The Beverly Hillbillies

Recently, a local television station began airing The Beverly Hillbillies from the first episode. This coincided with my December/January break from teaching, so I have been at home, most days, to see it. Let me tell you some thoughts.

1) The idea that people from Appalachia (or, since its not quite clarified, the Ozarks) in the, and I emphasize this, mid-Twentieth Century had not heard of modern appliances is a myth, but one I can live with. The idea that Mountain People of the time were utterly naïve is slightly insulting (especially given that such a high proportion of us either lived in urban environments, had been virtually enslaved by corporations from outside of the region looting our natural resources, or had been displaced by Federal programs intended to benefit virtually everyone but us), but I can deal with this on the basis that this naiveté is probably intended to as a foil to “modernity,” a way of saying that modern American life, with its airs of technology, its socio-economic distinctions, formalism, and shysterism is moving away from our cultural ideal and fails to accomplish its goals as effectively as it did in its own recent past—think of how Romantic novels portrayed native Americans—The Beverly Hillbillies is like that, but without the deep, moving nobility (which slightly annoys me). What really irks me, though, is the fact that the characters don’t change—oh sure, Jed learns, adapts, chooses to retain his culture though he ultimately understands the one he surrounded in quite well. But no other character learns—Jethro (in fifth grade well into his twenties), Ellie Mae, Granny, they all stay exactly the same—ignorant. Apparently the lesson here is not that all Hill Folk are stupid: only the 3 out of 4 are.
I don’t think I’d be so disturbed if it weren’t for the fact that I think you can make any group of people the core of a good comedy without insulting them—like how some sports teams have used nations as mascots without insulting them (Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish, FSU’s Seminoles, and good ol’Maryville College’s Scots). Consider The Andy Griffith Show. Are the people friendly? Sure. Are the naïve? If by naïve you mean trusting, decent, genteel, sure. Are there some people who are ludicrous? Hell yes—but they are the exception, the jokers in the pack. Are there some people who are willfully ignorant (which is radically different from being simply ignorant)? Yeah—but again, they are exceptions. Granted, Mayberry is a pretty well-off little place for the mountains, but the number of towns that were pretty well-off in the region is pretty substantial. Even in towns that are (or historically have been) less well-off, though, it is generally from the same world-system effect that impoverishes hard-working people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Difference is, it’s considered a faux pas to insult people from those states.

2) Oil in Appalachia. What the hell? Coal, sure. Natural gas, sure. Timber, limestone, shale, gravel, hydroelectric power, burley tobacco, dairy products, or magical leprechaun gold, I can buy any of that. But oil? Seriously. Get a book. Any book. Any of them.

3) Good theme song, though.