John Deere and the South

Since I grew up in Georgia, I used to see this logo almost everyday, whether it was on equipment or on clothing. This logo represents John Deere, a company that makes equipment such as agricultural, construction, and forestry machines. However, when I see this logo, it does not remind me about the company but about something else.

In my high school, there were many cliques, one which was the redneck group. These guys believed they represented the South, so they would perform some of the stereotypical characteristics of Southerners. For example, they would have the redneck accent, drive red pick-up trucks, camouflage clothes, and of course the John Deere merchandise hats and jackets. But why would those guys want to where John Deere? It's because they feel in order to perform a Southern identity, they need to incorporate one part of it, which is the agriculture/construction identity. The redneck clique knew that if they wanted to be a part of the South, they need to acknowledge the agricultural/construction part of their performed identity.

So whenever I see the John Deere logo, especially on clothing, I think about how some Southern people try to perform their Southern identity by embodying themselves with specific stereotypes of the South. So the topic that I'm introducing is to talk about any symbol or object that you feel represents the South or at least provides a portrayal of the South.

Git-r-Done!

Hey, it's Ankur. Since I was born and raised in the South, I really can't recognize any Southern idioms that other people do. There are always the "y'all" and "'em" as well as "ain't" that are words that almost everyone relates them to the South. Because I really don't know any idioms that sum up the real South, I will talk about a phrase that sums up the stereotypical South.

I'm sure you guys have heard of Larry the Cable Guy, a stand-up comedian and actor who frequently stars on Comedy Central. If you just take one look at him, you can figure out that he is the icon of the Southern stereotype. What really made this guy popular was his catch phrase: "Git-r-Done". According to the urban dictionary, the phrase means lets do this or go for it. Whenever I hear this phrase on TV or random people talking about it, it reminds me of how everyone views the South (rednecks with accents) from this one phrase and in association, Larry the Cable Guy.

Here is a video to show Larry's trademark phrase:

Y'all

I am honored to be able to talk about one of the greatest words in the english language. Y'all. I absolutely love the word. I think of all sayings or words this is the one that identifies someone as Southern more than any other. It is the contraction of you all. Many people misspell the word as ya'll. This is wrong however.

I know many northerners that have come down to the South and will accept listening to country music or doing something else that is mostly Southern, but they refuse to say the word y'all. They say "you guys" instead hoping to hold onto the last bit of their northern identity. It seems like the deciding factor to if you are Southern or northern is if you say y'all or "you guys". We all take pride in the way we refer to others.

Since y'all is so commonly associated with being Southern, it is even the name of a Southern magazine, Y'all: The Magazine of Southern People.

It's such a great Southern word because it begs to be said with a Southern drawl. You cannot say it properly without dragging it out and saying "Yawl". It even made it into Rush Hour when Chris Tucker was trying to teach Jackie Chan how to say y'all properly.

Put 'em up?

Hey you guys,
I want to share with you an experience that impacted me when I came to the States 6 years ago. The first day of school I noticed things were different--the people, especially the way they interacted with me, some treating me as if I was a complete "alien," others a little more accepting of my bizarre accent. And this leads me to the topic I want to present.

In every country, more so in every country's subdivision, regionalism exists. Some define regionalism as "a feature that is characteristic of a particular region" and to me accents and colloquialisms are everything. Hispanics are characterized by their mispronunciation of "r's", since most are "rolled" in Spanish. There's also the challenging difference between "sh" and "ch" sounds, and the infamous "th" and "t." People stereotype me by my accent, as I do to others.

That being said, I would like you to mention a particular word, phrase, or sound that you believe characterizes the South. As for me, there's one experience that stands out vividly. As I mentioned before, when I moved to the States my life changed completely. I knew English since I attended a bilingual school, but I realized there were specific phrases I did not understand. One day, I dutifully placed my textbook on top of my desk as I did every other day. As soon as I did that, my teacher addressed the class and said, "Ok, put 'em up." That did not make any sense to me... first off, put what up? and up where? The book? But mine was already up? And why was everyone just sitting there without their books on their desks? Well, I guess it was because, ironically enough, "put 'em up" really meant "put 'em down" (aka away...).
So that's what they say in the South.. not too rational, but hey, it makes the South, the South.

Misrepresentation from popular TV shows

I hate to talk about more TV shows, but the ideals of today's media are apparent mainly from the popularity of TV and its shows. One show that I thought really presents a misrepresentation of the South is My Name is Earl, which is a comedy about a "white trash" crook who turns his life around by beginning to do good deeds in order to gain positive karma. The setting is in Camden County, a fictional location on the border between the North and the South. Because of the exact location, the show compares and contrasts the people of each region. Earl and his family, representing the South, live in trailer homes and fulfill the white trash stereotype. Throughout the show, there are multiple extramarital affairs among the characters, even interracial affairs. Compared the "Northern" suburb which the rest of Camden County represents, Earl and his family are portrayed as dirty, unsophisticated, and unintelligent.



This show like many others, such as The Cleveland Show, demonstrate the stereotypical South as a bunch of dumb, racist rednecks or white trash that live in trailer homes with the Southern accents. From these TV shows, we can see that the media itself misrepresents the South without it ever actually learning about the South and portraying it as it is; however, as we know, the South is more than what the media presents.

Sweet Home Alabama

The first movie that popped into my head was Sweet Home Alabama. It doesn't necessarily present ideas of the old South. It is more presenting what people think the stereotypical South of today is. Gone with the Wind is about a family with southern money, however Sweet Home Alabama is mostly about middle-class folks. I feel that when people think of families of the old South they imagine rich plantation owners, but when they think of Southerners from today they think of rednecks. This stereotype is represented in the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The movie suggests that just about everyone drives a truck and that it is commonplace to dress up in a Confederate uniform and shoot mortars around the backyard of the plantation house that was owned by our relatives. It also suggests that everyone goes to watch or participate in the Civil War reenactment and then goes to get drunk at the bar. The overall feel of the movie is that Southerners have lost what "class" they had and have not forgotten about the Civil War and believe that "the South will rise again!" and northerners are heartless and cold (well, that partly is true). A large portion of Southerners probably know very little about the Civil War.

Equal opportunity in current media show

To tell you the truth, I have not watched american TV shows for the past few years so I do not exactly know about current TV shows. However, reminding myself of the TV shows I have watched few years back, I can say that current media does not portray old southern ideals or values. Today media shows contains characters from different ethnicity and background. However, they all have equal opportunities and rights in the shows.

For example, Project Runway is a tv-show that is a competition of fashion designers to win the title and open their own fashion store. They also get to present their collection in a famous fashion show. Because it is a competition, designers with talent and uniqueness get to compete in this show, despite their background and ethnicity. Therefore, whites and blacks and even Asians get to join the competition. This show portrays that there is no old southern values or ideals. These days, it's more of a talent and ideas that makes you superior and powerful rather than skin colors and history.

Another show that I would like to introduce is the America's Next Top Model. I bet all the girls would know this show. Similar to Project Runway, this is a show where girls from around the United States compete to become America's next top model. Although the picture above is a picture from season 5 (I think), just by first look, you can tell that not everyone is white. About 35% of the girls who competed in this cycle were blacks. It is a show that is not only for white Americans, but for girls who have the potential to become American's next top model and represent America to the world.

I don't know about other shows that portrays the old souther ideal or values. The shows that I have watched since I came to the United States were all about competing and winning. Maybe that's why the shows that I can talk about are shows that gave everyone equal rights and opportunity to achieve their goals.

-Hye Jin Ahn-