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For my film review of the South, I
picked the movie Sweet Home Alabama starring
Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey, and Josh Lucas. The film follows Melanie
Carmichael, a southern belle turned Yankee, as she attempts to break away from
her small-town Alabama lifestyle as a leading fashion designer in New York
City. After accepting a marriage proposal from New York royalty Andrew
Hennings, she returns home to confront her husband Jake Perry, who never really
signed the divorce papers from the get go. So as not to spoil the ending for
those of you haven’t seen it, it is a typical chick flick in which a woman
finds herself, love, and happiness. Obviously, that just means she chooses her
Southern guy over the Yankee.
The movie addresses the South (specifically, Alabama) as an old-fashioned, slower world by comparing it to the modern, faster world of the North. For instance, within the first five minutes of the film, Melanie’s southern accent is pointed out and, subsequently, mocked by her co-workers. This, in turn, leads the audience into believing that a Southern gal is out of place in the big city. In fact, Melanie even says that she “needs a passport to get out of here (Alabama).” Later, Andrew’s mother makes it clear that Melanie’s southern roots are what keep her from understanding the lifestyle of New York City elite. The mayor, upon examining the two regions, states, “We’re not better. We’re not worse. We’re different.” Her town implies that Melanie’s southern background limits her understanding of social discourse and propriety that would be necessary as Andrew’s wife in a bustling city.
The movie further explains the South as out-of-date by the quick visual images that flash across the screen when Melanie initially returns to her home state. First, her parents’ home and lifestyle are stuck in the past: her father drives a beat up truck, they live in an old house with a dirty porch, and they have an old recliner proudly displayed in their living room. Meanwhile, in the north, families have modern appliances and furniture and keep a clean house, both literally and figuratively. Furthermore, southerners are constantly concerned about money. These images propose that all southerners lack the necessary funds to build them up financially or southerners are too simple minded to explore the options given to them through modern advances. Later, the town itself shows a lack of progression with a rusted, poorly maintained water tower. The women in the town wear clothes and do their hair and make-up as if they are still in the 80s. This is especially evident with Melanie’s fashion forward style of new, modern woman. A northern woman is concerned with the latest trends and is on top of the “who’s who” list, while a southern woman, isn’t. When Melanie first comes to the bank looking for an ATM the clerk states that an ATM would mean “losing personal contact with the customers.” The north has ATMs, thereby, allowing people to focus on other, more important tasks.
Finally, we can compare the two male leads: Jake, a good ole boy from the South, and Andrew, the man of prestige. Jake is a man who lives life by his own rules; so, he is wild and free. Andrew, meanwhile, does what society dictates without taking the initiative. Jake owns a dog, has plenty of beer in the fridge, speaks his mind, and wears dirty jeans with plaid shirts. Andrew, well, he doesn’t. He drinks champagne, follows a script, and wears suits. Jake gives the impression of the south as an untamed place of mischief. Likewise, Andrew symbolizes the “do good, be good” mentality of the north.
Based on my observations of the movie, I will conclude that Sweet Home Alabama depicts the South as a place steeped so heavily in tradition and so focused on its past accomplishments that it cannot move forward. - Corinne Beckinger
The movie addresses the South (specifically, Alabama) as an old-fashioned, slower world by comparing it to the modern, faster world of the North. For instance, within the first five minutes of the film, Melanie’s southern accent is pointed out and, subsequently, mocked by her co-workers. This, in turn, leads the audience into believing that a Southern gal is out of place in the big city. In fact, Melanie even says that she “needs a passport to get out of here (Alabama).” Later, Andrew’s mother makes it clear that Melanie’s southern roots are what keep her from understanding the lifestyle of New York City elite. The mayor, upon examining the two regions, states, “We’re not better. We’re not worse. We’re different.” Her town implies that Melanie’s southern background limits her understanding of social discourse and propriety that would be necessary as Andrew’s wife in a bustling city.
