NIX THE HILLBILLIES updates

Update 8/09: Yep, CBS is still considering the show

The Deseret Morning News in Utah ran a "cute" column about the show. Here is a copy of the letter I sent to the paper's editor as well as the columnist:

To the editor:

Since I'm one of those folks what's "gittin' mad" over the concept of "The Real Beverly Hillbillies," perhaps I should explain why the idea is so offensive.

Southerners in general, and Southern Appalachian residents in particular, are the last socioethnic group in America than can still be ridiculed in polite company. Every media representation that gives more fuel to the stereotype is perpetrating an image of a people and place that never existed, because our region is one of the most diverse in the country.

I have experienced this prejudice firsthand. As a student at Applachian State University, my speech teacher refused to give me the A I had earned until I pledged to go to the school's speech center to have my accent "cured." As a radio news announcer, my boss constantly criticized my accent and used it as an excuse not to promote me. (This, despite 90 percent of our audience speaking in my accent rather than his media-schooled Chicago accent).

Perhaps some newspaper columnist in the South will write an opinion column about why all Utah residents are arming themselves to take on the U.S. government, hoarding geneaological records for some nefarious purpose, and built their religion solely as an excuse for polygamy. Yes, I know not every Utah resident is a Mormon, just as all Appalachian residents aren't poor, uneducated, and marrying their cousins. I would think residents of an area that had seen its share of stereotyping and injustice would automatically understand why this show is wrong.

Maybe someday columnists won't go for cornball slander in their headlines and then we Southerners can stop "gittin' mad."

Scott Nicholson

Deborah Skelley responded to the column thusly:

Mr. Pierce,
We Appalachians protest the new Beverly Hillbillies project because we don't trust Hollywood to portray us accurately. Based on past experience with the film industry, our images and culture misrepresented, we have no reason to trust Hollywood. Here is the most recent example www.jescowhite.com Jesco, a real mountain man, a bit eccentric, was made in a cult figure because of his unusual ways. I do not know if you are familiar with this documentary, but it was picked up by Rosanne Arnold and exploited by her company. Jesco, was made into a stereotype of the modern mountain man.

We people of the mountains want a say in how we are represented. We control our image, not Hollywood, surely not people who do not know us. I want my children to control their self image based on their life experiences, and the Appalachian values they are taught. Just as Jessica Lynch, exploited by the media, chooses to speak for herself, so too can other Appalachians. Just because, for the most part, we shun the Hollywood lifestyle, doesn't mean we are a backwards people.

As suggested elsewhere, if Hollywood wants to make an interesting reality show, invite a big city family to live in West Virginia. Let them survive with only the basics. Have the mom actually cook the family meals from scratch. Have the family members hunt their own meat and grow their own produce. Take away the charge cards and give them a typical West Virginia family's income for a year, see how far they can stretch a dollar. You say we are complaining before the show has even been made. What is the point of the show? What is the entertainment value in Hillbillies going to Beverly Hills? Think of the scenarios and you will have the reason why we protest so much.

Deborah Skelley

Update 6/21: Column in the Raleigh News & Observer

Update 6/16: Feature in the Orlando Sentinel; column in the Knoxville News-Sentinel

Update 6/03: West Virginia authors John Billheimer (four books) and Keith Maillard (seven novels) have joined the campaign. Billheimer says, "The concept is an affront to the independent residents of Appalachia who have already suffered more than enough at the hands of out-of-state interests. If CBS has air time to fill, I suggest they try shipping a real Beverly Hills couple to West Virginia and letting them mine coal for a year. The title, "The Real Beverly Hillbillies" would still work (even though the couple might not).
Maillard says, "I'd be pleased and honored if you were to add my name to the list of West Virginia authors opposed to this stupid and ridiculous idea."

Update 5/30: For the record, there have been intermittent reports that CBS has dropped the show. However, the stance of the anti-show movement is that until CBS makes a full public anouncement, we will continue our campaigns. The president of Viacom said in AP press reports that "there are no current plans" for the show, which some people assume means it's dead. Yet even after that statement, CBS continues to say it is still being researched and considered.

NC mountain native Gloria Houston (Excerpt from a letter to the Asheville Citizen-Times, last September):
"CBS's programming department is demonstrating multiple strong cultural biases in even proposing such a program. We as Americans should be embarrassed that a major network is considering it. The image of the residents of the Appalachian region is an erronous image, one that should not be perpetuated by the media. However, the underlying issue that makes the program unacceptable is the issue of poverty, and the ridicule of people who do not choose to be poor and to have fewer advantages. We should all be outraged."

