Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
The Other Side of Hillbilly Mountain: A Re-Examination of Appalachian Representation in 1930s Animated Films
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
The scholarship that surrounds early animation, especially theatrical shorts of the 1930s, often centers on the poor representation of groups such as women, African-Americans, and foreigners. Another group of people that scholars have looked at in terms of animated representation within this era are “hillbillies.” Scholars focus on how early animated films perpetuated the Appalachian dweller as someone “free and untrammeled,” who “dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takes him,” as well as being someone who is “barefooted, shabby, [and a] black-bearded hayseed with the slouch hat” (Michael Frierson, “The Image of the Hillbilly in Warner Bros. Cartoons of the Thirties”). The hillbilly in these cartoons, according to scholars, also lacks intellect.
This paper’s purpose is not to claim that these negative representations do not exist or that we should ignore them in favor of a “kinder” reading. Instead, this paper works to show that there are multiple layers to these representations, seeing positive representations as well as the negative. This paper argues that these layers created a complex interaction between the audience and the films and that the audience may have seen these characters not only as dumb “hayseeds” but also as innovators and tinkerers who actually are able to act sophisticatedly with modern society and technology.
This paper will mainly focus on Tex Avery’s 1938 theatrical short A Feud There Was, but will make connections to other animated (as well as live-action) representations of the hillbilly. The paper will combine a close reading of the representations as seen on the screen with cognitive science research to examine the possible mental mapping that 1930s audiences may have been experiencing while watching these films.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Michael J. Meindl is an Assistant Professor of Media Production at Radford University. His practical and scholarly work focuses on animation in its largest sense, including traditional animation, puppetry, and robotics.
The Other Side of Hillbilly Mountain: A Re-Examination of Appalachian Representation in 1930s Animated Films
The scholarship that surrounds early animation, especially theatrical shorts of the 1930s, often centers on the poor representation of groups such as women, African-Americans, and foreigners. Another group of people that scholars have looked at in terms of animated representation within this era are “hillbillies.” Scholars focus on how early animated films perpetuated the Appalachian dweller as someone “free and untrammeled,” who “dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takes him,” as well as being someone who is “barefooted, shabby, [and a] black-bearded hayseed with the slouch hat” (Michael Frierson, “The Image of the Hillbilly in Warner Bros. Cartoons of the Thirties”). The hillbilly in these cartoons, according to scholars, also lacks intellect.
This paper’s purpose is not to claim that these negative representations do not exist or that we should ignore them in favor of a “kinder” reading. Instead, this paper works to show that there are multiple layers to these representations, seeing positive representations as well as the negative. This paper argues that these layers created a complex interaction between the audience and the films and that the audience may have seen these characters not only as dumb “hayseeds” but also as innovators and tinkerers who actually are able to act sophisticatedly with modern society and technology.
This paper will mainly focus on Tex Avery’s 1938 theatrical short A Feud There Was, but will make connections to other animated (as well as live-action) representations of the hillbilly. The paper will combine a close reading of the representations as seen on the screen with cognitive science research to examine the possible mental mapping that 1930s audiences may have been experiencing while watching these films.
