The "White Trash" Trope and its Real Hidden Agenda
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- čas přidán 27. 09. 2021
- The stereotypical "white trash" character onscreen is poor, rural, unrefined, uneducated and often racist - a cardboard villain or a laughingstock. Although this is beginning to change in some of today's stories like I, Tonya, it's important to recognize the sneaky way that denigrating so-called "white trash" characters has actually been used to reinforce upper-class white supremacy on screen.
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"If you can convince the lowest white man that he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket." - Lyndon Johnson
"Hell, give him someone to hate and he'll empty his pockets for you."
@@Mister86TV I've been using that quote a lot lately.
The government pits people against each other to focus it's attention away from the government so then the government continues to scheme wicked plans to use against us.
@@YautjaSpacePirate yes and its working so well.
The Democrats have a long history of racism to cover up.
the takeaway: class is also a systemic form of inequality.
No, the Class system itself was designed to create and perpetuates inequality permanently.
and in africa, a minute passes every 60 seconds. i think that class is fine as long there is equality of opportunities, not equality of outcomes.
@@karenlacey4549 Even police were invented to keep the poor and POC "in their place", they certainly weren't used for policing the wealthy. (Thinking of Victorian England, RCMP in Canada, and US police... don't really know other histories as well)
@@marylogue31 …
@@JoRiver11 I know I am from the south-west we call corrupt police (unofficially) law dog, meaning you work for the wealthy man not the good of the many and there is no worse insult.
This trope is why Southern people are always ashamed of their southern accents. It is used to paint a person as stupid, uneducated or poor.
But a lot of the time they are.
Lol, wut? Do you even know any Southerners? Ashamed, haha! Bless your heart, child, that just ain't true.
I know plenty and speak from experience.
@@raldjones489 but do you know EVERY southerner? Or just a select handful.... yeah. Exactly. Way to feed the stereotype though
@@undeadredhead buddy plenty of people with southern drawls will apologize about their accent. And yes.... I grew up in the blue ridge.... I know many southerners
I grew up a poor white girl and had been called “white trash” because my single parent mother was on welfare. Like others have commented, I really wish you had included clips of My Name is Earl, Malcolm in the Middle, and Raising Hope. I’ve seen all these shows and I could really relate to them the most. They’re just poor families down on their luck but they aren’t violent like in Breaking Bad. The Florida Project sounds like a good movie I have to check out. Thanks for the recommendation.
Roseanne and Married with Children too.
The Florida Project is a great film, and a emotional journey. You should def watch it I am just trying to mentally prepare you lol. One of the most interesting movies I have ever seen
My Name is Earl was such a great show. It's so sad that noone really remembers it anymore. I watched Raising Hope since it was by the same creator. I liked it alot too.
I think it's interesting that will hit trendy super Rich elite white people will go to Africa and they will adopt a black boy or a black girl but they will go to an orphanage in some place like a real part of West Virginia and do the same with a white boy or a white girl. In my case my mom and my dad divorced when they were both very young and they when they divorced my mother was awarded custody and my mother was going through drug and alcohol dependency issues. In an odd way my grandparents coming and rescuing me out of the squalid nature of my mother's existence and her dealings with alcohol and drugs and the things that were going on my mom's side of the family was really very much the same sort of white savior tale that a person going to Africa and adopting a child would be.
@@wizardofahhhs759 all 3 of these are really good shows!
I never noticed until you pointed out that Black servants in these old movies couldn't talk down on a White person unless it was to uplift a higher class White person.
yup allowed only to defend the very institution of their misfortune. sealing all cracks and leaks of the system. the best brainwashing if there ever was one.
@@barrytelesford5265 I really hate the word "yup".
@@AmandaFromWisconsin
Sounds personal.
@@AmandaFromWisconsin K
@@AmandaFromWisconsin good for you
Judas and the Black Messiah is the first movie I've seen to touch on how poor people of any race are oppressed by the same system and need to align to overcome this oppression. I think how white people in power have brainwashed poor white people into blaming poc since the abolition of slavery and continue to do it today would be nice to see explored in media. To think, I had no idea who Fred Hampton was until this movie. A true hero of the people.
Hampton and the Black Panthers actually allied with an Appalachian group, the Young Patriots, in Chicago because they realized they faced the same problems.
Yes, the Take missed a few key points, yours being one of them!
That's the best film of the last couple years... a powerhouse, every American should see. We finally got two projects on each of my childhood heroes whom I rarely hear anyone talk about: Fred Hampton, on film, and John Brown, on TV, with _Judas & The Black Messiah_ and _The Good Lord Bird,_ respectively. They're the two best film/television pieces I've seen recently. Anyone who hasn't seen either/or should track em down
Interesting! I'll have to look that up!
Another reason why that film is amazing.
Has anyone seen the 90's British sitcom "Keeping Up Appearances"? It's about a middle class woman who tries to keep up an appearance that she is from an upper class background, but her lower class "white trash" relatives keep showing up every episode to ruin the illusion. It's a comedy because the main character is the only person in the show who seems to care about the class distinction. Everyone finds her annoying and tries to avoid her, but they are friendly to her relatives.
It's interesting to see the attitudes about class from the UK perspective.
The "posh" character - Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet!) is still proverbial here in the UK. You will still hear people say of some annoying snobby woman "She's a right Mrs. Bouquet, that one".
Sure do, my mum used to watch it here in Straya
Yes! Patricia Routledge was a brilliant actress.
I love this show so much! Onslow is a personal hero of mine lol.
I loved this show!! I always found her attempts to keep her family in the shadows hilarious.
As a black person raised middle class on the south side of Chicago I can honestly say the Gallagher’s ( shameless) lives in my heart. I didn’t consider them trash. I still and will always look at them as honest. one mans trash is another mans treasure.
@Gwapa snuna Sounds like ur talking about ur mom.
@Gwapa snuna there’s that ole “their barely human “ snub! lol
The Gallaghers are probably a lot more common than you care to see. And by your comment, probably a hell of a lot more genuine.
Just remember, when you are feeling good about your self while looking down at all those people that aren’t human, you and I both know there’s people in the club, church, job that feels the same about you. Have fun with that inferiority complex. Must be awful
Someones trash is another man's treasure- Well said
It's originally a British programme and even the family name Gallagher hints at the true basis of the show- large clans of Irish outlaw origin based around Manchester, which is where the British version is set. They call themselves gypsies. Their gangs run drugs from South America dropped off the west cost of Ireland and from there it is distributed across the British mainland.
@@celtspeaksgoth7251 every peoples has a scapegoat, “it’s gotta be the Irish travellers!”, here in Canada it’s us natives, down in America it’s been a cast of characters probably starting with said Irish. There’s always been a lesser person the rest can point at. We humans are assholes. Those travellers are supposed to have originated in India a mega long time ago. Their supposed to only eat one meal or sleep in one place before the sun set on you. I probably didn’t get that right but something to that effect. The current boxing 🥊 champion is one I believe?
Merry Christmas
What I like about the Take is it's practically the anti-Watch Mojo.
Lmao true
what does watch mojo do? i've hardly watched their videos
@@stoplisteningtothestatic7078 they churn out tons of top ten lists every day but their rankings are arbitrary and distant. They never feel invested in the subject matter or analyse it.
