Dreaming of Dixie: How the South was Created in American Pop Culture

Yesterday, our class attended a lecture presented by Dr. Karen Cox, an author and historian specializing on the American south of the early 20th century. Dr. Cox's discussion was focused specifically on pop culture of the early 20th century and how it portrayed the south. The south in that period was a land with wounds of the American Civil War still fresh on peoples minds. Racism and inequality were a norm, and many former slaves were still indentured workers on plantations, having no other options to make a living. Despite these facts, pop culture of every form celebrated the south as a land of romance and "old southern values." Southern typology prevailed in pop culture from 1880 to 1940 and beyond. Southern stereotypes could be found in advertising, food, radio, music, film, and later television. The views of the south as a place of romance and grace was much like a mythology. People, especially those living in the south, knew that there was no truth in the interpretation, yet they encouraged it and believed in it none the less.

"Mammy," a common stereotype of the time. Specifically, this character is from Gone With the Wind.

This talk was rather stimulating, and it did take some thought to realize how it relates to our class and our topics. I came to realize some pretty stark connections, however. History, as has been said, is not just what people choose to remember, but what they choose to forget. This is exactly what was occurring in pop culture as Dr. Cox described it. By carefully selecting what people are exposed to, you are controlling how they think and what they think about. This method was effective in advertising, music, film and other media, and it is actually the exact method deployed by disciplinary museums. Much like in pop culture, disciplinary museums select what people see and how they see it, which effects the way they think and act.

I found Dr. Cox's lecture to be rather interesting. The idea of a romanticized south was one I knew, but I was never really aware of it and I had never thought about it. I was aware of many of the southern stereotypes of the time (the mammy, the southern belle, etc), which I had learned about in a Race and Diversity class previously. It was interesting to make the correlation with the pop culture of the early 20th century, though. It was also interesting figuring out the indirect ways in which the talk related to the topic of museums. Overall, I would say the talk was well organized and informative.