Friday, September 25, 2009

White-Trash Heroes   [Jonah Goldberg]

The list (noted below in Debby's odd links) of cinematic white-trash heroes is good. But it really does leave a lot of contenders out, particularly if you use loose criteria for what constitutes white trash. Mel Gibson more or less had a mullet and lived in a trailer in Lethal Weapon, does he count? Regardless, off the top of my head (and yes, open to objections!), and in no particular order, some other contenders: Nic Cage in Con Air, Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse and Next of Kin (both of which came out in 1989!), Sam Elliot as Wade Garret in Roadhouse (dude, he was awesome), Joe Dirt, Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit, (possibly in Deliverance) and probably several other movies, Clint Eastwood in Any Which Way But Loose, Keanu Reeves in River's Edge, Randall Tex Cobb in Uncommon Valor (also starring Patrick Swayze!). I must be missing a slew of characters from WWII movies as well.

Update: A reader on my Twitter feed makes an interesting distinction apparently lost on me: "the Roadhouse fellas were NOT white trash but rednecks...a subtle distinction but one which as a Missourian I understand very well."

Meanwhile, there is much general protest to the notion that Dalton was white trashy at all.

Update II: A reader makes a good point about the Spike list's #1 white trash hero entry:

Taking this wayyy too seriously, but hey, it’s 4 pm on a Friday – don’t know if you noticed, but in the #1 spot on the list (where they made a very good case for Luke Skywalker as white trash), they finished up with “(Luke) could give Obama a real run for his money and kick McCain’s ass at the same time – with no hands, to boot.”

Um. So he could kick the ass of the former Navy pilot, the survivor of the Vietnamese POW camp – but Luke Skywalker could only “give Obama a real run for his money…?” Words fail.

Update III: Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness! Oh lord the shame of that oversight is overwhelming! (Nod to reader Kevin G). Oh, what about Kris Kristofferson in Convoy and Stalone in Over The Top? (Several readers make the case for Stallone in the Rocky movies as well).

09/25 03:31 PMShare