And they only do it to gain constant ad revenue and spam the algorithm.
I only tend to watch 1 out of every 10 Watch Mojo videos (usually on Grey’s Anatomy videos) but I watch every video the Take puts out, even when it’s not a film or subject I’m into. I’m not a fan of cartoons/animated films but I still watched all of their last video on the 3 versions of love in those animated films. I still enjoy them. Keep doing such a great and insightful job ladies!
More like Watch Mojo 2.0.
We really need to talk more about class and wealth in intersectionality
This should be intuitively obvious to the most casual observer. Americans of all races have financial and power interests vested in racial division.
To a point. Most people who really understand social class in American understand that in many cases it has more to do with values and ideals than your bank balance. There is a huge amount of overlap between classes as far as wealth is concerned.
Example: Two families have the same net household income, same town, same whatever. They both squirrel away money here and there for five years to have *one* dream vacation. One family goes to Disneyworld. The other goes to Florence. Depending on where you live in the country, both those trips cost the same amount of money. The family that chose to go to Florence is going to be perceived as being of a much higher class because they chose something edifying and cultural.
Another example: Two families need to entertain their kids for the summer. They each manage to scrape together $300. One buys a used pool. The other enrolls their kids in day camp at their school. Again, day camp is obviously the more middle class choice. Same amount of money. Huge difference as far as being a class signifier.
Still another example: This goes for middle class people too. Kids in two different comparably wealthy families turn sixteen. One kid gets a brand new convertible that their parents saved up for for years. The other gets a couple hundred dollars towards a used car, that they're expected to earn the rest of the money for. Two years later, the kid who got the new car can't go to their dream school because their parents didn't save up for college. The kid who got the used car has their pick of every school they got accepted into, because their parents planned ahead.
Obviously wealth plays a role in class, but most class markers are intangible, and have more to do with attitudes than anything else.
as someone with...white skin, i have more in common with my black neighbor than a billionaire with white skin
racial techniques are to divide
your kin is who you make it
@@garyjohnson8327 exactly!
Bernie Sanders tried and fake-left (centrist) liberals called him racist for dismissing race as a problem. Bernie believes in the same thing MLK Jr did - that the capitalist system is the cause of oppression, racism is just one expression of it.
Reminds me of the "Art Of War " by Sun Tzu. One ancient rule of war is to pit your enemy against eachother.
Both my parents grew up like that and thanks to them and their hard work, I was never fully born into that world. But the effects of it still remain and even if you get out, the scars never go away.
I prefer the term "Poor White Recyclables" thank you very much.
I’m taking this, plus it’ll be good for the planet 🌍
I’m going to upcycle this next time I talk to my mom
It is free to use... Just remember, we come from the same place as the "trash", so we're no better; being Recyclable is about trying to make the world a better place, not about acting like you're better.
Freakin BRILLIANT!!! 😂😂😂😂😂
I will be making this into a tshirt for myself. Thank you for your service 🙏
The florida project is a movie everyone should watch, one of my all time faves; it really shows how hard is to escape poverty
I agree, it offers a gritty, yet realistic look at living in an improvised area.
That one broke my heart. Very realistic.
Don’t wanna spoil anything, but when that man walked into the bathroom and saw you-know-who… my jaw dropped
Where can you watch it?
We're can I watch it
I've been saying this for years. It's not low income ones you need to worry about. It's the well off ones that make genuinely believe their racist behavior to be just.
I've always hated how dehumanizing the term "white trash" was. It ignores the generational poverty, mental illness, trauma, and chocks it up to a group of people being inherently less than.
Agree. It’s one of those terms I won’t use. That said, hearing the narrator continue to use the words is making my eye twitch.
There is same situation in Turkey too.Seculer,educated people called uneducated ,conservative people "çomar".İt means"rude ,ignorance ,peasant .."
Yeah, and they're racists too. How to call black poor "n-word trash".
Im not from the USA but i meet a lot of people from there and one person once told me that the only real diference between red necks and withe trash is that red necks are racist, violent, ignorant, sexist, religious fanatic poor people and white trash are racist, violent, ignorant, sexist, religious fanatic people with weatlh that chosed to behave in trashy and irresponsble ways despite having money and oportunities in life. He gave me as examples of red neck any poor hillbilly and as a white trash people like George Bush, Hunter Biden and Donald Trump.
Yep, it's more than just the poverty, especially when there have been so many other ethnic groups, including poor Jewish, Russian, Italian, Mexican and Asian immigrants, who've still managed to rise above 'modest means'. It' s also a 'cultural' thang with self-sabotaging attitudes re: marriage, morality, work ethic, addiction, ambition, etc.... so much so that sociologists have coined the term 'learned helplessness'. So you can provide bucket loads of aid, job training, pregnancy counseling, health care, and mental health resources... but how do 'ya fix a whole dysfunctional culture and way of life?
I had no idea a color could be “pornographic”. That caught me so off guard. 😳
Dude. Same.
well prime lipstick colors aint blue and orange...
That was a really stupid take
@@3katfox 🙄
It was set in the 1800's and cuz of that it's not suprising that pink Represented The Hub essentially lmfao.
My Father is now a mechanical engineer who spent a lot of time as a blue collar worker before getting his engineering degree. I have to add this; blue collar workers are subject to the same diatribe. Blue collar work IS essential in America. My Dad’s history of blue collar work made him a substantially better engineer. It doesn’t deserve this crap
I'm an engineer and I've relied on my retired blue collar workers so much. They made me a better engineer and a better person.
If COVID taught us anything, it’s that we’re nothing without the working class.
Apperantly any adult without a college degree that is working is considered the working class. Funny thing even people with college degree consider themselves the working class.
That Americans look down on tradesmen is one of the ugliest and most self injuring aspects of this country. I was amazed when I first so the German apprentice pipeline. Those people take technicians and tradesmen seriously.
Business, Gov't and now media have consistently crapped on the blue collar worker.
My family was middle class until I entered high school. My dad got laid off and we had to live in an apartment. i will never forget walking to a child hood's friends house and trying to see her. She came to the door and told me she could not associate with trashy people who lived in apartments.F for several years i had to earn my own money because my father was unemployed for a long time. i never went to my high school reunion because this was the toughest period of my life. I had to go to junior college and state university because i was poor. After i got married i became middle class again but i have never forgotten this period.
Snobbery has been around for centuries, nay, millennia. When it's connected to race, we call it racism. When it's connected to wealth and educational level (which tend to go hand in hand and compound over generations), we call it classism. People who possess desirable characteristics are admired, and the "have-nots" are despised. It seems to be an endemic condition.
Prejudice. Perhaps 'snobbery' is really just a synonym, though.
“How to become a god in central Florida” brilliantly portrayed a “white trash” character in hard circumstances. Kirsten Dunst’s character is strong, inventive and driven, and she doesn’t become some upper class version of herself, but makes us admire her and want to be more like her. Great show it was
I am now watching this show on hulu thanks to your comment!
Can't believe that got canceled🤦🏾♂️She and that boy playing Cody were brilliant in that
Damn right
I truly enjoyed it.. was hoping for a season two
I LOVED that show!
