8/3     I have lived in N Cal all my life and have had a very sheltered
        and liberal life. Actually it's pretty deprived as well. I've
        never been to the South, and I'm wondering how accurate the
        portrayal of the hicks are in the movie Sweet Home Alabama?
        \_ No. Hollywood is exaggerated.
           \_ What does North Hollywood have to do with it?
              \_ OP was wondering how accurate the portrayal in a Hollywoor
                 movie was.  Perhaps PP meant "Hollywood is exaggeratING."
        \_ The South has been homogenized just like the rest of America -
           so you'll see lots of the same fast food restaurants, parking
           lots, and big box stores.  More churchs, although this actually
           applies more to Missouri than the "proper" South.  Folks there are
           generally the same mix of friendly and ignorant you'll find in
           any other suburb, though the accents are a little different.  The
           cities are just as urban as anywhere else.  Honestly Americans are
           much more alike than they'd like to think - regional differences
           are much more superficial now than they have ever been.  This was
           likely very different, say, 100 years ago, when travel was much
           more difficult and expensive, and mass media consisted only of
           newspapers.
        \_ It depends on where you visit. If you go to Chapel Hill, you will
           people as open minded and cosmopolitan as anywhere in California.
           find people as open minded and cosmopolitan as anywhere in CA.
           If you go to rural Kentucky, you will feel like you are in another
           country. In general, the cities are like cities everywhere in
           America, maybe a little more tolerant, since there is more black-
           white race mixing. Rural areas can be kind of scary. I was in
           Asheboro, NC last year and I saw a photo of the "old time" local
           Klan chapter up on the wall of an antique store I was visiting.
           I am sure he was just showing off a bit of local history, but
           I think he was making a statement about how he felt about race
           relations at the same time. He was not very friendly to my
           Asian wife. Are you planning on visiting? If so, I can give you
           some pointers. I was stationed in NC for three years and learned
           some things about how to relate to Southerners.
        \_ I own a house in Alabama in a smaller city, my mom lives in
           Missouri near the Arkansas border (but Missouri is Midwest and
           not The South), and my mom-in-law lives near Biloxi, Mississippi.
           I've spent a lot of time in The South and not just in Atlanta,
           Tampa, or New Orleans as I've done some touring of the rural areas
           by car. I don't really remember the movie, except that the
           seemingly redneck guy turns out to be a successful artist, which is
           \_ But all his friends are trashy, like the friend who keeps
              suggesting "Wanna arrest someone?" "Strip club?" etc etc
           pretty typical of The South. Yes, people are bigoted there and
           not just by race but also by religion. You even find a divide
           between regular church-going people and occasional church-goers
           and even the enlightened think Jews and Asians are novel/neat
           as in "There's this Jewish fella over there. His family's been here
           for 2 generations and he don't cause no trouble. He done told
           me he don't eat no pork. Can you believe that?" Of course, I
           found people in New England to be just as bigoted against WASPs,
           so I hardly want to single out The South. Southerners also tend
           to be classist as in Old Money versus New Money. I think
           found people in New England to be just as bigoted against (other
           than) WASPs, so I hardly want to single out The South. Southerners
           also tend to be classist as in Old Money versus New Money. I think
           everywhere might be like that, but it's very evident there
           because there are so few wealthy folks to begin with.
           \_ Yeah, New England types are much more unfriendly, even stuck up.
           found people in New England to be just as bigoted against non-WASPs
           so I hardly want to single out The South. Southerners also tend to
           be classist as in Old Money versus New Money. I think everywhere
           might be like that, but it's very evident there because there are so
           few wealthy folks to begin with.
           \_ Yeah, New England types are much less friendly, even stuck up.