20 Stereotypes About The South That Movies Just Keep Getting Wrong

If you’ve heard a southern accent done right, you know how fabulous it is. From Texas to the Carolinas, Charleston to New Orleans, the sounds and melodies of Southern speech are hard to beat. But when it came to Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias, she beat-up the accent. It’s almost a relief when they switch off her life-support machine, so bad is the Louisiana drawl. And in Charlie Wilson’s War her Texan accent wasn’t much better. 

But not all actors who attempt a southern drawl fail so completely. Take one Jodie Foster. A super actress, born and raised in Los Angeles. And yet her take on a Virginian accent in The Silence of the Lambs is, we’re reliably informed, about as close to the real thing as it’s possible to get. So what we’re saying is, if you’re not as good as Jodie Foster, please stop doing the accents.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that no one in the south has heard of air conditioning. Yes, it can be very hot and humid outside. According to the movies, though, southern residents just suffer the heat and humidity indoors as well. Damp clothes, faces, arms and hair abound in movies like A Streetcar Named Desire and A Time to Kill where perspiration just pours off the cast in lounges, restaurants and literally everywhere else.

Where Matthew McConaughey has no problem sweating through a meal at an actual restaurant in A Time to Kill, other southern lawyer movies take a different tack. The Client, for instance, proves absolutely that lawyers, at least, have definitely heard of air conditioning. Because it never has to be as hot indoors as it is outside, Hollywood, okay?

If you only believed what you saw in the movies, you’d think everyone in the south has three distinct hobbies: hunting animals, pulling fish out of creeks and driving around in a massive pick-up truck. Movies like Southern Comfort and literally dozens of horror flicks like to indulge in the blood-hungry hunter-trapper stereotype. Then there’s the likes of Road House, where the souped-up southern truck reaches it’s macho zenith.

There are, though, those movies where the truck is less a shorthand for redneck and more the utilitarian conveyance it’s meant to be. And Twister, starring the late, great Bill Paxton, himself a southern gentleman, might be the best example of that. A storm-chasing vehicle that has to contend with tornadoes and survive? Only a pick-up will ever do. And not a fishing rod in sight.

When you think of the south, you most likely hear cicadas chirping, see beautiful sunsets over the bayou and tiny little one-street towns. Thanks Hollywood! Literally any horror movie set in the south involves a remote community with little else to do than eat outsiders. From Wrong Turn to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and beyond, redneck maniacs easily outnumber the cities. Because there aren’t any.

Yes, there are lots of wide open spaces, including Florida’s everglades, and tons of gorgeous small towns in the south. But even Florida has a huge city, namely Miami. And what about Atlanta? Austin? Memphis? They’re all glistening cities that are easily as metropolitan as New York or L.A. Thankfully, flicks like Baby Driver have started to notice just how cool some of those southern cities really are.

Southern belles are a favorite trope of Hollywood. Those incredibly polite women who are all about one thing: men. Or more specifically, one man in particular, and we’re not talking about Matthew McConaughey. No, there’s always one man that, say, Reese Witherspoon changes her entire life to entice. See The Notebook and Sweet Home Alabama for extreme examples of women who perhaps haven’t quite made it out of the 1950s.

But there are one or two movies that prove man-focussed southern belles aren’t the only type. See Olympia Dukakis and Shirley MacLaine terrifying the men in Steel Magnolias and every woman in Fried Green Tomatoes, fighting the system every step of the way. These southern belles are the real deal. Classy, sassy and more independent than the fourth of July.

If you were to listen to Hollywood, you’d think people in the south only ever ate fried food. From chicken to okra and dessert, everything comes with a generous helping of batter and grease. Movies like The Help haven’t really… helped with those perceptions. Huge portions of fried chicken with a side of social awkwardness makes everyone cringe. 

Yes, there’s a fried element to the comfort food of the south. But to say that their culinary fare ends there is short sighted. Take Forrest Gump’s shrimp company, showcasing the incredible seafood of the region. Then there’s Waitress’s fantastical pies, because dessert is more than just beignets. They are amazing though. Also see almost every episode of Man V Food ever.

This particular stereotype is completely embodied by the aforementioned shrimp salesman, one Forrest Gump. The hapless, harmless, inadvertent hero with no education who solves the world’s problems with gormless kindness. Bless. But his omnipresence in movie culture hasn’t done the south any favors, further perpetuating the idea that lots of southerners are just dumb enough to be real nice.