I'm surprised that 'My name is Earl' was not mentioned.... it was (as I gather) filled with 'White trash' characters, but had lovely stories and (for its time) an actual diverse cast. None of the characters were made to feel 'less than', but instead focused more on the genuine (and hilarious) nature of the folks of Camden County.....
Yes!! I was waiting for them to mention it! Do you know "Raising Hope" by the same creator? It's lovely
I was thinking of this show while watching this also.
I was thinking of both Earl and Hope lol
That show was so good
@@nikebauschaum4714 yup very endearing
Denial of higher culture and the need for aspiration is destructive
I feel like there’s a big hole in this history, and it’s name is Jeff Foxworthy. I think he had a huge influence in the mainstream perception of rural white people.
Agreed!
Should we cancel him and Larry the Cable Guy?
@@tivednagol9127 what?
@@Jurgan6 I’m asking if we should bring attention to the fact that these guys are promoting white trash stereotypes that harm middle to lower class people.
@@tivednagol9127 no cancellation necessary for either man, unless they did something that requires it.
in my experience, being white trash gave me one distinct positive. I got the opportunity to build friendships with people from greatly diverse backgrounds. In my area, middle and upper class whites have little to no interaction with people outside their own group. Imagine how lonely that is? Imagine not having the opportunities to learn how to make tamales with your neighbor's abuela or rapping badly in the back of a restaurant with your home girls. I don't have much, but I have a found family I would have never got to meet had I been born rich.
I have long held the belief that the working classes produce better human beings, generally speaking.
I was also born on the supposed wrong side of tracks too. And because of it, I was at a young age already seeing the stratus of whiteness in its variety of ways because in my neighborhood I was the fish outta water. It was the best education I could have ever hoped for.
As a poor white person I often feel like I relate more to the poor black people I work with rather than the middle class white people I'm acquainted with. I also think it is a really important part of being anti racist- it's one thing to see a black guy walking down the street and think, "I'm not racist, I like black people" as an abstract, and another to think, "That guy reminds me of my coworker Darius, who is a really sweet guy"...
@@garyjohnson8327 what about being working class do you think it is that produces better human beings ?
I would gladly read an essay or a book written by you with that perspective.
Has anybody quoted Bob Dylan yet? ..."The poor white remains on the caboose of the train, but it ain't him to blame. He's only a pawn in their game."
ANY time is a good time to quote Bob Dylan!! 😊
As a "lower to middle class working individual" I'd have to say that the social workings in combination with people's individual situations in life have everything to do with perception and keeping the right kind of headspace. A lighthearted Attitude and an analytical Perspective, stay thankful for the struggles and work of those that came before us. They laid the groundwork so that we can live in one of the best times to be alive in human history
I don’t know why it’s taboo to include class in talks of social injustice, but thank you for doing it anyway!
Because that would include most white people as part of the oppressed class, leaving only the wealthy, even the non white ones, exposed.
The wealthy hold the whip hand. They're not gonna allow that.
"It's common for period pieces to offer up cartoonishly racist characters in a past era, thus allowing viewers to feel that they are not part of the problem, as there is no way that they're that racist"-
This is the mindset I suspect Quentin Tarantino had when he made Django Unchained.
Great video. A little hot take-y for my taste in a few spots towards the end (I'm sure we can guess which ones), but a really good essay that's food for thought.
Still a great movie tho.
@@captaindeadpool313 Tarantino has a thing for feet, and human feet are fucking gross.
Actually tarantino wanted to show the nuances of racism and how everybody was, and is, guilty at keeping that System alive. Of course its easy as a white man to show "oh look, racism is so bad!", but i wouldn't blame tarantino with it. He actually did his research and knows his way around that topic. It was a live or die Mentality, which you see in the bipoc butler who betrays his family, the headhunters who think its their right, because they were slaves too. And you may think its exaggerated, while in reality, white people talked just like that. They really thought, and partially think, bipocs are "beneath them" and "just like animals", where meanwhile even animals were treated better. Its just forgotten and ignored these days, how awful and degrading they were really treated, because its far more conveniant to brush it off. And of course, its a movie, so dont take it too literally. Django is a fictional character and while people talked like that to their peers, it also should bring the storyline together to make his revenge that more powerful.
Not true, Django has a very realistic portrayal of the society of the time. They're not cartoonish, for as obscene as that sounds the reality portrayed in the movie was very real, people were treated worse than animals, they were put in hot boxes, they were killed, idk why you think they're cartoonish.
@@dannymoneywell probably the speech of the candy cane (?) Owner. That Was exaggerated for storyline reasons, but strech it out, throw a couple of sentences here and there and thats how people really talked. Its just white guilt that we often dont like to admit the reality. 🤷♀️
Kenny from South Park is another interesting example. his voice and face are always covered, and he has the power of being reborn.
i always thought he represented the "poor kid that could be replaced easily cause there is a hundred of them" keeping them faceless cause to the view of the boys, esp in the beginning, did he really matter? Upon his death he only got a two sentence call off and that's it.
Yah no there is no deep meaning in kenny or in south park
@@SleepinInsomniac your reading to much into it
@@dogguy8603 yea your prolly right, but its fun to theorize and think about things a bit outside the box. To outright state there is no deeper meaning to the show itself is incredibly wrong however. On the surface it's just a silly cartoon but the topics they tend to cover sometimes are anything but.
As a black man... This was informative and something I always noticed in real life this is how you begin end racism by showing the truth in this process.. Good job Take.
As another black man, I can say that The Take was bullshit with this one.
Im not from the USA but i meet a lot of people from there and one person once told me that the only real diference between red necks and withe trash is that red necks are racist, violent, ignorant, sexist, religious fanatic poor people and white trash are racist, violent, ignorant, sexist, religious fanatic people with weatlh that chosed to behave in trashy and irresponsble ways despite having money and oportunities in life. He gave me as examples of red neck any poor hillbilly and as a white trash people like George Bush, Hunter Biden and Donald Trump.
This issue is more about
classism, egoism/narcissism
& financial/cultural shaming
than about racism
&"white supremacy".
Thank you!!!
It's been really helpful to have better depictions of poor white families.
I grew up in a "white trash" family that was so abusive to me that into my adulthood anybody that resembled them I held a prejudice for because I genuinely thought they would treat me the same way and assumed the abuse was just part of the culture. But when I got into the show Raising Hope I started to see a healthier depiction of poorer white families and that my perception had really been tainted by my own experience.
@@cosmo43095 of course I know that now, but my trauma made me stereotype anybody who reminded me of my family and i didn't realize I was wrong until i saw healthier representation. 🤷♀️ That was the point of my comment. Upper class white families hide their abuses better, so in my childhood I thought all my white rich friends had really good lives and parents, when a kit of their abuse was just behind the scenes while my family was louder about theirs.
Ok, how did we not mention ‘Erin Brockovich’?
As a German I thought about it immediately. What I loved: in opposite to „Pretty woman“ she never lost her self-reliance and her connection to her roots. She worked at a lawyer but stayed with her mechanic partner (although there are other problems in her relationships).
