Analysis Of The Unescapable Stereotype By Erich Nunn

The Unescapable Stereotype: A Summary Erich Nunn’s essay “Screening the Twenty-First-Century South” stresses issues in the South in the Twenty-First-Century. He focuses on how commodified “well worn,” as nunn states, stereotyped versions of Southern residents are glorified and laughed at throughout media. The media portrays the South as such to cover up the actual issues the South is facing. He digs deep into popular TV shows that do so, such as Duck Dynasty, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, and True Detective. Nunn begins his argument showing how the South has had a dreadful reputation starting at the nineteenth century and sadly that reputation still remains. Nunn considers how television today is flooded with stereotypical depictions of southern culture. He argues how media is receiving major profits from these depictions that are actual real problems in the South. We should watch television more analytically, Nunn claims. These shows are making real issues comical, when the nation should be focusing on these …show more content…
Nunn explains that the South has a big part in media as a whole. For example, he uses the fact that CNN’s parent company and Adult Swim are all in the South. These same shows use the same stereotypical southerners for comedy. The disasters the South has been a victim of, such as Katrina add a disastrous touch to Southern Literature. The south is a common background for disastrous themed television shows and film, such as the AMC television series, The Walking dead, and the film Beasts of the Southern Wild. Nunn provides the example that The Walking Dead takes place in downtown Atlanta and the characters make their way through the empty Southern Wasteland filled with zombies. Nunn asks the question that, is there a reason for these disastrous settings for these stories taking place in the South or is it just a