I just finished watching Season 1 of "Ted Lasso" with my family. We started it a few weeks ago and paced ourselves. (Ok, maybe we didn't really pace ourselves given that we watched the last three episodes tonight). I'm motivated to write about the show now because in the third from last episode, a British soccer fan called Ted Lasso a "hillbilly." As you will gather, Lasso is the central character in the series, and in case you haven't seen it, let me explain that Lasso was a coach of American football (the Wichita State Shockers) who is recruited to coach the AFC Richmond soccer team, in southwest London.
This moniker, used as an insult, led me to contemplate on what basis Lasso could be considered a "hillbilly"? And the only basis I can think of is a broad definition of middle America, including Kansas, as a land of hillbillies. Perhaps it is a synonym for "red neck." But it still rings odd to me given that Kansas is not known for its hills (let alone mountains).
Other cultural references in "Ted Lasso" to that broad swath of middle America sometimes called the "flyover" states include Willie Nelson and the Marlboro Man. There's also a more specific reference to a Kansas institution, the Westboro Baptist Church.
2 comments:
I had this question after reading your criticism of "Schitt's Creek" and modest approval of "Hillbilly Elegy:" what comedies do you think reflect rural life well? I never found "Schitt's Creek" that funny, and I thought the same of the few I saw of "Ted Lasso." Yet, these shows keep winning the big awards. On my part, however, I simply did not find them funny, but you disagree with a lot of their depictions of rural life. I tend to give comedy shows a pass in these areas since they are supposed to be a bit cartoonish. So I am curious to know which shows you think do rural life justice.
I thought "Ted Lasso" was totally hilarious and binged it faster than I care to admit. Tommy, how can I convert you?! I wonder if ‘hillbilly’ has something to do with Ted’s values. In the show, Ted is more concerned about the people he’s coaching than winning games. Maybe that could be seen as an insult in the sense that he’s not sufficiently committed/cutthroat (?), which might be understood to be a rural value. This reminds me of some of the rural stereotypes we’ve read about where people are kind/always willing to help their community and how these tropes can sometimes hide real rural problems.
Post a Comment