Yeah, really good movie. We even talked about it in media studies
Thank you! All it took for me to “fall” into “white trash” territory was my father dying when I was nine. Prior to that we were solidly middle class… & yes, this is systemic.
I hear you.
White trash doesn't necessarily mean "poor". You can be a millionaire and be white trash.
@@billbaxter3800 yes, I’ve known that now for decades. What’s your point?
@@VvpandoravVDid you ever try to climb back up? With STEM higher education or well paid trades, most fallen middle class Whites can recover their old status in 3 generations or less.
This video is so good. Class is the real divide we aren't suppose to notice.
fr
Class is a power structure. The demographic that possess the power operates the show.
Thank you for bringing this to light. During the 2020 election the amount of affluent and well educated white people who chalked up trump and racism to poor whites was out of control. As a POC i reached my limit with this narrative, racism doesn't just get discussed within a double wide. Its also quietly discussed in the Mcmansions in the affluent areas. The superiority has to stop in order for anything get better.
The reason for it needs to be discussed. By both sides.
I've noted a sense of superiority comes from and compensates for a nagging and deep sense of undeserving.
I see it in rich kids who deep down feel they have not genuinely accomplished anything. I see it in cheaters who need to constantly drown out self-doubt about whether they could have won fairly.
I see it in naturally gifted athletes and students who are deep down jealous of the work, focus, and genuine pride in accomplishment, of the less gifted.
I see it in ppl who are endowed with money by chance, rather than earning it, who need to believe they deserved the money somehow.
I see it in ppl who have just recently increased their so called social standing, but believe that they are on the edge of 'falling back down' or being recognized for what they believe they really are.
I see it in ppl who can't shake the feeling they are phonies who may be exposed as such at any moment.
Therefore, superiority can be a response to a deep nagging belief in ones inferiority, and a fear that eventually society at large will see through them.
@@coreaccount4376 This is an unadulterated truth that needs to be realized by all 💯💯💯
@@coreaccount4376 People who didn't vote for Trump feel superior or inferior?
You think you're being clever, but you are falling into a trap you will never be able to come out of.
As someone who grew up not exactly poor but definitely not always comfortable, the advantages I had due to my parents being highly educated, even next to friends whose parents earnt more, was immense. I had doors open to me due to generational high levels of university education and knowledge of the world that others didn't, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the upbringing I did. And, to be frank, it was luck. There's nothing special about the family I was born into, just that my parents were children of university professors, not blue-collar tradies.
Tradie? Is that a word?
@@clairewillow6475 trradesmen? I'm only guessing because when I walk among some of those old homes in San Francisco I see doors labeled "tradesman's entrance". That door is typically next to the garage door.
Thank you Sophia,hadn't heard tradies used in quite awhile,you speak with high eloquence.
Blessings, my child, blessings
@@tomtrask_YT this "trade" button exists in the UK as well. I also recognised what "tadies" meant as soon as I saw the word. Classism and being highly educated is valued more than having money where I'm from
“Her perceived trashiness makes others see her presence as a threat to the prestige of their environment” very well said- and gives insight to why their perceived superiority provokes disgust. As someone who has felt like I had friend-options of all classes, I made a choice several years ago to disconnect from those who were higher class and nice but didn't contribute to our friendship as much while decidedly changing focus to the friends who care more, regardless of their "trash"iness. In all honesty I would be embarrassed to wear the clothes that some of them wear and sometimes I even feel a little embarrassed by their clothes when we go out together but it's the heart that matters. :) Some of those friends are a threat to potential "prestige" but at the end of the day prestige is just pressure and I'm glad I made the choice to prioritize and appreciate those who appreciate me. I know this is hard to do in high school but if any of you teens are reading this comment I want to encourage you to know that what you lose in hierarchal popularity you gain in actual popularity and self respect. :)
Thanks for writing such an interesting comment. Judging people by the character and compassion, not by their accent, clothes, or income, is a good thing.
The looking down on the poor and especially the Irish happened looong before the civil war. Many Irish people sold themselves as indentured servants to escape the after math of the potatoe famine, not only that British people have lorded over poor Irish tenant farmers for centuries. If rich British decent people weren't hateing on the Irish they had "poor houses" for their fellow Brits where the reigning thought was if the parents are poor they will teach their kids bad habits so they separated whole families put the girls in the path of growing demand for domestic service (aka maids) and boy to work in factories. Its a socioeconomic way to keep people of lower social classes on the bottom rungs.
One of my favorite shows was Raising Hope, which really showed a traditionally “white trash” family but gave them so much heart and warmth that you felt apart of their family. They were low class, teenage parents living in a run down, cramped house but that house felt more like a home than any other family home shown in the show.
I grew up in a trailer park in Florida, and while I've come a long way since then there are aspects of that start in life that haunt me. I've never felt comfortable with the genuine beliefs that a lot of the people around me held, but since then I've also not agreed with the ugly paintbrush that's been used against them. Being poor hurts, and it's disgustingly sad how disadvantaged people are pitted against each other and how they'll rail again any small advantage the other person in the mud pit might get.
The enemy isn't the people who get welfare or other benefits while others who are hurting don't, it's not the people who cling to remnants of a lie that make them feel important in a world that calls them trash, it's the system that made all of us NEED those things in the first place!
Well said
Well said!
IN MY DAY, I'LL BE 66 IN JANUARY, "POOR", MIDDLE INCOME AND SOME WHO MADE MORE $$ LIVED ON BESIDE THE OTHERS EXCEPT FRO BEATING, MOLESTING STEPDADS....LIVED 2-3 BLOCKS FROM THE TWIN RR YARDS (2 OUT OF 4-5 REGULAR YARDS AND SEVERAL OTHERS I NEVER KNEW UNTIL STUDYING OLD MAPS....CHARLES AND DEWEY, CONTEMPORARIES OF MY 90 YEAR OLD RECENTLY DECEASED MOTHER. WORE STARCHED WHITE SHRTS AND TIES...PAPAW WORE OVERALLS....SO DID UNCLE NEWT, JOHN AND UNCLE FRED......WHITE FLIGHT, CONCEIVED BY THOSE MANIPULATORS IN POWER THEN. AS NOW INITIATED THE COLLAPSE AND URBAN DECAY AFTER DUMBASSES WERE CONSCRIPTED W/O THEIR OWN COGNIZANCE TO PERPETUATE THE BLOCK BUSTING LEAVING MOST WHITE FOLKS WITHOUT REPRESENTATIONS.....FROM A VIBRANT CITY WHERE RACE WAS NEVER AS BAD A PROBLEM AS IT WAS SOLD BY THE MSM, THE SAME OLD DIXIECRATS SCARED PEOPLE AS IF THOSE WHO WERE KEPT DOWN SINCE AND BEFORE 1865 WOULD RISE AND SEEK REVENGE.....BUT THAT PLAN COLLAPSED LEAVING EVERYBODY STEWING IN THE SAME RECYCLED SHIT POT UNLESS YOU COULD MOVE OVER TO THE OVER THE RAINBOW/MOUNTAIN AREAS OF MY CITY....NOBODY CAN AFFORD TO LIVE IN NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE WHERE I GREW UP and those neighborhoods now are unrecognizable from 40 years ago much Less 5 or 60....SO THANKS NIXON, LBJ, PRINCE PHILIP, SLICK WILLIE AND BITCH DONKEY BOSSLADY....NOTHING LIKE THAT HERIN FLOWN IN IN VIETNAM, CRACK...FROM EVERTWHERE, THANKS HUNTER AND JOE.....I CA SEE YOUR PRINTS ON ALL THIS FENTANYL BUT CAN'T MAKE OUT BEWEEN HUNTERS, THE BIG GUY, MAYBE MARTYR BO BIDEN OR "INNAPROPRIATE SHOWERS TOGETHER YOUNG MISS COKEHEAD BIDEN...
