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Essay / Negative Stereotypes Associated with Appalachian People
Stereotypes have become a negative connotation in the American vocabulary, but they are a persistent mindset when society thinks about people from certain regions. To me, when a group from specific regions or cultures acts, reacts, dresses, speaks, develops mannerisms and personal habits, they place themselves in the category of stereotypes for their particular niche on the planet. Likewise, the visual image (real or imagined) and ideologies that people "from outside" have regarding a specific region and its inhabitants are defined (in part) as a stereotype. Yet change and the evolution of ideas are inevitable and occur from generation to generation in these regions and among these people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay For example, the idea of the “mountain man” who originated in the southern Appalachian region. For several decades, America's idea of the people of Appalachia was that of stupid, ignorant, mumbling, shoeless people who drank moonshine day after day and did little more in their day's work than to raise their pitchers or light their corncob pipes. Although isolation bred poverty and drinking was a source of income and entertainment, the idea of "pop culture" of the Appalachian region could not have been further from the reality of a constant struggle for survival and sustenance. Much of what "mainstream" America and other countries have come to view as Appalachian culture grew out of films, short films, and books rather than hard facts and research. As is the case with human nature, the images depicted in both visual presentation and writing are often the idea that people cling to when thinking about the antics and cultural norms of different groups and companies. Early in the country's development, travel to the Appalachian Mountains was limited to a few hearty souls, due primarily to the terrain of the mountainous regions and the infrequent gatherings of "poor" mountain people, leading to the belief that all hill people were like Ma and Pa Kettle (although they were from the Ozarks), the Beverly Hillbillies and of course the white people. Today, the "pop culture" idea of regional Appalachia residents has shifted from "hillbilly" to "redneck" (again in part due to films such as: Hillbilly Nightmares, Redneck Horrors, Backwoods Terror and Wrong Turn are no longer seen as drunken, shoeless pipe chewers, this idea has been replaced by groups of young men and their female counterparts, in big, overly noisy trucks (usually diesel), playing. playing country music loudly and displaying either the American flag, the Confederate flag, or both, from the bed of their trucks. Their attire is almost uniform in that they sport worn t-shirts with the tails tucked behind. large buckles adorning a too-tight, faded belt of blue jeans, baseball caps advertising various logos of local equipment companies or cooperatives, and large balls of “dip” whose “juice” is spat out liberally by them. all, either on the ground or in Dr. Enuf's bottles. Time changes all things. …thoughts, perspectives and stereotypes. In our ever-changing world, one can only hope that one day the negative stereotypes associated with Appalachia will be lifted and the world will understand the mystery and wonder of this "close-knit" region. »..