Follies of the Mad Men #9

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[This image is from The Saturday Evening Post for May 5, 1945. As you can tell from the slightly mismatched borders, it's two separate scans, upper and lower, with the division just above the punchline caption. Excuse my impoverished Photoshop skills.]

Once upon a time, hillbillies were a powerful iconic staple of American life. But alas, no longer. Perhaps The Beverly Hillbillies was their dying gasp. Since then, PC guidelines no longer allow for such stereotypes, as the Abercrombie & Fitch folks found out a few years back, when they tried to market this T-shirt. And so our national mythology is a little drabber and duller.
     Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 09, 2008
     Category: Business | Advertising | Political Correctness | Regionalism | Television | 1940s





Comments
Figgy--you are so right! Singlehandedly, THE SIMPSONS is keeping the hillbilly motif alive!
Posted by Paul on 08/09/08 at 02:09 PM
Chase--problem solved!
Posted by Paul on 08/10/08 at 10:35 AM
Clan--fascinating regional info! Thanks! My head hurts from that family tree you outlined....
Posted by Paul on 08/11/08 at 12:52 PM
Kevin--try tracking down a great story by Avram Davidson called "The House the Blakeneys Built."
Posted by Paul on 08/12/08 at 10:18 AM
Fred--hillbilly literacy rules!
Posted by Paul on 08/12/08 at 03:57 PM
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