LOOK AT THE NIGHTMARES........THEY DESTROYED "AMERICUH" FROM WITHIN AND MOST DECENT PEOPLE OF ANY RACE CAN HARDLY FIND A DECENT PLACE TO LIVE SAFELY. AND OL' CHIT'OWN? RUST BELT BEVERLY HILLS ALONG WITH DES PLAINES AND ANY CARBON RELATED TOWN IN THE LOWER 48...
AS EVEN THE MEGACOMMIES HINT AT EVEN WORSE CRIME AS BUILDING BACK (WHO TORE IT DOWN JOE???) ANITIFA? BLM? WHO CALLED IT A MYTH AS THEY WATCHED HERR GOEBBEL'S MSM RENARRATE IT INTO A CAKEWALK OR A GOOD OL' SUNDAY SCHOOL SCAVENGER HUNT IN WHICH DEMOCRAT OPERATIVES ARE SENT LOOKING FOR CHEAPLY PRICED USED UZIS OR VALMETS...
And this is why every common man 👨 women 👩🏻🦳 and family 👪 should understand completely that racism was a false narrative designed to pit all poor are disadvantage middle class and upper middle classes people against each other so that the very people at the top (1to 5 % can control the majority (masses) for their own self interest!!!
so glad to see fish tank in the clips, this film had a huge impact on teenager me (just the fact to see a teen girl with some acne, but also the struggle to escape abusive family while trying to stay in control, really good piece)
The only way to change all this is that all of oppressed classes unite , understand each other and most of all take down the systems of inequality that screw us all . Power to the people
EXACTLY
The folks in power know this. They’ve known this for a long time…..hence regular people always being duped into being divided.
White/Black, Men/Women, younger generation vs old, city people vs rural, educated people vs laborers….it goes on and on
Im not saying all of those groups beef….just saying we’re made to feel separate and different from one another. And folks make effort to have it like that
When it’s really a tiny little percentage of the 1% vs everyone else….and it’s an international thing too. How many wars would be prevented ?
It’s like there’s ranchers….and there’s the herd. And they try to manage the herd
More than anything though black and white people need to align in a way that can’t be pulled apart….there’s good people everywhere and there’s bad people everywhere and it seems like the focus use to be “judging people by the content of their character”…..but we kinda went back to obsessing about race.
Not saying I know how to do it I’m just saying that America would be better if we were united in a rock solid way. Then these politicians couldn’t hustle us as easily
I just notice that I latin America is the opposite, telenovelas show poor people as naive, hard worker, innocent people that are abuse and mistreated by others but they have hearts of gold. Poor people in telenovelas are super religious and help others, of course there's bad people the greedy ambitious ones that want to be rich at all cost but those are villans that learn a lesson at the end.
Is funny how for TV in Latin America being poor is almost equal to being a good person.
This is true also for Spanish telenovelas lol
Obviously, because they want their people stay poor by associating being poor as being good
Source: I'm Mexican, and I know very well the contents they like to perpetuate and the hidden speech in them.
I watched I, Tonya and I hated the moment when the judge didn’t want her on Olympics because her family background isn’t good and does not represent a good image for American people.
I really wish “My Name is Earl” or “Raising Hope” was discussed in this video. It was a great example of nuanced and positive portrayals of white trash. With stories that show how despite hard work it can still be impossible to improve your social class, but characters still finding fulfillment in family, friendship, and helping their community.
I was thinking about how My Name is Earl would fit into this. Earl's goal in the show is not to better himself by becoming "upper class" (even though he has the money to do it) but to make amends to the people he had wronged over the years. In that way, he seeks betterment through self-reflection and atonement rather than changing his social class.
They left out Married with Children, My Name is Earl and Trailer Park Boys.
I’d love nothing more than to see all oppressed groups come together to take down the rich & build a country where we all don’t have starve anymore.
You know most of us are overweight or even obese, right?
@@BillLaBrie True, an overlooked modern phenomenon.
@@BillLaBrie overweight doesn’t necessarily mean not nutrient deficient…
Substitute rich with super rich and politicians mega churches and all the corrupt in any kind of power
borderline communism but that’s okay if executed well!
I grew up white trash. My family was looked down on by even other poor white people. As I got older, I deliberately worked at erasing my rural Texan accent. It still pops up sometimes, most frequently with strong emotion, and friends sometimes poke fun at it. I'm not as embarrassed by it as I used to be, but I still feel that way to a degree. I am extremely critical of what I wear, how I speak, how I address people.
And yeah, the way that lower class whites came out for Trump has made those feelings worse while also sometimes making me feel alienated from the political left I align with thanks to the avalanche of condescension and classist snobbery directed toward them (and indirectly toward me).
@overquoted
"... the way that lower class whites came out for Trump..."
Most likely, that's your chosen sources of media LYING to you... to get you to oppose/hate Trump... and to get more clicks/viewers/etc.
They told you, over, and over, and over again, how he was racist, xenophobic, misogynistic... and they were lying to you the whole time.
In order to do that... they made Trump supporters out to be those things... creating a loop... Trump is racist so his supporters are racists... his supporters are racists so HE must be racist...
There are a lot of people in this world who can't feel better about themselves, unless they're putting someone ELSE... DOWN.
Hillary Clinton and her "deplorables" comment is a PRIME example.
I think it's a safe bet that comment cost her enough votes, by itself, to cost her the election, too.
It's perhaps worth mentioning that a lot of those "lower class whites who came out for Trump" voted for Obama... TWICE... before voting for Trump... and that the #1 reason you heard from your chosen media sources was that it was because THEY were all racist!
It's probably worth mentioning that it's the political left who BRAGS (almost incessantly) about "being the party of the college-educated"... and party of science... (so long as the science is convenient to them... and yes, I expect the political right is just as bad in which science they choose to believe/endorse).
@@nyetzdyec3391 Riiiiight. 'The media is lying' because it's easier to believe that than to accept that Trump is (and has always been) an awful human being. Before he was re-elected, he was accused of going into the dressing rooms of the under age contestants of Miss Teen USA. Keep in mind, this is the same thing he bragged about doing to adult women on the Howard Stern show nearly 20 years ago. But sure, it's aaalll lies.
And the racist crap? Out of his own mouth. So unless you're going to go the extra mile and say that all of Trumps speeches and phone calls were dubbed over to make him sound racist and xenophobic, this isn't "the media" telling me anything. It's him saying it.
