How is your region portrayed in pop culture?

I'm not rich, a vegan, a movie star or a surfer and I've never had a drug habit.

 

My guess is that most people focus on the politics of my area. The one portrayal I remember vividly that wasn't about politics was in Married ... With Children.

There, the city was portrayed as a literal war zone. As in, the characters were in the middle of a heated argument and all of a sudden they'd have to duck because machine guns were firing.

The city was the murder capital for a few years at the time...

 

Well, that and the string of Farrelly brothers movies.

 

But you are a smelly hippie, right?

 

Let's be honest here: Any movie or TV show centered around its locale will play up every stereotype of said locale.

 

While Wenders is right on the whole "Wizard of Oz" thing, the only real image it makes anyone think is that tornadoes strike Kansas every two or three days. I doubt people even remember that Dorothy lived on a farm. And I've lived in Kansas all my 42 years and I've never seen a tornado in person.

But Kansas in current media ... I can't think of anything. Kansas is America Neutral. No accent. No stereotype. I guess we're not interesting enough to be portrayed in the media one way or the other.

Well, except when our Board of Education decides to dictate science policy. Then we get hammered even though the BOE's train of thought is not the same as the majority of Kansans.

 

That's funny.

When I was in the Navy, there was a tornado coming through 10 miles away. Most of us were kinda scrambling around thinking we needed to take shelter. A buddy of mine from Oklahoma was literally sitting in a chair with his feet up reading a book and said, "10 miles, that's the other side of town. No big deal."

 

I would argue against the stereotypes of Ohioans (earnest, football fanatics, fanatically Christian, self-deprecating, self-hating, laid off from a factory job and a tad on the dumb side), but I just watched a giant Big Butter Jesus statue burn down near one of our major highways and the entire state go on suicide alert because a basketball player deciding to leave was a major blow to the economy of the state.

So, yeah, they've pretty much got us pegged.

And, yes, it seems half the country goes to college here and then gets the hell out as fast as they can.

 

I'm surprised there haven't been very many Jersey-related posts.

Basically, some true stereotypes: Jersey drivers are either completely brain-dead or suffer from steroid-induced road rage; notoriously bad attitudes (especially in the areas near NYC and Philly); everyone knows at least four or five guidos/guidettes, yet tries to distance themselves from that image.

 

I lived in Tornado Alley for 22 years, never saw a tornado (was in warnings a bunch of times though). Two weeks after I moved east (where they think they're in the Midwest. Let me tell you, Cincinnati ain't midway to JACK. If you aren't west of the Mississippi, you are not in the Midwest.) a tornado hit my alma mater and the town directly east of my hometown. Go figure.

 

The TV show Jericho took place in Southwestern Kansas. Mostly basic small town stuff where everyone knew each other and their business.

Twister took place in Oklahoma, but I can't figure out which is the better stereotype, a ragtag bunch whose pluck and skill lead them to success or a corporate-funded sellout who isn't in it for the science.