Update 5/27: Geography of the Stars- from Sharyn McCrumb

Kentucky: Ashley Judd, Diane Sawyer ("60 Minutes"), Noah Adams- NPR, TWO of the Backstreet Boys- (Richardson & Luttrell), Johnny Depp, Annie Potts, Patricia Neal, Lee Majors
West Virginia: Jennifer Garner (of "Alias"), John Corbett ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding"), Chris Sarandon
Western NC: Roberta Flack (somewhere near Asheville), Billy Graham (Black Mountain) Elizabeth Dole (Salisbury), Gloria Houston (Spruce Pine), Coach Roy Williams (Spruce Pine)
North Georgia: Julia Roberts (Smyrna) Kim Basinger (Athens), Joane Woodward (Cobb County)

Update 5/23: Story in Asheville Citizen-Times
Washington Post's coverage of Wednesday's miner's protest (which isn't bad except for the "from-the-holler" reference)

Update 5/22: I talked with CBS spokesperson Chris Ender at 1 pm today. The show is in "development limbo" but is still being explored. There was some national coverage of Wednesday's mine workers' protest at Viacom headquarters, but the some of the reporting was almost as offensive as the show, making allusions to the boys loadin' up the truck and coming "up from the holler." The AP version was fair and non-sensational.

There has been interest in circulating an electronic petition via email. I like the idea, though I don't think it has the same impact or veracity as a signed petition, and I don't like spamming anyone except the media. If anyone has the technological knowledge, cyberspace, and time to coordinate it, please volunteer at nixhillbillies@yahoo.com

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Appalachian Q&A from Sharyn McCrumb:

Who was the only cast member on the original Beverly Hillbillies who 
was actually from Appalachia?

	I know this because I looked it up. The answer is Nancy Kulp, who 
played Miss Hathaway, born in Harrisburg, PA, which is in the Appalachian 
region of western PA. The actors who played the Clampetts themselves: Buddy 
Ebsen, Belleville, Illinois; Donna Douglas, Baywood, Louisiana; Irene Ryan, El
Paso, Texas; and Max Baer, Jr.- Sacramento, California.

	In what state were the sit com "The Real McCoys" and "The Beverly
Hillbillies" set?
	California.

	In what state were the Ma & Pa Kettle movies set?
	Washington State. (They were a spin-off of the 30's movie "The Egg & 
I" starring Claudette Colbert & Fred McMurray, about running a chicken 
farm in rural Washington.)

	What drama on CBS is currently set in Appalachia?
	"The Guardian"-(Tues., 9pm CBS) a drama about a high profile law firm, 
set in Pittsbugh PA, starring Simon Baker (who is from Australia).

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Author Homer Hickam's full statement on the planned CBS reality show "The Real Beverly Hillbillies":

When I grew up in Coalwood, West Virginia, a place that might be considered in the heart of the Appalachian culture, I was taught many valuable lessons, among them the admonitions to be proud of who I am, to stand up for what I believe, to keep my family together, and to trust in God but rely on myself. These lessons have served me throughout my life and my successes as a writer and as a NASA engineer, therefore, are not my own. They belong just as much to the people who raised and taught me.

I am indeed proud to be a member of the Appalachian community, those people too often archly termed "hillbillies" by those who should know better. The sacrifices of these so-called "hillbillies" for the greater good of our country include a ready willingness to join our military forces, to take on the difficult but necessary task of mining coal to fuel our industries and light our homes, to farm rocky acres to supply food and sustenance for all, and to be charitable to any man, woman, or child who might come in their midst. They are in short a good people, of uncommon common sense, who retain the democratic values of the nation as it was originally conceived. They are my people and I am proud of them.

Yet, for decades, my people have without complaint shrugged off ridicule and fought with grit and determination a terrible and general prejudice. But even as they have persevered, the struggle continues. Now, we see the abhorrent idea by CBS, an American broadcasting company licensed by ALL the people and for ALL the people, to produce a television program whereby a family of American mountain stock will be placed in an unfamiliar setting so as to poke fun at them.

Make no mistake: the plan behind the so-called "Real Beverly Hillbillies" is nothing less than an assault on my culture, my parents, my teachers, and my friends. I therefore call on CBS Chairman Les Moonves to refute this act of outright bigotry and slander on some of his fellow Americans. If, however, his television network continues with the show, I call on Congress to intervene and consider pulling the license of CBS since it has shown an inability to use the public airwaves for the general public good.

Homer Hickam, Author of October Sky

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