The fact that folks like yourself have to twist yourselves into knots to believe Trump, of all people, is not exactly what he is... Ugh. Just ugh. You wanna like him in spite of the horribleness of his character, fine. You wanna vote for him because you can't stand the Democratic Party agenda, fine. But don't come to me and spill out a pack of lies that 'no, really, Trump is a great guy and the media is lying about him!' Because _Trump himself_ is the one saying and doing reprehensible things.
As for lower class whites voting for Obama and then Trump, a few did. But most didn't. Lest you forget, Trump earned political cachet by insisting that Obama was born in Kenya. The people who wanted Trump to win were the same people who didn't believe Obama was a legitimate president and are now the same people who don't believe Biden is legitimate. These are the people who rioted on January 6th, who've stormed several state capitols, who join the Proud Boys and militia movements, etc.
And before you go 'but the media' - I'm from Texas. Many of the people I'm talking about are family members. I know more Trump voters than Biden voters. Every single one of them believes in the conspiracy theories and lies that Trump spills out. The only thing 'the media' has wrong is that they don't realize how wide-spread and deeply rooted this is.
@@Overquoted Wrong.
@@Overquoted now, im sure you got these opinions from second and third hand sources that you trust, but doesn't change that it's wrong. like, joe rogan horse-dewormer wrong.
@@johnsmith-de3tl Uh huh. Because people are incapable of forming their own opinions without someone telling them how to think? That shit is as condescending as lefties thinking that right-wingers "just don't know any better."
You missed Rob Zombie's films. They all have the white underclass as the villains and in most, the white middle class as the victims.
This is also why King of the Hill is one of the few pieces of pop culture about the south that's still remembered fondly: because while it's critical of the uglier parts of southern culture, it's also a celebration of the nicer aspects as well, and treats the people within it with respect.
Ah man I was really hoping you guys were going to evaluate the representation of white trash seen in trailer park boys! That show does a great job at examining the influence of poverty on remote rural trailer parks in Nova Scotia. I would have been curious for an evaluation of the character Ricky especially as a foil to the character Julien. So much from that show to examine 👀
The fact that 35 of you liked this speaks volumes! I think it means we need a full tv analysis from The Take about Trailer Park Boys! Who's with me? Let's make this happen! 👏👏
Viewer request!
Read the books "Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class" by Owen Jones. It's UK-centric (obviously) but it does a really good job telling the tale of how the so-called pro-worker left turned on the working class.
I'm not going to lie, I first remember seeing the term "chavs" to describe a certain genre of adult movies.
Yeah, sadly as a British person I feel like this is maybe even more relevant to our culture. "Chav" is a slur for poor urban white people instead of poor rural, but there is no doubt these people are dismissed as "trash".
I love his work.
I've had this book in my bed night stand waiting to be read for about 6 months now. I need to get onto it.
Just a shame that he turned on too to beg it with his middle-class 'liberal' mates
The other day, my history professor told us the Irish and the Portuguese (those two specifically, for some reason, and I'm Portuguese) we're considered a couple of centuries "lower-class whites" and these peoples are still heavily underestimated, even as "whites" and I'm like "oh... so that's why I have a weird feeling when people ask for my ethnicity... calling myself white seems... icky and little off"
So, in a nutshell, it's about class rather than race. You really can't have an upper class without the arrogance that comes with it; without that ideology, they wouldn't be able to hold onto their privileges. Of COURSE they think they're better, more intelligent, more ethical, more "refined" than the working class they actually depend on, even when they aren't better educated in a meaningful way. Sadly, they manage to convince everyone else of it, too.
Having just finished a rewatch, I wish you’d included Raising Hope in your examples. While it does exploit the expected tropes for humor, it also consistently subverts them, representing the poor “white trash” Chances as a loving, resourceful family deeply connected to their community. The subversion includes having an “elite” white character who voluntarily rejects her far more toxic wealthy family of origin to become part of the working class and marry into the poor family. The cast also includes a wide diversity of recurring characters of many ethnicities and sexualities without stigmatizing or stereotyping them. Exceptionally well done.
The Chance family also doesn't fuck with racists.
Also one episode showcases the importance of intersectionality where Virginia speaks truth to power and helps the Latinix community get a park with functioning playground structures
I don't know, the "rich person changes/marries poor" can be read in different ways. Either its there to humanize "trash" and show that the higher-ups are not inherently better than anyone else, with their own flaws OR as "romanticizing" lower living standards by making it seem like there's something honest/good about having to struggle for income, as it makes you appreciative and nice, it "gives you character".
Reality often paints a different picture, being on the lower scale doesn't necessarily "make" you more connected to family and others, it may even make you bitter, cold, desperate, etc.
Yes, love this show
@@maschaorsomething I think it's the wealthy person saving the poor person from poverty rather than the poor person rising up from their struggles. Poor people are seen as incompetent and unable to have the desire to do better for themselves. They are perpetually poor, and when a wealthy person considers marrying them, they are "fixing" their situation and are seen as saviors. They are the moral people helping the unfortunate. The wealthy person marries the poor person, despite the odds and family strife. It's a bit condescending to show how poor people need wealthy people to take pity on them and marry them because they offer an exotic and different life. A life of struggle. They are not seen as actively working two jobs to support their families. They are not shown how society puts them down. It's a simple retelling of poverty where the only way a poor person could possibly rise is by marrying someone above them, instead of rising above their station through hard work and determination.
I feel like Ben Affleck’s “The Town” and “Gone, Baby, Gone” and David O Russell’s “The Fighter” could get an honorable mention here
YESSSS! Damon and Affleck literally came from broke Boston and they just GET IT
👏👏👏👏
YES! This video was fabulous and thought-provoking. I love that you're shining a light on poverty and the role it plays in race and class issues. Whoooooo!!
This video feels like a replica of my entire upbringing. It’s really really insightful 💛
Many of the clips used were examples of classism; blue-collar/conservatives are not the same category as the "white trash" trope.
Yep and BLM is just as guilty as any status quo institution that supports White supremacy. Many of the people talking about the disproportionate number of Black people (Natives are somehow overlooked) suffering police misconduct are the same people to quickly point out that in terms of raw numbers more Whites use public assistance when the topic of welfare comes up. Sorry you don't get to have it both ways.
@@garyjohnson8327 except the reforms that BLM wants will also benefit white people. None of those reforms mention race at all. They mention holding police accountable for their actions against anyone. I can't tell you how many times me or my friends have been treated like shit by cops just for wearing a cheap t shirt and shorts. Just to give you an example my buddy is a maintenance guy at an auto plant so he was always pretty dirty. One day He got pulled over on his way home from work. As soon as he pulled in the trailer park the cops pulled him over. They insisted on searching his vehicle. They found a small almost empty marijuana bag and confronted him about it despite it being legal in our state. My friend replied "we both know that's not what you were looking for". The cop admitted they were looking for hard drugs but the thing is my buddy doesn't do hard drugs at all nor does he hang out with junkies. They went after him for his class. Imo this isn't a white vs black struggle. It's rich vs poor. You'd never see a cop follow a wealthy guy to his mansion and demand to search his car despite the fact that I've known plenty of upper middle class drug dealers.