The movie further explains the South as out-of-date by the quick visual images that flash across the screen when Melanie initially returns to her home state. First, her parents’ home and lifestyle are stuck in the past: her father drives a beat up truck, they live in an old house with a dirty porch, and they have an old recliner proudly displayed in their living room. Meanwhile, in the north, families have modern appliances and furniture and keep a clean house, both literally and figuratively. Furthermore, southerners are constantly concerned about money. These images propose that all southerners lack the necessary funds to build them up financially or southerners are too simple minded to explore the options given to them through modern advances. Later, the town itself shows a lack of progression with a rusted, poorly maintained water tower. The women in the town wear clothes and do their hair and make-up as if they are still in the 80s. This is especially evident with Melanie’s fashion forward style of new, modern woman. A northern woman is concerned with the latest trends and is on top of the “who’s who” list, while a southern woman, isn’t. When Melanie first comes to the bank looking for an ATM the clerk states that an ATM would mean “losing personal contact with the customers.” The north has ATMs, thereby, allowing people to focus on other, more important tasks.
Finally, we can compare the two male leads: Jake, a good ole boy from the South, and Andrew, the man of prestige. Jake is a man who lives life by his own rules; so, he is wild and free. Andrew, meanwhile, does what society dictates without taking the initiative. Jake owns a dog, has plenty of beer in the fridge, speaks his mind, and wears dirty jeans with plaid shirts. Andrew, well, he doesn’t. He drinks champagne, follows a script, and wears suits. Jake gives the impression of the south as an untamed place of mischief. Likewise, Andrew symbolizes the “do good, be good” mentality of the north.
Based on my observations of the movie, I will conclude that Sweet Home Alabama depicts the South as a place steeped so heavily in tradition and so focused on its past accomplishments that it cannot move forward. - Corinne Beckinger
I agree that "Sweet Home Alabama" depicts the South as a place steeped so heavily in tradition and so focused on its past accomplishments that it cannot move forward. However, I also think that "Sweet Home Alabama" portrays the south as the winner amongst the north and south's ongoing 'who's better' battle. Melanie chose the south in the end. Also, the north was portrayed mostly by Andrew's mother. Her rude and mean behavior made the South's gentleness shine brighter. "Sweet Home Alabama" does make fun of the south, but I think that in the end it is clear that the south is the winner.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the contrasting male roles in this film, Jake and Andrew. I love how they both directly symbolize the places they come from: the North and the South; Andrew especially, played by the perfect Northern male, Patrick Dempsey. Throughout the entire movie, he is viewed as having higher intelligence which we can really see at the end when asked by his mother if he was just going to let her humiliate him, he responds confidently, "Yes, I think I am." He realizes that she is in love and too far embedded in this Southern culture. Where the Southern man is portrayed as "neanderthalic," the Northerner is a gentleman who uses sound mind and self-control. As Corinne stated, the South and especially the Southern man are portrayed as very backwards.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Autumn in that in this film, the south is romanticized as the place where the only things that matter are food and family. Money is not an object, and face-to-face relationships are most valued. This is noted in the scene where Melanie goes to the bank and asks where the ATM is; the teller responds that the manager felt that they would lose personal touch if they had one.
ReplyDeleteAwesome job, Corinne. One of my favorite elements of the movie is the message sent by the "fleeing" of Melanie from the South and how she soon finds her heart calling her to return. Originally, Melanie remains adamant that she "escaped" the backward trappings of the South and vastly improved her quality of life by moving north. However, the audience soon sees Melanie falling right back into her previous ways and only slightly regretting this reversion of behavior. The message can be summed up in a line of dialogue, which I am paraphrasing as I do not remember who said it or when it was said. The line says, "You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl."
ReplyDeleteEven though the film does point out much negativity about the South, the fact that Melanie chooses the southern guy over the northern guy in the end means the South has something valuable to offer compared to the North. She did live in the North and experience the modern city life, which is supposed to be more classy than the southern life. Love plays a huge part in Melanie's decision, but as James quoted from the movie, "You can't take the South out of the girl." Her decision reflects the positive parts of the South, such as family and strong morals.
ReplyDelete