Talking White Trash 1st Edition by Tasha R Dunn ISBN 9781138486348 1138486345

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

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

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

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