Honey BooBoo et al—the sanitization of Social Pathology

[cthulu2016]

We love rednecks and other sorts of folks similarly unencumbered with civilization, like the Jersey Shore kids. "Fucked up people who behave funny" is our lovable national freak show.

But it is presented within certain limits. For instance, nobody is ever raped on Jersey Shore, which is odd, since the entire premise of the show is like the "avoid this sort of thing" part of a rape-prevention educational film. (The show is 24/7 hook-up nightclub culture among a group of 20-something steroid-users and alcoholics and would, in real life, be a lot uglier than presented.)

Take Here Comes Honey Boo Boo... gluttony, ignorance/illiteracy, common-law family-making, teen pregnancy and lots of flatulence and fecal matter.

But no domestic violence, racism, drug abuse, incest/rape or homophobia.

It's like magic! A very narrowly managed tableau of safe, acceptable transgression.

I am not saying that the Honey Boo Boo clan has those problems. I am saying that they are on TV because they do not. They are magical poor rednecks... on reality TV, which is all fake anyway.

So we have somebody on Duck Dynasty who was chosen to be on TV as a bizarre uncivilized southerner untouched by modernity and it turns out that he has opinions entirely typical of who he is. (Or of the character he is playing...)

And, for some reason, this is a scandal.

Oh no! The thawed-out caveman from 1850s Louisiana has bad racial attitudes!

Oh Hell... it is worse than that. The white southerner who supports racism and homophobia as political causes (all deep-south Republicans do, after all) actually believes the things our elected officials believe!

This guy cannot be on TV any more because he says things typical of the political class of his region! Save that stuff for C-SPAN, buddy. This is A&E.


The point of this OP is that is somebody doesn't want people with typical redneck views on TV then perhaps idolizing redneck culture is not the way to go.

But instead we get sanitized pathology.

Like the fictional lovable rednecks, the Dukes of Hazard, who I am sure had all sorts of civilized, progressive attitudes. The confederate flag on their car was heritage, not hate.

Whatever. I am shocked to pieces that the crazy TV rednecks aren't giving all their money to the NAACP. Who saw that coming?

[seabeyond]

1. but... we are all for and cheer, demand and insist to normalize porn into mainstream

so we can wallow in that? just our hypocrisy alone should embarrass du.

i do not watch these shows, but i do not pretend we have our own we do not hail as entertainment.

[Katashi_itto]

2. Lol!!

[seabeyond]

3. one persons trash is anothers treasure. right? hence the hypocrisy. nt

[Katashi_itto]

4. I agree, you do know about hypocrisy.

[Kurovski]

8. +1

but that's inevitable when everything is a possibility to talk about the one and only thing one wants to talk about.

[JCMach1]

5. Exactly, he can be in a reality show as long as he isn't 'real'

Remember fictional character Archie Bunker? the racial slurs he used to sling?

[SomethingFishy]

6. Reality television...

Those are the Duck Dynasty younger brothers... before they decided to play pretend redneck for money.

[Cleita]

7. We do get the whole redneck philosophy however

as Fox News and as government policy. Most Muricans can't even see it as such though because it's everyday familiar to them. Somebody like me, who was raised between this culture (my redneck American family) and my mother's culture (South American) can see the glaring prejudices in both cultures as well as the many positives.