As the introduction of “Appalachian Reckoning” points out, Vance was at one point, following the massive success of his memoir, under consideration as a Republican candidate for the Ohio Senate. His trajectory from the humble origins of Appalachia to the nation’s premier law school maps perfectly onto the myth that anyone in America can “make it” if they just try hard enough — a parallel hardly lost on Vance himself. The editors of “Appalachian Reckoning” note that Vance often will jump at the chance to describe his own story as being an “up from your bootstraps” kind of “American Dream.” And, as one 2019 Amazon review of the memoir has so astutely noted, the book reads like Vance building a political platform for a future bid for office. In this light, far from being an “elegy” for Appalachia, Vance’s memoir amounts to a mere publicity stunt. Its lack of nuance in its depiction of Appalachia becomes not an oversight at all but precisely the point. A flattened depiction of Appalachia provides the perfect backstory for J.D. while he proceeds to cast himself in the best possible light for candidacy: the one who made it out.
The climax of “Hillbilly Elegy” finds J.D. checking Bev into a motel room — she refused rehab — where, after a trip to the neighboring gas station, he comes back to see her attempting to use heroin. J.D. wrenches the needle away, flushes it down the toilet and manages to convince his mom to go to sleep. There, sitting on the edge of the bed, he takes Bev’s hand and breaks the news: “I can’t stay,” he says. “I’m not saving anyone here.” Or, in other words, J.D. makes the problematic assertion that if he’s to have any chance at “saving” his family, then he has to leave — as though Appalachians can’t “save” themselves from within Appalachia. Instead, the movie suggests that only graduates from Yale Law can do that, re-enforcing the harmful stereotype that Appalachians need outsiders to come to their rescue. This is made even more remarkable by the fact that the only reason J.D. can afford to leave his mom alone at this moment, at risk of another heroin overdose, is his sister Lindsay conveniently swapping in. J.D. makes his interview in time, wins the summer internship and, presumably, can now get hard to work rescuing his family (and, somehow, Appalachia at large) from afar. When really, the actual savior in this scene isn’t J.D. at all but Lindsay. Lindsay, who stays behind in Kentucky to do the on-the-ground task of getting her mother back on her feet. Lindsay, who has kids of her own and a full-time job. Lindsay, the proverbial woman who lays herself down so a man can rise.
As someone who grew up in West Virginia, I was frustrated to see “Hillbilly Elegy” reinforce negative stereotypes that made up a large part of mine and my friends’ childhoods. As my friend Mary Linscheid, a sophomore at West Virginia University majoring in Appalachian studies and music, puts it: “Appalachia doesn’t need outsiders to save them, but what would be helpful is if outsiders would take the time to learn the truth about Appalachia and consider how their own actions actually might be causing some of the problems here.” I asked her what a “real” hillbilly elegy would look like, and for Linscheid, focusing on Appalachia’s past is essential for understanding the region. “Look at the ways outsiders have exploited Appalachia through time — from the exploitation of its natural resources and of its workers for the profit of few, to the exploitation and misinterpretation of our stories and culture for the entertainment of outsiders.”
“Hillbilly Elegy” is just that: a film written with outsiders in mind, for those who only encounter hill country when taking the scenic route on their way to somewhere else. Even the original soundtrack, featuring folk-inspired songs titled things like “Rust” and “Steel In Our Veins,” was written by the German classical composer Hans Zimmer, when the film could’ve easily showcased authentic Appalachian composers like Nate May, Rachel Grimes or Brian Harnetty, to name a few.
Posted from:https://emorywheel.com/hillbilly-elegy-review/