Menu

by Stewart Truelsen

The idea of remaking the old TV sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies" stirred up a hornet's nest in rural America when CBS said it wanted this to be a reality show with real hillbillies. Undoubtedly programmers thought they would have a hit on their hands if they could relocate a backwoods family to a Beverly Hills mansion for the rest of us to laugh at.

Casting was under way in Appalachia and the south when CBS encountered a firestorm of criticism. First of all, it's hard to recall much positive programming about rural America, with the exception of "On the Road" with the late Charles Kuralt. The announcement of "The Real Life Beverly Hillbillies" show reinforces what many rural Americans thought all along, "They think we are all hicks out here."

Granted, most people in rural America are a far cry from being like television executives. They don't wear $2,000 suits to work and have someone stop in the office to polish their shoes while they sit behind a mahogany desk. Rural folks get their shoes dirty and are proud to be salt of the earth people.

Country folks don't mind poking a little fun at themselves, but get tired of New York and Hollywood looking down their noses at them. One person outraged over the show is Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga. "What CBS and CEO Moonves propose to do with this comedy is bigotry, pure and simple. They know that the only minority left in this country that you can make fun of and demean and humiliate…are hillbillies in particular and rural people in general," said Miller on the Senate floor.

One of the reasons the Farm Bureau was formed many, many years ago was to gain equality and respect for rural Americans, and they've done a good job of it. In the first half of the last century, rural communities had a lot of catching up to do with the cities in building roads, utilities and schools.

However, television executives should set the corporate jet down in rural America and take a look around today. They might see what USDA reported in a study, "Rural America: Opportunities and Challenges." The report says, "Today, rural economies draw heavily from three basic assets: natural amenities for tourism and retirement; low-cost, high-quality labor and land for manufacturing; and natural resources for farming, forestry and mining." A major point of the report is that rural America is more diverse than ever and offers unique opportunities and challenges.

CBS could produce a documentary series about rural America or even hold televised "small town" meetings. There are many issues in rural America that affect all of us. If it's a reality show they want, then follow a farmer around for a season, or have a group of city dwellers try to tackle the hard work of farming or ranching. Now that would be a dose of reality.