Funded By The
National Endowment for Humanities,
National Education Association |
Advised By
Oscar-Nominee Kirby Dick (Invisible War, Hunting Ground) |
Discover What Educators & Critics Are Saying About hillbilly:
"a great educational resource.
It challenges students to evaluate the stereotypes that they see in the media and helps them to better understand how culture, class and race intersect in Appalachia."
It challenges students to evaluate the stereotypes that they see in the media and helps them to better understand how culture, class and race intersect in Appalachia."
- April Hobbs Nutter
Digital Marketing Director and Instructor of Sociology, Morehead State University
Digital Marketing Director and Instructor of Sociology, Morehead State University
"I'm happy to see Hillbilly trying to cover us as we really are and not what some people think we are.
It's wonderful, the attention Hillbilly paid to so many areas that are so important to all of us.”
- Dolly Parton
It's wonderful, the attention Hillbilly paid to so many areas that are so important to all of us.”
- Dolly Parton
"An effective rebuttal to media stereotyping"
Directors' Statement

Featuring Bell Hooks, Ronny Cox and Billy Redden from Deliverance, director Michael Apted, activists and writers Frank X Walker, Crystal Good, and Silas House, and musicians Sam Gleaves and Amythyst Kiah, hillbilly arrives at a crucial moment, confronting depictions of Appalachian and other rural people on a broad, national level.
It introduces audiences to a nuanced, authentic Appalachia that is quite conscious of how it has been portrayed and the impacts of those portrayals. The documentary deconstructs mainstream representations while asking crucial questions: Where did the hillbilly archetype come from and why has it endured on-screen for more than a hundred years? How does it relate to the exploitation of the land and people who live there? How do Appalachian and rural people view themselves as a result of these negative portrayals, and what is the impact on the rest of America?
It introduces audiences to a nuanced, authentic Appalachia that is quite conscious of how it has been portrayed and the impacts of those portrayals. The documentary deconstructs mainstream representations while asking crucial questions: Where did the hillbilly archetype come from and why has it endured on-screen for more than a hundred years? How does it relate to the exploitation of the land and people who live there? How do Appalachian and rural people view themselves as a result of these negative portrayals, and what is the impact on the rest of America?
hillbilly
Directed by
Sally Rubin and Ashley York Run Time: 87 min.
Rating: NR Public Performance Rights Licensing:
Starting at $299 Organizations & institutions please contact info@passionriver.com for a quote Synopsis:
In hillbilly, directors Ashley York and Sally Rubin show the evolution of the uneducated, promiscuous "hillbilly" stereotype in media and culture, linking it with corporate exploitation of Appalachia's natural resources. The film examines the experience of rural voters and seeks to expand the understanding of the region by featuring diverse communities in Appalachia, including Appalshop's Appalachian Media Institute where young adults find community and refuge, and the Affrilachian Poets, a grassroots group of poets of color living in the Appalachian region. hillbilly seeks to challenge viewers' perception of Appalachia, opening up dialogue between urban and rural America, and offering folks within the region a cinematic portrayal of which they can be proud of. |
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