Stereotypes have become a negative connotation in the American vocabulary, but they represent an enduring mindset when society thinks about people from certain regions. For me, when a group from specific regions or cultures acts, reacts, dresses, speaks, develops personal mannerisms and habits, they place themselves in the category of stereotypes for their particular niche on the planet. Likewise, the visual image (real or imagined) and ideologies that “outsiders” have about a specific region and its inhabitants are defined (in part) as a stereotype. Yet, there is the inevitability of change and evolution of ideas that come from generation to generation in these regions and among these people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay For example, the idea of ​​the "hillbilly" that arose in the Southern Appalachian region. For several decades, America's idea of ​​Appalachians was that of foolish, ignorant, mumbling, barefoot people who drank moonshine day after day and did nothing during the work day other than lift jugs or light the cob pipes. While isolation bred poverty and drinking was a source of income and entertainment, the “pop culture” idea of ​​the Appalachian region could not have been further from the reality of the constant struggle for survival and subsistence living. Much of what “mainstream” America, and indeed other nations, came to think of as Appalachian culture developed from films, shorts, and books rather than hard facts and research. As is typical of human nature, the images depicted in both visual presentation and the written word are often the idea that people cling to when thinking about the antics and cultural norms of different groups and societies. Early in the country's development, travel in Appalachia was limited to a few generous souls, mostly due to the terrain of the mountain regions and the rare encounters of "poor" mountain people, hence the belief that all hill people were of the type of Ma and Pa Kettle (even though they were from the Ozarks), the Beverly Hillbillies, and, indeed, the Whites. Today, regional Appalachian people's idea of ​​"pop culture" has changed from "hillbilly" to that of "redneck" (once again in part due to films such as: Hillbilly Nightmares, Redneck Horrors, Backwoods Terror, and Wrong Turn. Appalachians are no longer perceived as drunken, barefoot, clothed pipe chewers, that idea has been replaced by groups of young men, and their female counterparts, in large, excessively loud trucks (usually diesel), playing country music. blaring and displaying the American flag, the Confederate flag, or both, from the beds of their trucks. Their attire is almost uniform as they sport worn T-shirts with tails tucked behind large buckles that adorn a belt used to hold up too-tight blue jeans. and faded, caps advertising various logos of local companies or cooperatives, and large wads of "sauce" whose "juice" is spat generously by everyone either on the ground or into Dr. Enuf's bottles. Time changes all things... thoughts, perspectives and stereotypes. In our ever-changing world, one can only hope that one day the negative stereotypes associated with Appalachia will be eliminated and the world will understand the mystery and wonder of this “tight-knit” region”.