Duck Dynasty: Redneck Culture and Class Division

            Generally television assumes the classification of being either highbrow or lowbrow, differentiating itself in terms of the content it displays. Content derived for wealthier and typically more educated audiences could be exemplified through a five-string quartet, or a ballet at the opera house. Whereas evidence of low brow culture could be identified at a monster truck rally, the crowd gluttonously stuffing their faces with corndogs. Stereotypically a certain type of people are expected to occupy either class, enabling their tastes to become inherent to their personalities, in addition to their financial situation determining which end of the spectrum they reside on. Duck Dynasty, an A&E reality television series depicts the lives of the Robertson family who have become wealthy from the success of their business Duck Commander, yet they have not allowed their wealth to change their interest in blowing up beaver dens. We’ve all heard the horror stories of how money changes lives for the worst, however Duck Dynasty serves as an example of deteriorating the social class structure by the fusion of millions of dollars with redneck culture.

            According to Jeff Foxworthy, the term redneck equates to ‘the glorious absence of sophistication.’ This definition, in addition to other multiple stereotypes of redneck culture that surround the core concepts of stupidity, inbreeding and social ineptitude enables the term to seem as though it holds a universal meaning; therefore indicating that referring to oneself as a redneck must mean that you live in a trailer park and always have a shotgun in your truck. Although the men of Duck Dynasty are most notably pictured as embracing redneck culture with long shaggy beards and camouflage attire they disrupt the stereotype by arguably occupying a higher class level than anticipated considering their interests, appearance and personalities. The cast members interact with each other in a loving, yet amusing way, entertaining viewers with their ridiculous and equally witty commentary adhering to much of the common conceptions of redneck culture. Commenting on the functionality of a tree stand that was built by his father Phil, Willie Robertson (CEO of Duck Commander) states “Let me tell you about redneck logic… Just blow it up! He’s going to be so enamored with the fire he’ll forget about what he’s losing!” Statements of this nature directly comply with the idea of the stereotypical redneck mindset, indicating that given the short attention span and empty-headedness that rednecks are assumed to have, the importance of the of the tree stand (used for any years and built by hand) will inevitably be trumped by the captivating explosion of blowing it up, making witnessing the destruction essentially worth it enabling its history to become irrelevant. Another instance of captivating the redneck lifestyle is exemplified by Uncle Si, a Vietnam War veteran known for his over exaggerations when it comes to story-telling, and amusing inability to form a grammatically correct sentence. Si states, “First it’s pretty tires, then it’s pretty guns.. Next thing you know you’re shavin’ your beard and wearin’ capri pants.” Forming a light-hearted joke about ‘yuppie’ men nowadays further solidifies his active participation with the idea of roughin’ it, expressing his support for the redneck way and confusion of the popular style and fashion that many men embrace today. The previous examples pose as evidence that regardless of their successful business of creating and distributing duck calls; their accomplishment within the industry has not enabled them to change their personalities or the culture that they identify with even though their profit has allowed them to live luxuriously.  Identifying with what many would consider low class behavior and high class living arrangements places the Robertson’s essentially in a category of their own blurring class divisions proving that possessing certain characteristics or material objects does not determine your designation within the class structure. 

            Although many of the cast members’ antics enable to viewer to categorize them as rednecks, the end of each segment brings forth a resolution to the chaos that has unfolded throughout the episode. Positioned as the moral of the story, Willie recaps the events of the day emphasizing the importance of family and lessons learned assuring the audience regardless of how abnormal their lives may seem, they understand, respect, and value each other above all else. Mary McNamara states, “They may be backwoods, but they ain't poor nor are they ignorant, which allows audiences to revel in their homespun ways without any distracting worries about dental insurance or access to education.”  Duck Dynasty effectively manipulates the plot of the show to potentially speak to a variety of audiences, incorporating comedy, stupidity, success, and the importance of family into entertaining yet touching television.  

Top 10 Redneck Stereotypes. Retrieved from http://modern-redneck.hubpages.com/hub/Top-10-redneck-stereotypes

McNamara, Mary. Los Angeles Times. Critic's Notebook: 'Duck Dynasty' is a canny curation of cultures. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2013/aug/22/entertainment/la-et-st-duck-dynasty-20130822

Duck Dynasty. Retrieved from http://www.duckdynastyquotes.com/category.php?cat=2&page=3