Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Rural Reality: How Reality Television Portrayals Of Appalachian People Impact Their View Of Their Culture
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Appalachian people have faced stereotyping of their culture and region in popular culture, news media, and art for generations. For more than 150 years, images of the region have been extracted by outside media makers and disseminated widely, solidifying the “hillbilly” stereotype in the national lexicon. This study focuses on such images in reality television shows about Appalachia. It seeks to determine – through analysis of focus group interviews and personal reflections from the researcher (who is a tenth-generation Appalachian, and a fifth-generation Perry Countian, which is the community of study) – whether or not those images, and the proliferation of them, has an impact on the ways in which Appalachian people understand and accept their own culture. Connections are drawn between Appalachian images and the national and regional economy, and the ways in which Appalachian images have been used throughout 300 years of history in relation to the economy.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Ivy Brashear a native of Viper, Kentucky, and a tenth-generation Appalachian. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Appalachian Studies from Eastern Kentucky University, and a master’s degree in Community and Leadership Development from the University of Kentucky. She is currently the Appalachian Transition and Communications Associate at the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development in Berea, Kentucky.
Rural Reality: How Reality Television Portrayals Of Appalachian People Impact Their View Of Their Culture
Appalachian people have faced stereotyping of their culture and region in popular culture, news media, and art for generations. For more than 150 years, images of the region have been extracted by outside media makers and disseminated widely, solidifying the “hillbilly” stereotype in the national lexicon. This study focuses on such images in reality television shows about Appalachia. It seeks to determine – through analysis of focus group interviews and personal reflections from the researcher (who is a tenth-generation Appalachian, and a fifth-generation Perry Countian, which is the community of study) – whether or not those images, and the proliferation of them, has an impact on the ways in which Appalachian people understand and accept their own culture. Connections are drawn between Appalachian images and the national and regional economy, and the ways in which Appalachian images have been used throughout 300 years of history in relation to the economy.
