Television has served as an important influence in shaping common conceptions about American society. The characters and situations presented in television shows are often used to represent and describe the lives of larger portions of the American populace.This could not be more true when it comes to the caricature of the “southern hillbilly”. Television shows presenting the character of the hillbilly have been around since the postwar period of the 50’s. The hillbilly and the perceived American South took center stage with the emergence of popular shows like “All in the Family”, “The Andy Griffith Show” on CBS until the seventies. However, due to the changing economic and political nature of the south, hillbilly comedies continued to exist, but only in the corners of popular cable television, catering to the new suburban south. Figures like Jeff Foxworthy and shows like Duck Dynasty formed the new understanding of the hillbilly.

Our project will analyze traditional and contemporary representations of Hillbilly stereotypes on television in order to determine how the subject has developed and what key features remain the same. In order to do this, we will analyze four different television series in particular: Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971), Duck Dynasty (2012-2017) Dukes of Hazzard (1979-1985), and Justified (2010-2015). We will consult various scholarly works as well as theoretical works regarding the portrayal of “hillbillies” in the media and apply these concepts to various events, characters, and ideas within these series. Furthermore, we will compare and contrast the evolution and changes in these representations and stereotypes throughout time and across each of these series, taking into account the changing social and economic conditions of the United States. While we are analyzing the history of the hillbilly as a whole, particular attention will be given to topics of gender, race, social class, and education.