Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2019 The Mountains at the End of the World: Subcultural Appropriations of Appalachia and the Hillbilly Image, 1990-2010 Paul L. Robertson Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the American Popular Culture Commons, Appalachian Studies Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, and the Other Film and Media Studies Commons © Paul L. Robertson Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5854 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Robertson i © Paul L. Robertson 2019 All Rights Reserved. Robertson ii The Mountains at the End of the World: Subcultural Appropriations of Appalachia and the Hillbilly Image, 1990-2010 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. By Paul Lester Robertson Bachelor of Arts in English, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2000 Master of Arts in Appalachian Studies, Appalachian State University, 2004 Master of Arts in English, Appalachian State University, 2010 Director: David Golumbia Associate Professor, Department of English Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia May 2019 Robertson iii Acknowledgement The author wishes to thank his loving wife A. Simms Toomey for her unwavering support, patience, and wisdom throughout this process. I would also like to thank the members of my committee: Dr. David Golumbia, Dr. Eric Garberson, Dr. Cristina Stanciu, and Dr. Wesley Chenault for the persistent belief and encouragement that I could actually complete this project. Finally, I would like to thank my long-ago roommate Cheryl Yeager, who inadvertently inspired my interest in the subject of this dissertation. Robertson iv Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ v Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... vi Vita .............................................................................................................................................. viii Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 History of Hillbilly as Generation X Punk “Alternative” ................................................. 17 An Explanation of Terms: Generation X, Punk, and Appalachia/n .................................. 22 Chapter 1—Jesco White and the Hillbilly Punk Grotesque ................................................... 32 Anarchy in the Boone County: Dancing Outlaw .............................................................. 33 Mainstream Grotesque: Jesco Goes to Hollywood ........................................................... 52 Perfecting the Punk Jesco in the Appalachian Art House: White Lightnin’ ..................... 59 False Bill of Sale: The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia .............................. 71 Chapter 2—Mountain Terror: Pinckney Benedict’s Dogs of God ......................................... 75 Vietnam in the Alleghenies ............................................................................................... 79 Wild Boar Uprising and Deep Green Retribution ............................................................. 82 Dogs of God as Transethnic Solidarity Literature .......................................................... 102 Chapter 3—The Confederate Mack and Raven Mack’s Greater Appalachia ..................... 117 The Confederate Mack Zine and Predecessors, 1995-2001 ............................................ 120 The Confederate Mack Website, 2001-2003 .................................................................. 131 Return to Roots: One Thousand Feathers, 2012- ........................................................... 133 “Raven Mack”: An Explication and an Assessment ....................................................... 135 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 139 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................... 145 Robertson v List of Figures Fig. 1. Entering Boone County, West Virginia. Fig. 2. Jesco and Norma Jean’s trailer in Dancing Outlaw, between road and wilderness. Fig. 3. Babs’s trailer in Pink Flamingos, the threat of backwoods anarchy. Fig. 4. Pantomime as restrained threat in Blue Velvet—Ben sings “In Dreams.” Fig. 5. Elvis as control and salvation in The Dancing Outlaw. Fig. 6. Troubled bridge over troubled waters—Jesco’s The Dancing Outlaw introduction. Fig. 7. Last biker, last hillbilly, last human—Jesco’s t-shirt in The Dancing Outlaw. Fig. 8. Just another hillbilly in L.A.—Jesco and the Walk of Fame in Jesco Goes to Hollywood. Fig. 9. Charles Manson in court (A.P./Wally Fong) Fig. 10. Jesco and “friend” at the Pacific—Jesco Goes to Hollywood. Fig. 11. Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) at the denouement of Oliver Stone's Platoon Fig. 12. Dominic Murphy's Jesco (Edward Hogg) in White Lightnin’—part GG Allin, part Charles Manson, part Apocalypse Now! Fig. 13. Jimmy Valiant and the cover of The Confederate Mack number one. Fig. 14. “14 Things that Killed the Good Ole Boy” as originally published on The Confederate Mack website. Fig. 15. The Confederate Mack website logo Robertson vi Abstract THE MOUNTAINS AT THE END OF THE WORLD: SUBCULTURAL APPROPRIATIONS OF APPALACHIA AND THE HILLBILLY IMAGE, 1990-2010 By Paul L. Robertson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2019 Director: Dr. David Golumbia, Associate Professor, Department of English There is an aversion within the field of Appalachian Studies to addressing the cultural formulations of the Appalachian/hillbilly/mountaineer as an icon of aggressive resistance. The aversion is understandable, as for far too long images of the irrationally and savagely violent mountaineer were integral to the most gross popular culture stereotypes of Appalachia. Media consumers often take pleasure or comfort in these images, which usually occur in a reactionary context with the hillbilly as either a type of nationally necessary savage OR as an unregenerate barbarian against whom a national civilization will triumph and benefit by the struggle. I bookend my study with two artifacts of Appalachian representation, linked in specific subject matter, but separated by twenty years. The 1991 West Virginia Public Television- produced documentary film The Dancing Outlaw quickly became an underground cult classic— an object of both absurdist delight and cultural identification within the punk subculture, particularly among those with both a punk sensibility and personal connections to the Appalachian region (birth, upbringing, residency, ancestry). In 2009, MTV and the resources of its wildly popular Jackass franchise revisited the locale and family featured in this earlier Robertson vii documentary and produced the sophisticated and polished film The Wild, Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. The core purpose of this project, however, is to examine why Appalachia and/or the hillbilly, as constructed within and across these subcultures, possessed such appeal during this historical moment. My hypothesis is that such appeal lies primarily (but not exclusively) in the negative characteristics of the region and its inhabitants that are represented throughout a variety of subcultural texts: documentary film, art house cinema, niche regional literature, and independent zine publishing and early blogging. For both those identifying themselves as Appalachians/hillbillies (or some related variation thereof) and those “playing” as Appalachians/hillbillies, these images become statements of resistance and survival to challenge the national mass culture and the political ideologies supporting it. Robertson viii Vita Paul L. Robertson was born February 1st, 1975 in Roanoke, Virginia. He spent his childhood and early adulthood in the Blue Ridge mountain town of Hardy, Virginia. He earned his General Education Diploma (GED) in 1995 and then attended Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke. After a year of coursework, he transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University in 1997. He earned a B.A. in English, with a minor in History, in May of 2000. After working for the VCU Training and Technical Assistance Center for two years, he entered the Appalachian Studies MA program at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. His capstone project involved an internship in the south Wales village of Ystradgynlais. In Fall of 2004 he began part-time work towards the MA in English at the same institution, receiving the degree in December 2010. From 2004-2010, he held a variety of cultural heritage archive and special collections positions, while also teaching Appalachian Studies courses at Appalachian State. From 2010-2012, he was employed