use of obscure shots within the scene positions the audience to be in a position in which they are voyeuristically watching what is happening, as if they are almost hiding from the 'Rednecks'. Due to the Deliverance being the first of its kind, that being 'Hillbilly horrors' it is able to create a serious moral panic through the use of hegemony, as before this rural American communities were represented as more of a humour based text, almost something freakish rather than to be feared. This changes audiences perspectives of rural American communities as Stuart Hall's book Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices says ''Meaning depends on the relationship between things in the world-people, objects and events, real or fictional- and the conceptual system, which can operate as mental representations of them.'' This can imply that from audiences consuming texts that represent rural American communities in a negative way can be reminded of them texts through visual signifiers, for example a petrol station in the middle of nowhere, that would remind me of a typical 'Hillbilly horror'. This leads me to my next film The hills have eyes in which the opening sequence begins in at a petrol station in the middle of nowhere.
Because of the Deliverance creating iconographies that many 'Hillbilly horrors' have followed it is no surprise that the 1977 Hills have eyes, directed and written by Wes Craven follows a similar format, that being a group from a more civilised part of America finding themselves in a remote, rural area in which they are then attacked by the community that live there. Hills have eyes is based on a case in Scotland as it says in a review from Variety Staff ''Reputedly based on genuine 17th-century Scottish cave-dwellers, these savages terrorize a strip of Californian desert in which the Carters are stranded by a snapped axle.''With the evidence that the word 'Hillbilly' came from Scottish origins and that The hills have eyes is based upon 17th century Scottish cannibals, it could be implied that the stereotypes of 'Rednecks' share an increased amount of iconographies with rural Sottish communities than we may realise.
The physical appearance in The hills have eyes is over exaggerated due to the living conditions the 'Rednecks' live in, as we learn throughout the narrative of the film that where the 'savages' live is where the military use it as an air testing range. The physical appearance could be purely as a caricature type method, emphasising distinctive, stereotypical features that we tend to see on 'Rednecks' such as their teeth or the height of them which can be used a short cut for meaning as it says ''Representation is an essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture.'' This quote from Stuart Hall's book Representation: cultural representations and signifying practices could imply by Wes Craven emphasising distinctive features, we as an audience are able to gather meaning from the mise en scene and understand that the 'savages' within the film are 'Rednecks'. Another way in which the physical appearance can promote ideologies is through the theory that allegory is involved within the film, as due to the military using the 'Rednecks' land as an air testing range in the narrative, it could allegorically imply that there is a sense of realism to what The hills have eyes is attempting to portray, but until the US government officially announce that this is true we can only rely on unacademic theories.
The blue print that The deliverance created is evidential in The hills have eyes that being the savagery and violent, sexual nature, thankfully not as severe in The hills have eyes, that being the violent, sexual nature. As well as the 'Rednecks' being enhanced in this film as they're radio active cannibals, the 'protagonists/victims' of this film are enhanced as there is a direct quote from one the characters which says 'You never used language like that until you moved to New York city.' This could imply the bigger the city you're from the more ignorant you are which tends to be the character that dies first in most traditional horror films. A scene that portrays the American rural community as 'savages' is in the scene where one of the 'Rednecks' bights off the family's budgie's head, this portrays the American rural community as deprived, animalistic, this can be reinforced from Hal Lyon's article Hillbilly Horror: Rednecks and their cinematic counterparts, as it says ''As does happen with any niche group, the hillbilly culture was picked up by the entertainment industry. The creation of the Lil’ Abner comic strip and the Ma and Pa Kettle films painted a picture of the hillbilly as a slack-jawed idiot that spent most of their lives covered in filth and existing in perpetual poverty.'' This can connote that John Boorman and Wes Craven could be inspired by media texts such as this through the use of hegemony, which is why even though the 'Rednecks are portrayed as psychotic and cannibalistic, they're presence is some what humorous and over exaggerated. The use of poverty is a motive within most 'Hillbilly horrors' and is a means to as why they carry out their actions, this is evident in Texas Chainsaw Masacre, as a once thriving community suddenly becomes abandoned which forces the family to be cannibals, which is similar to The hills have eyes, which yet again could allegorically imply something serious about American society.
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