Nov. 16, 2008
Part One: Convenience, Editing Assist in Cliché West Virginia Stereotypes in Film
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor
When watching a film or series at the megaplex or on television, residents of the State of West Virginia fall victim to numerous clichés, most of which have negative implications.
For instance, independent film actress and producer Dani Englander, who hails from Rainelle, has traveled the country visiting film festivals, brokering film financing deals, and , of course, appearing in featured roles in such films as “Southern Gothic” and as a hostess on the Discovery network.
Englander has heard the comments “generally in jest,” such as “Wow, you’ve got all your teeth,” “did you have indoor plumbing,” “you’ve got all your teeth,” and, of course, those in-breeding jokes.
“I don’t take it personally. It’s just ridiculous though. Every single state in our nation has residents who are uneducated, lacking in hygiene or social skills… that that most people somehow attribute exclusively to West Virginians,” Englander explained.
The sister of the McCall Brothers whose family started the Marquee Cinemas chain has notable West Virginia political officials complaining too. Most recently, Gov. James Manchin complained about a scene in “The Express,” the film concerning the First African American Heisman Trophy winner, which contained one scene set at a 1959 West Virginia University home game in which Morgantown fans were depicted as highly racist and nearly uncontrollable.
After Manchin’s complaint made the news, the screenwriter contacted the governor with an apology and an explanation: He wrote the scene as occurring in Virginia, which would place it deeper in the South during that pre integration period. Someone else in the filmmaking process had switched the scene to West Virginia.
And, the state has been the recipient of poverty, hillbilly and inbred depictions in cinema and television often. In fact, a casting director actually called the state asking for some inbred types as extras for a horror film. The casting director was fired.
Why do so many hackneyed stereotypes of West Virginians roll out in film? I asked a former major studio executive and now producer for his input.
“I think Hollywood, as it were, goes for the most simple or direct characterization of any state or resident of a place. i.e. . the brash, heavily accented New Yorker, California surfer dudes, Texas dumbbells, etc. The goal, apparently, is to convey time and place quickly & easily. Hence,, the cliches. The best writers, of course, do not do this.
From the insight of the former film studio executive, it’s easy for filmmakers to utilize the stereotype, rather than a more realistic outlook. After all, the business of show business has concerns about a movie’s running time and the executives often screen a work in progress of the production to California audiences to gauge marketability.
However, the former executive paused and thought carefully when I countered, “Is it all about saving budget money?” His response: “Yes, but definitely NOT always the case.”
Huntington filmmaker M. T. Fitzgerald (“Meth Man”) acknowledged that filmmakers in the state have to work on the state’s image. “To outsider filmmakers, it’s a locale with the history and stereotypes attached to it. We have to give them a reason to use West Virginia in a new context.”
Fitzgerald continued, “The more we shoot in West Virginia, either horror (though not using stereotypical settings like “The Wrong Turn”), but modern horror, action (for example, martial arts action), and drama (non-coal ) we present the state as any other with the same problems and trappings.” He suggested specific scenic locations and unique geographic features. “A blend of those will open the eyes of filmmakers from outside the area to what the state is all about.”
Speaking on behalf of Gov. Manchin, press secretary Matt Turner stated the governor believes that often “ the writers and producers responsible for the portrayal not only are not familiar with the state, [but] in many cases they have never been here. It’s easy to pass judgment on a place or people you don’t know and to base that on an existing stereotype.”
Thus, like the former Hollywood studio executive, Gov. Manchin concluded “it’s not right but it’s easy.”
PART TWO: How do we alter the attitudes and substitute a positive one?
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Part One: Convenience, Editing Assist in Cliché West Virginia Stereotypes in Film
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Entertainment Editor
When watching a film or series at the megaplex or on television, residents of the State of West Virginia fall victim to numerous clichés, most of which have negative implications.
For instance, independent film actress and producer Dani Englander, who hails from Rainelle, has traveled the country visiting film festivals, brokering film financing deals, and , of course, appearing in featured roles in such films as “Southern Gothic” and as a hostess on the Discovery network.
Englander has heard the comments “generally in jest,” such as “Wow, you’ve got all your teeth,” “did you have indoor plumbing,” “you’ve got all your teeth,” and, of course, those in-breeding jokes.
“I don’t take it personally. It’s just ridiculous though. Every single state in our nation has residents who are uneducated, lacking in hygiene or social skills… that that most people somehow attribute exclusively to West Virginians,” Englander explained.
The sister of the McCall Brothers whose family started the Marquee Cinemas chain has notable West Virginia political officials complaining too. Most recently, Gov. James Manchin complained about a scene in “The Express,” the film concerning the First African American Heisman Trophy winner, which contained one scene set at a 1959 West Virginia University home game in which Morgantown fans were depicted as highly racist and nearly uncontrollable.
After Manchin’s complaint made the news, the screenwriter contacted the governor with an apology and an explanation: He wrote the scene as occurring in Virginia, which would place it deeper in the South during that pre integration period. Someone else in the filmmaking process had switched the scene to West Virginia.
And, the state has been the recipient of poverty, hillbilly and inbred depictions in cinema and television often. In fact, a casting director actually called the state asking for some inbred types as extras for a horror film. The casting director was fired.
Why do so many hackneyed stereotypes of West Virginians roll out in film? I asked a former major studio executive and now producer for his input.
“I think Hollywood, as it were, goes for the most simple or direct characterization of any state or resident of a place. i.e. . the brash, heavily accented New Yorker, California surfer dudes, Texas dumbbells, etc. The goal, apparently, is to convey time and place quickly & easily. Hence,, the cliches. The best writers, of course, do not do this.
From the insight of the former film studio executive, it’s easy for filmmakers to utilize the stereotype, rather than a more realistic outlook. After all, the business of show business has concerns about a movie’s running time and the executives often screen a work in progress of the production to California audiences to gauge marketability.
However, the former executive paused and thought carefully when I countered, “Is it all about saving budget money?” His response: “Yes, but definitely NOT always the case.”
Huntington filmmaker M. T. Fitzgerald (“Meth Man”) acknowledged that filmmakers in the state have to work on the state’s image. “To outsider filmmakers, it’s a locale with the history and stereotypes attached to it. We have to give them a reason to use West Virginia in a new context.”
Fitzgerald continued, “The more we shoot in West Virginia, either horror (though not using stereotypical settings like “The Wrong Turn”), but modern horror, action (for example, martial arts action), and drama (non-coal ) we present the state as any other with the same problems and trappings.” He suggested specific scenic locations and unique geographic features. “A blend of those will open the eyes of filmmakers from outside the area to what the state is all about.”
Speaking on behalf of Gov. Manchin, press secretary Matt Turner stated the governor believes that often “ the writers and producers responsible for the portrayal not only are not familiar with the state, [but] in many cases they have never been here. It’s easy to pass judgment on a place or people you don’t know and to base that on an existing stereotype.”
Thus, like the former Hollywood studio executive, Gov. Manchin concluded “it’s not right but it’s easy.”
PART TWO: How do we alter the attitudes and substitute a positive one?
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