But we’re lucky that some movies remember that having a southern accent doesn’t automatically make you a buffoon. See Tucker and Dale Vs Evil in which the evil are outsiders that mistake the eponymous lovely southern gentleman for redneck maniacs. Or Slither where Nathan Fillion’s Sheriff Bill Pardy is smart, funny and totally paralyzed by women. And deer.

Thanks to horror movies like Wrong Turn, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Cabin Fever, there’s a persistent theory that southerners have a very specific taste in partners. Specifically, people they’re directly related to. And apparently they go on to produce terrifying children. While this idea makes for horrifying movie fare, it’s hardly what’s hot in Houston.

This is the part where we’d usually tell you which movies show the real south, but where limited gene pools are concerned, that’s literally any other movie. As long as it’s not about Jerry Lee Lewis. So instead, we chose Walk the Line, because Johnny Cash was cool and also didn’t marry one of his relatives. 

We do declare! Yes, for some reason, Hollywood loves the idea that southerners speak a special form of American. From Blanche Dubois’ old-timey dialogue in A Streetcar Named Desire to just about everything Forrest Gump says,  southern dialogue has to contain as many phrases from the 19th century as possible. Because, ya’ll from the south, right?

We’re not saying that 19th century phrases don’t ever pop up in southern speech. They absolutely do. We’re just saying they’re nowadays used with restraint. Take Nicholas Cage in the hilarious Raising Arizona. Just prior to robbing a store, he tells his partner, “I’ll be out directly.” Perfectly understated. Then there’s the superb Sam Elliott’s Stranger in The Big Lewbowski. Was there a more gentlemanly southerner ever committed to film? We think not.

Ever get the feeling that trailers are everywhere in the south? That’s most likely due to Hollywood forever telling you that the south is crammed with row upon row of metal homes. Flicks like Killer Joe give the distinct impression that all southerners reside in a double-wide with a stray dog and an empty pool. And just a ton of inappropriate behaviour.

Thankfully there are one or two movies set in the south that prove actual houses exist there. Okay, they tend to be massive suburban manors that make us all very jealous. See Pickford’s house in cult classic Dazed and Confused, and yes, Steel Magnolias, again. But the place that we love the most in that flick isn’t Sally Field’s palace. It’s Dolly Parton’s modest home-cum-salon where all the real action takes place. Book us in!

Now, there’s a chance that this particular stereotype might be Dan Aykroyd’s fault, in a roundabout way. There’s a funny scene in The Blues Brothers where a down-home crowd refuses to allow the band to play anything other than two country tunes. So they have the theme from cowboy extravaganza Rawhide, and Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man” over and over again.

Of course, country music is hugely popular in the south, as it is all over the world. But to assume it’s the only genre allowed in the region isn’t only short-sighted, it means you’re missing out on some amazing movie soundtracks. May we point you in the direction of Dazed and Confused for some great southern rock, and the astounding southern sounds that come out of Jamie Foxx in Ray. Achy-Breaky hearts need not apply. 

In an almost identical, if less hilarious fashion to country music, the banjo-playing southerner also basically came from one movie. And that movie is Deliverance. Despite all the menace and chasing of outsiders, a musical scene became shorthand for all the negative southern stereotypes you can think of. Yes, the “Duelling Banjos” scene is absolutely iconic. But it’s iconic for all the wrong reasons. Which is a shame, because it’s actually fantastic. 

While the banjo can be amazing when it’s played well, southern music shouldn’t scare the bejesus out of you. And movies such as the sublime O Brother Where Art Thou? showcase some of the world’s best music. We defy anyone who bought that soundtrack to not immediately fall in love with Bluegrass. The soulful precursor to country, it lifts an already fantastic movie into the realms of art. 

According to a ton of Hollywood movies, a tractor is clearly a southerner’s preferred mode of transport. From Days of Thunder to Footloose, the farm equipment has a palpable presence. A sort of Christine for rural types. But just like the rest of America, tractors very much have their place in the south. But that doesn’t mean they’re a southerner’s only option.

Yes, southerners do, in fact, drive cars. They also use buses. And trains. You get the idea. And thankfully so do some movies. See Dazed and Confused for some classic muscle cars, Austin-style, driven by Matthew McConaughey wearing the tightest pink trousers we’ve ever seen. Also, Baby Driver for an Atlanta-based lesson in the perfect high-speed getaway.

