Talking White Trash: Mediated Representations and Lived Experiences of White Working-Class People

Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Introduction—Mediated Buffoons as Political Stakeholders:
Welcome to the White Working Class
	Methodology
	Chapter Outline
Chapter 1: Becoming “White Trash”: The Formation and
Historical Mediated Representations of the
White Working Class
	The Rise and Fall of the White Working Class
	Naming the White Working Class
	Origins of “White Trash” in Media
	The “Redneckaissance” of Rural-Based Sitcoms
	White on White Class Combat in Film
	Buffoonery in Family Sitcoms and “Trash Face” in Talk Shows
	Economic Lows and “White Trash” Highs
Chapter 2: Digging in the “Trash”: Contemporary Mediated Representations of White Working-Class People
	“White Trash” Criminality in Contemporary Media
	A “Redneck Reality” Revolution
	“Real” Implications
	Introducing Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
	Under Surveillance: White Working-Class People
	Laughing at “Inappropriate Whiteness”
	Authenticating “Inappropriate Whiteness”
	A Damning Setup
	Digging Deeper
Chapter 3: From Insider to Insider/Outsider: An Autoethnographic Account of Returning to My Working-Class Roots
	(im)Mobile Homes
	Healthcare(lessness)
	A Blast from the Past
	The (im)Mobility of Education
	Scam U: The Predatory Nature of For-Profit Institutions
	The Fluidity and Complexity of Class
	The Insider-Outsider Dilemma
Chapter 4: “It’s Like Watching a Car Accident”: When the
Lived and Mediated Experiences of White
Working-Class People Intersect
	Identification
	Dis-identification
	Negotiation
	Opposition and Critical Engagement
	New Voices, New Directions
Conclusion—Taking out the “Trash”: A New Beginning
for the White Working Class
	A Second Look
	A Fruitful Methodological Merger
	Challenges and Limitations
	A Shift in Perception
	The Value of Speaking with Strangers
	A New Beginning
Index