@@garyjohnson8327 "many," in this case, means a minority, assuming the people you're talking about exist at all
@@dmitriglover4309 I totally feel you, but it’s worth noting wealthy black families do also experience cops following them based on profiling as well. Especially ones who only recently “moved up the ladder”.
You might’ve meant “a cop wouldn’t follow a wealthy white drug dealer” and, yeah that’s true.
But there’s definitely been plenty of times a well-off or truly-wealthy black family got followed by a cop car, just because the cop thought the car looked too expensive for their race and therefore Ovviously there must be drugs or weapons involved.
@@kaitlyn__L so your saying a Oprah a billionaire has less privilege than a white person born in poverty?
My mom told me saying "white trash" has racist connotations when I was a kid... but it never seemed to click with anyone else.
isnt it more of a class/wealth thing?
In the UK they call us Chavs, an acronym for 'council housed and violent.' They also call us gammons, they call us these slurs openly while claiming to be all about equality and acceptance.
When discussing “My Fair Lady” I was waiting to see if this video would connect that with the idea of Tai in “Clueless”...
So, it's almost like poverty for all races is the biggest problem, and we should focus on that more.
No. Racism still is a part of the country’s system and you missed the point completely. A poor white person still has privileged over poor Black people. Black people becoming wealthy does not combat racism.
@@witchplease9695 sorry, I meant to reply directly to your comment. I was saying that yes, racism is still a problem. But the wealthy definitely exploit racism and racial tension within communities against other communities to keep everyone down. Not that I think it's some big conspiracy with a smoke-filled room or something, but that's just the way it ends up working.
that's way intersectionalism is a good way to understand these things
@@chloejohnson6861 do you mean wealthy white people specifically? Maybe you’re saying wealth makes even wealthy people of colour harness racism, as “one of the good ones” propped up by their wealth?
Kaitlyn L: what? Most wealthy people in the USA have historically been white, or at least those who are part of the traditional upper class. Part of how they've kept their power has been to exploit racial divisions among the working class so they're fighting among themselves. How would being racist (or "harnessing racism") make someone "one of the good ones?" But yes, wealthy people of all races have been better off.
Belle Watkin was actually a much more decent person than Scarlette and even Melanie
I thought so too Belle is the character I always want to have spent more time with in Gone With the Wind.
@@Nightman221k I wanna believe Rhett ended up marrying her after he left Scarlett crying.
Belle, Emmie, and Prissy should have had a spin off
The movie does at least go out of it's way to show that Belle is actually smart and kind, but it does seem like it was a kind of subversion of audience expectation.
@@cbpd89 1930s movies did that a lot, humanizing "bad" women. It was an interesting time in cinema.
I'm so glad you touched this subject. This channel is a gem
I was so Happy to See u guys used the Florida Project, i highly recommend to watch it!
I also noticed that fatphobia and body shaming as seen with Monica Lewinsky can take racist and classist undertones. Anyone remember when they used to joke that any man who liked more me on wis more meat on women or like chubby women was a white man with a fetish or it was dismissed as something men of color were attracted to?
I concur. If a woman is slightly larger, but not obese, then she's "Too fat", but if she's dangerously thin, then she could stand to "put on some pounds."
@@trinaq theirs a double standard to both
Smh yes 😲
@@trinaq can't relate obese sad becoz all goes belly and goes like pregnancy belly not like fat person rest body same I balme a lot to my PCOS it's awful someone thought was pregnant yesterday like fourth time now xxxx
Being overweight is considered unattractive by both sexes
What movie is that where the guy kicks the siding off and the other guy says “I followed the instructions. If you want to blame something blame the instructions.”
I think it's 12 years a slave
@@wildcatste thank you
That's such a great moment.
An important and overlooked victim in the today’s current socioeconomic climate. This video is so important and so well done, thanks guys.
No all they did was was make all whte people evil in this and claimed it was some conspiracy of whte supremecy.
I live in the North, and people make fun of me because my dad's side of the family is from North Georgia, and they were poor whites. They always say "It's the poor whites who did lynchings, wanted segregation, etc" and I always say, "Who do you think taught the poor white people to think like that?"
And you could probably say it was the White Liberal elites who egged it on.
White Southern Democrat politicians... and the latter basically DEFINES "elite".
IIRC, it was Civil War general who STARTED the KKK... again, White, Southern, DEMOCRAT... ELITE.
Who passed those segregation laws? Democrat politicians... elites.
I went out with a guy once (he’s Hispanic, I’m white for context) who threw out the n word at any chance he got even though I told him repeatedly that it wasn’t okay to say, but he still kept saying it because he thought my annoyed reaction to it was funny. Then when I called someone I knew “white trash” he got really upset with me and told me that he didn’t like it when people used that term 🥴 I try not to use that phrase anymore but idk I thought it was really telling how comfortable he was using a term that is offensive to black people but threw a fit when I used one that’s offensive to white people.
A lot of Hispanic people see themselves as White and feel validated when they're able to date a white person.
Hispanic people are white. They're from Spain. You mean Latin people who spoke hispanic or am I missing something ?
@@kingc1468 you mean spanish people? Hispanic can also mean they’re from Latin America. He’s from Cuba and definitely not white.
@@madi4615 A lot of latin americans are white.
@@madi4615 Yeah I got confused that's what I meant. Unfortunately many latin people who aren't white have adopted those behaviours and think like they're white or above POC.
Jeanette Walls' memoir, The Glass Castle, is a fantastic look at this. So glad it was on the reading list in high school. I definitely remember it getting comments about "why do we have to read about shitty poor white people" in class though
omfg that's my favorite book ever. more people should read it
Excellent x 3!! Should be shown in high school classes nationwide!
Walt in Breaking Bad was NOT working class. He was middle or even upper-middle class. His problem was, in the US with no national health care, even someone who's pretty well off can lose it all if they get cancer. He had that to pay for, plus a special needs kid he wanted to get a good chance at life and that's not cheap either.
“The Place beyond the Pines” is a great film capturing how difficult it is to escape from generational poverty. It’s quite underrated but 5/5 would recommend watching this film!
Project Florida and I Tonya are two of my favorite movies, because it reminded me a lot of my childhood and how they're very human depictions of how you don't pick the circumstances you're born in and also how complicated it to get out of them
Yooo ths has me dead 4:09
Could you please put the names of some of the films featured in your video essays in the description for easier access, I really like your stuff but I sometimes lose pace with the movies listed. In any case, keep making more, big fan of your stuff.
*Every* form of inequality is rooted in class
Also, the phrase white trash started before the American revolution... Might I suggest the book "White Trash 400 Years of Class in America" which covers basically everything you're talking about.
That's a good audible book.
thank you,
Nancy Isenberg? Great book.
Most comprehensive book on the topic.
But, she is occasionally little hazy on geography and ethnicity
I never saw the "good characters" as "the good whites" in the stories but merely as just people trying to do the right. Perhaps The Take is self projecting here. 🤣
To me trash is act how you act not what you have. If you are kind, polite, honest, & work hard for those you love then you’re classy. My daddy taught me this when I asked if we were poor & he told me that we were rich with love
Aww, come on. Movie Eliza Doolittle was never white trash. She was outspoken, kind, self empowered, tried to follow realistic dreams to better herself and aimed to improve herself. She did not look down on her peers in the market place, was open to all new experiences, and ready to work hard. I think we were supposed to like her from the start. Her journey was about following her ambitions, not "unlocking her value" through showing different class markers. She wanted a flower shop, the princess thing was just part of the deal.
