Real Final Post - Southern Plantation

Like Blake I will also write about a topic of my own choosing this week. I would like to expand on an earlier topic I introduced about finding the South because I think I may have actually seen it for the first time. This past weekend I visited Jekyll Island and saw some pretty cool things one of which I found particularly surprising. While on the island I saw an actual Southern plantation from the 1700s and it was nothing like I would have imagined. I had always imagined enormous and gorgeous homes when I thought of Southern plantations, but this one was seemed to be about the size of my dorm room and even more modest. I think that this is an excellent example of the actual South not lining up with the stereotypes and archetypes we have in our heads (especially as a non-Southerner). It is also an example of how diverse the South is. While I would bet that there are many plantations that are like the ones shown in Gone With the Wind, I also know that there are much more modest homes and not all plantations are the same everywhere in the South.

Final Blog Post - Southern Rock

Okay since I think everyone has already posted their final blog posts, I don't think anyone will be updating a topic for this week. Therefore I have decided to take the liberty upon myself to write about what ever I so please staying within the realm of the general topic of "the South." Therefore I'm going to write about my project group's theme for the year, Southern Music, and more specifically southern rock. Southern rock evolved from the genres of rock n' roll, country music and blues. Southern rock really reached its peak in popularity in the 1970's with the Allman Brother's Band. They were out of Macon, Georgia which is really close to Atlanta, only about an hour away. Another very notable band that falls under the genre of southern rock is Lynyrd Skynyrd with their most famous song "Sweet Home Alabama." If you have never heard this song before you aren't even allowed to call yourself a southern, hell you're probably not even allowed to call yourself an American. Enlighten yourself if you haven't:


Well there's a little crash course in Southern Rock.

My Southern Tradition- Final Blog Post

When I was little, a tradition that my family had was to go to my father’s tennis team’s matches. The neighborhood we used to live in had a pretty good tennis team for the ALTA (Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association) league. The matches would be held on Saturday mornings and I used to go with my little sister to the home games. I also went to away games once in a while. My mother would join me occasionally as well. Many families would come to watch one of their family members play and it was a very family atmosphere. The food at the games would be delicious; I was especially fond of the Subway sandwiches and cookies. Everyone there had fun eating and cheering on their particular team’s players and I would cheer the loudest for my father. The highlight of my father’s tennis team was when they were City runner-up’s in 2001 and you know that I was there for the final. Tennis is one of the fastest growing sports in the South and especially in Atlanta. This is probably because of the South’s ideal weather for outdoor activities. I do consider this tradition to be Southern because it is an outdoor activity where a lot of people get together to eat food and have a good time.

Response to Southern Hospitality

Southern Hospitality is a term we hear quite commonly but what exactly does it mean? As stated in Wikipedia, “Southern Hospitality is a phrase used in American English to describe the generalization that residents of the Southern United States are particularly warm and welcoming to visitors to their homes, or to the South in general.” As I have mentioned in some of my previous blogs, I have lived in suburban Atlanta most of my life and I have seen this aforementioned Southern Hospitality in my daily life. When I first moved into my house, my neighbors invited us over for dinner within two weeks. Southern Hospitality is also apparent when our neighborhood has annual pool parties at the swimming pool. The residents are very friendly and are always ready to strike up a conversation. I believe that the South’s distinct food also plays a role in Southern Hospitality. Barbeques are social events where everyone is friendly with each other and if you happen to be a guest, you witness the comfort and hospitality of Southerners. In cities like New York and Los Angeles, everything is much busier so there isn’t as much time to make small talk or to have conversations with others. Before the Civil War, wealthy Southerners were known for their lifestyle of proper ladies and good mannered gentle men. This way of living has continued to be emulated even in today’s society where you hear Southerners say statements like thank-you, your welcome, bless you, etc.

Favorite Blog Post So Far...

My favorite blog posts so far were all of the one's in response to the topic I created about finding a YouTube video of a southern stereotype and writing about it. The reason's these were my favorite because I wanted to get a general idea of what other people thought was truly stereotypical of the South. And as I expected almost everyone showed a stereotype that depicted southerners in a negative way. Rahul's video depicted southerners as racist, ignorant drunks. Kirsten's video showed a couple of southern kids performing and undoubtedly stupid stunt. Phillip's video however highlights a distinction between two different types of southerners. There are the two fast talking heavily accented southerners which you cant understand a word of what they're saying, a negative representation of southerners, and then two southerners who speak in a manner that anyone could understand. My point in this was trying to figure out why southerners are depicted to be so ignorant, racist, constantly drunk, and speak in a way undiscernable to any non-southern. I myself am southern yet display none of these stereotypes. I think the main thing to realize is there are many different classes that encompass the realm of "being southern." The one that is generally stereotyped negatively to depict all southerners is what me and my friends back home used to derogatorily refer to as "dirt kids." These depictions and stereotypes should not be applied to all southerners.

There is a distinction between class in the South. We aren't all the ignorant, belligerent drunks that we have somehow been stereotyped to be.





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Re Rhaul and Rednecks

This post by Rhaul about a redneck women who was firmly against Barack Obama was a very interesting video for several reasons. The discussion however did make me feel a little uncomfortable. While it is true that the united states is in a war with Iraq and Afghanistan, it should not be undermined that a war with Iran is a possibility. I understand the angle that Raul is viewing the video from, but I also must say that this women, regardless of the fact that she is the classical redneck and apart from the fact that she made some mistakes, she never the less knows a thing or two more about who was the presidential candidate then many Americans who base their decisions on petty items.

Such as some people will vote for a candidate at the polls that they have no idea about, but simply because the candidate is of a certain party, race, or gender people will make their decision based upon that. I am not saying that we should expect people to identify their candidate based upon more significant factors, but we must look at the video and realize that the lady isn't as stupid as we believe she is.

In summary It was a good post and I can only think about all of the other rednecks out there.

Final Post

I found Phillip’s post in response to Southern hospitality very interesting. I was previously very unsure about what Southern hospitality really meant and his post helped me gain some insight. What I found particularly interesting is that a few of the specific examples of Southern hospitality he mentioned are things that I always do and not because I’m being Southern or hospitable. Phillip mentioned tone and voice when meeting someone. I believe that many people feign interest when conversing with others. Perhaps Southerners are supposedly genuinely interested, but I think it would be difficult to tell because many people, myself included, are very animated when talking to strangers even though we are not necessarily interested. Another point Phillip mentioned was the tendency to always say “please” and “thank you.” This is another thing I often say when talking to strangers. I feel it’s polite, but I do not believe I am being particularly hospitable. Finally, Phillip mentioned Southerners tendency to always remember and refer to you by name. This is one I cannot do because I can never remember a name. I therefore find it unfair to say that referring to strangers by name is evidence of Southern hospitality because people like me are just unable to do it even if we wanted to. The insight I gained from reading Phillip’s post therefore led me to question whether we just notice Southerners feigning interest more because they are supposedly more interested or if they are genuinely more interested.