Mediated Images of the South

The Portrayal of Dixie in Popular Culture

Contributions by Wendy Atkins-Sayre, Burton P. Buchanan, Franklin E. Forts, Mark Glantz, Michael P. Graves, Joshua Stockley, John W. Sutherlin, Kevin A. Unter, Jason Waite Edited by Alison Slade, Dedria Givens-Carroll, Amber J. Narro

Publication date:

01 March 2012

Length of book:

216 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739167151

Mediated Images of the South: The Portrayal of Dixie in Popular Culture, edited by Alison F. Slade, Dedria Givens-Carroll and Amber J. Narro, is an anthology that explores the impact of the image of the Southerner within mass communication and popular culture. The contributors offer a contemporary analysis of the Southerner in the media. In most cases, previous literature situates these media images in the past, most notably through historic analyses of the Southerner during the Civil Rights movement. Mediated Images of the South breaks out of the box of the 1960s and 1970s by including the most recent and contemporary cultural examples of the Southerner. This book represents a long overdue analysis of those images, from both the past and the present. In addition, the discussions are not limited to one genre of media, but provide the reader with an opportunity to see how far-reaching the myth of the Southerner and the Southern image is in American society. While there is a long list of successful southern politicians, historical figures, businessmen and women, actors and actresses, sports figures and other national and world leaders, Slade, Givens-Carroll, and Narro find that there is still work to be done to present southerners as capable and educated.

Introduction: Southern Images in Popular Culture, by Alison Slade
An Acceptable Stereotype: The Southern Image in Television Programming, by Alison Slade and Amber J. Narro
An Ethical Inquiry of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour's Appropriation and Commodification of Redneck Culture, by Mark Glantz
Hip Hop, Commerce, and the 'Death' of Southern Black Manhood, by Franklin Forts
The Rise, Fall, and Rise of the Kingfish—How Southern Politicians are Successful in the Face of Overwhelming Stereotypes, by Kevin Unter, John Sutherlin, and Joshua Stockley
Magnolias and Manufacturing: Southern Imagery In Mississippi's Promotional Publications, 1945-1955, by Burt Buchanan
Recognizing the Past, Celebrating Change: The "Mississippi Believe It!" Campaign Redefines the South, by Wendy Atkins-Sayre
Poor as Job's Turkey: Back to the Land as a Rhetoric of Authenticity in Foxfire's Appalachia, by Jason Waite
The Trivialization of Traditional Souther Religion in the Film The Grass Harp, by Michael P. Graves
College Football Fanaticism and Online Communities: A Reflection of Football as a Religious Experience in the South, by Alison Slade and Dedria Givens-Carroll
Bibliography
About the Contributors

There has been a recent trend in scholarly studies to assess how popular media have depicted the South. Karen Cox's Dreaming of Dixie: How the South Was Created in American Popular Culture (CH, Jan'12, 49-2870), for example, examines the ways in which southern stereotypes, largely generated by northern advertising and entertainment corporations, influenced the way the entire nation perceived the South in the 20th century. Communications scholars Slade, Givens-Carroll, and Narro gather essays on topics as diverse as the influence of hip-hop on southern black men, the historical use of traditional southern emblems in promoting Mississippi tourism, and the Blue Collar Comedy Tour's representation of redneck culture. As such, this book goes beyond historical interpretations only. Including essays addressing representations of southern culture from the recent past along with essays focusing on how current media depict the South, the editors attempt, as the introduction states, "to explore and understand the impact of the image of the Southerner within mass communication and popular culture." Most of the nine essays are relatively brief, averaging only 18 pages, including bibliographical notes. The introduction is a slight four pages. Summing Up: Recommended.