Honey Boo Boo and Hillbillies - Essay Example

In Honey Boo Boo, the father is the breadwinner, however, it isn’t enough for owning a large house, where he could hide from all those nasty women. Yet, the family does nothing to change their lives. At the same time, one could agree with Michele Dean on the statement that the attractive feature of hillbillies – particularly in this show – lies in the fact that a mediocre middle-class spectator finds another social group to blame for the corruption of the nation. In other words, watching hillbillies like Boo Boo‘s family, a middle-class citizen is likely to think that he/she is not like them, he/she is better.

The show depicts the flaws of another group. On the other hand, the reception of hillbillies might be strongly negative due to their “crass behavior”, as Dean states. Probably, each episode of the show can give numerous reasons for condemnation of hillbillies: these people can fart in public, use obscene words in front of children, cook dinner out of the roadside killed deer; children demonstrate disrespect of their father, while the mother shows a rather abnormal pattern of child-rearing.

However, the characters remain appealing and it is possible that the characteristics listed above are only reinforced by the listed negative objectionable aspects of the hillbilly image. The hillbilly turns out to be ‘other’, outrageous, absurd, and even disgusting in his/her typical lifestyle and habitat, but people are generally attracted by scandalous and blatant things. Moreover, the realization of the middle-class white American being not like the depicted hillbillies raises interest and comfort of watching the show.