Despite what Hollywood might be telling you, cowboys hats just aren’t that popular in the south, Texas notwithstanding. Movies like Killer Joe and The Blues Brothers make it seem as though you absolutely have to own an outstanding collection of hats before you can call yourself a southerner.  But that simply isn’t the case. Would you wear a hat to the office? No, and neither do most southerners.

For our money, there is just one movie that gets this particular head-gear and it’s owner right. We’ve mentioned them already, and no, it’s not Matthew McConaughey and his cowboy hat. It is Sam Elliot in The Big Lebowski. A true gentleman cowboy, you don’t even mind that he’s wearing his hat in the bowling alley.  What we’re saying is only Sam Elliot is ever allowed to wear one on screen, K?

Movies like Gone with the Wind and Streetcar would have you believe southern women are delicate little flowers. So delicate, in fact, they couldn’t possibly cope with Marlon Brando or having to work for a living. They much prefer debutante balls, hoop skirts and looking like porcelain dolls. Don’t get us wrong, they’re both incredible movies. But it’s hardly gritty realism. 

Southern women are, in fact, every bit as capable of dealing with the likes of Marlon Brando as the rest of us. And as for the hoop skirts, don’t even get us started. In these temperatures? Insanity. For a far more credible look at southern women, see the much pointed out Steel Magnolias, dripping with the strength and gallows humor that southerners love.

If movies are right, Hollywood’s perception of southern hospitality still resides in the 19th century. Inspired by the setting of the still-rich portions of Gone with the Wind, it’s all posh balls, 12-course meals and gallons of ice tea. And flicks like Charlie Wilson’s War really haven’t helped. Set in the 1980s, the action takes place more than 100 years after Gone with the Wind, which was based in the 1860s. It’s like the 20th century didn’t happen.

Southern Hospitality definitely exists, it’s famous the world-over for the good food and kindness. But for you ordinary, every day debutante, social events are nothing like Hollywood might have you believe. These days, you debut at the local pool hall, a la Dazed and Confused, and hospitality involves beer busts and parties at the moon tower. Although we’re pretty sure everyone would have the 12-course meal if they could.

Or, as it’s sometimes known in the south, their veranda. And yes, Hollywood loves this idea. Having a deck that surrounds the house, giving you a covered, outside space is a fantastic idea. When it’s as hot as the south, you need some outside shelter. But according to movies including Deliverance and Cool Hand Luke, southerners seem to spend most of their lives just sitting there.

Of course, lots of people down south use their porch. There’s even a porching union. But it isn’t the be all and end all movies make it out to be. Because... they have air conditioning now. See really any movie set in a southern city… But we’ve gone with Smokey and the Bandit. Not much porch-sitting there. Although, there are some questionable cowboy hats.

From Robert Mitchum’s prowling preacher in Night of the Hunter to Steve Martin’s evangelical con artist in Leap of Faith, the south is all about religion, according to Hollywood. Church dominates everyone’s lives, from politics to pop culture and everything in between. It’s not called the Bible Belt for nothing, right?

It might surprise you to read this, but the south is as diverse as anywhere else in the States. And they’ve even got at least one group of neo-pagans. So while the movies might like the idea that church is all southerners think about, it’s definitely not. See Smokey, Dazed and Confused, O Brother and anything starring Matthew McConaughey.

Outside of a mint julep on the veranda, it seems that ice tea is the only beverage available in the movie south. Yet if you’re from the south, you probably call it sweet tea. Either way, Hollywood loves having southerners drink this particular tonic. See Gone with the Wind and even the usually reliable Steel Magnolias. Dolly Parton refers to it as “the house wine of the south.”

Not that southerners don’t drink sweet tea. It’s just that they don’t drink it exclusively. Because a ton of today’s soft drinks have roots in the region, from Pepsi to Dr Pepper. Not to mention the many forms of hard liquor that come from the southern states. See Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for a completely insane amount of bourbon consumed on screen. 

Yes, Matthew McConaughey has played a southern character so many times, you’d actually be forgiven for thinking that all male southerners look just like him. From hat-wearing maniacs to partying city workers and brooding lawyers, he’s been them all. See Killer Joe, A Time to Kill, Dazed and Confused, Mud, Free State of Jones and The Paperboy, among many others.

There are many other representations of southern men to be found in the movies, as you’d expect. From Brando’s moody drifter in The Fugitive Kind, to Bill Macy’s dancing lawman in Happy Texas, they come in all shapes, sizes and humors. Not that we’ve got anything against McConaughey. His affable, often shirtless presence is always welcome as far as we’re concerned. Y’all hurry back now!