The Professor was never the hero of the story. His introduction song was basically "Am I... better than everyone?!"
I agree with you, and I don't think the story or the channel would say that Eliza was "white trash", she was simply treated that way by the other characters
FINALLY!! Somebody had to say something. He’s also a misogynist and possibly a repressed gay man.
Henry Higgins only fell in love with Eliza after he forced her into the person he wanted her to be…and the worst part was SHE CAME BACK TO THAT SON OF A BITCH!!
U should expand on this about Slavs, we have been demonised well before the Nazis
And Armenis, and Serbs, and Roma, and Sami, and Kurds, and...(too many to count)
I gotta give a shout-out to the horror comedy Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. It brilliantly riffs on the killer hillbilly trope.
In this episode, we find that class struggle might actually be a thing, after all. Who'd have thunk it?
Honestly Gone with the Wind the O'Haras were shanty Irish with money
Yeah I thought that was made clear at least in the book, that they're like "new money" and not anglo-saxon, maybe hence some overcompensation?
@@victoriaa9933
Overcompensation is a common theme with prosperous immigrant families of all stripes.
@@archer1949 I'm surprised that family was invited to things socially at all, rather then shunned, but I guess there'd be no story then.
I’m from Baltimore and never knew it originated here. I can definitely see how. We are a City of neighborhoods. Each with its own distinct history that adds to the whole of the City. Really enjoyed this video.
Great vid!
Can you PLEASE expound on the taking point of "Romanticizing Poverty"?!? I found this fascinating when it was mentioned!
Another great representation of poor white people is Nomadland. I watched it months ago and found it incredibly sensitive in it's portrayal of the homeless working class and the importance of economic crisis on the difficulties they (us), as common people, have to face. Great video as always! Hugs from Chile 🌻
This is one of the most honest vids The Take has ever made.
I saw someone talking about how their town in Appalachia knew that both republicans and democrats didnt care about them or any poor people but the republicans at least pretended to and it honestly changed some of how i viewed people even in my own neighborhood. Because its true. Both parties are awful but one of them appeals to certain people more and thats how they win.
I think the two parties exist solely to divide people
this whole video was so interesting, thank you so much for working on that topic
I think the interpretation of Gone with the Wind was way off. Just because a story is set in a time of rigid social hierarchies does not mean the overall narrative upholds them. I'd argue the narrative actually challenges the supremacy of white upper class culture.
Mrs. O'Hara responds that way about the Slattery baby because it was born fatherless to an unmarried mother, not because of the class. Yes, the Black characters freely criticize lower class white characters, and its made clear in the books that the Black characters are "proud" to serve upper class white people and this is why they look down on poor white characters. I think the racism of this sentiment is well worth talking about, but I wouldn't say that the overall narrative agrees with the Black characters about much of anything, let alone class issues. Again, that's worth looking at in and of itself, but doesn't support a classist reading.
Belle Watling is really the woman that Scarlett wishes she were if she were free of societal norms. Scarlett is mostly good at and enjoys receiving male attention, and she'd have made a wonderful lady of the night if she hadn't been born into her background. Maybe its clearer in the book than the movie which I haven't seen in a while, but Scarlett admires Belle and is fascinated by her more than she feels rivalry with her.
The overall theme of GWTW is survival, and how that is directly at odds with the upper class sensibilities. Scarlett has to discard everything her upper class background taught her to survive, and the narrative rewards her for it. Scarlett and Rhett constantly scandalize "civil society" with their behavior which isn't in keeping with the other upper class whites. I think the overall message is actually criticizing upper white class culture for being ineffectual and ridiculous.
Your reading is a little too nuanced for this channel. (Excellent post btw. I completely agree.)
Yes, it's been a while since I read the book, but I recall Belle being portrayed as morally superior to Scarlett despite her societal role.
@@julietteangeli For sure. Almost all of the characters are morally superior to Scarlett lol. Why were the best anti-heroine roles in early Hollywood and we're stuck with like, just Weeds for the 2000s anti-heroines?
Agreed. It's been a while since I read it, but especially early on, pre-war, Margaret Mitchell portrays Scarlett as kind of, well, rich and dipshitty, and all her male friends are self-important idiots who couldn't be bothered in school. Scarlett often behaves terribly later on, but the fall of Atlanta clearly gave her PTSD and that was an interesting aspect of the novel, especially for its time.
Scarlett was the daughter of an Irish immigrant (and Catholic). She would never have been fully accepted in upper-class Southern gentility but, unlike Ashley, she was able to survive in the post-war environment.
I just discovered the take .. this is one of the best analogy..And informative program out there.. thank you for your inside and knowledge..Analyzing these Important topics .!!
excellent video! very enlightening. makes me think. thank you.
I agree with most of what you said, but one thing I think you should have touched upon is how the book of To Kill a Mockingbird does explore class more thoroughly. Yes, Atticus is the best of all, an educated white, somewhat rich man, but his sister and their family (who are more prominent in the book) is very racist and that gets them into arguments, or all the other white at tourneys who could have defended Tom but did not want to. Also, there are other poor white people who are not like the Ewells, like the front door neighbor (miss Maudie) or the Cunningham’s who are just as poor as the Ewells. The book is far from perfect but I do believe it explores the intersection of class and racism in a nuanced way.
Yes, this. Also, the Finches aren't rich at all - there's even a snippet in this video of the scene discussing the fact that they're poor, just not as poor as some other families in their town. (I think the assumption here is lawyer = rich, but the book/movie discusses the fact that Atticus is literally paid with things like nuts and firewood by some people who have no money because of the Depression. He's not raking in the big bucks.)
Also, I think the story was pretty clear that racism doesn't exist because of people like the Ewells, racism is built into the society and people like Ewells perpetuate it because it's the only way of feeling like they're not at the absolute bottom of the social hierarchy. (I'm pretty sure there's at least one line to that explicitly spells this out.) The Ewells are racist, and arguably they're racist caricatures, but the story is pretty dang clear that almost *everyone* in the town is racist. That's why Tom's trial is doomed from the start, and Atticus gets so much criticism for defending him. The people who aren't racist (or are less so) are the exceptions.
@@Luanna801 not rich, not even doing good financially - but still middle class. At least preserving all the class markers, the accent, the clothing, etc. Probably had a fairly easy time getting out of that situation once the Depression was over. The distinction between temporary and generational hardship can make a big difference.
Eg I’m from a middle class family. Even though I currently make below my country’s official poverty line, that hasn’t made me working class. I’m still culturally middle class and it works to my advantage when I’m looking for a new place to rent or when I have to go to the bank. I can leverage familial connections’ existence even without costing anybody money.
That doesn't fit The Take's narrative.
The book also included a mixed-race family, a white man who had married a black woman...considered "white trash" by even the "white trash."
Danny, thanks for writing what you did. Very interesting observations!