The Dirty South

Rich Hall is an American comedian whom I think has spent most his career doing stuff in the UK. He has a really funny joke about a place in America thats so flat you can see your dog running away for four days!....(it may be funnier when he says it!)....

He just made this really interesting documentary for the BBC called The Dirty South, chronicling what he sees (and makes great points to prove this) as Hollywoods incapability to accurately portray the southern United States as anything more than a grim stereotype of it's people and history.

Hall, along with his great sarcastic and cynical sense of humor, gives a great history lesson of the south and it's relationship with (and perception from) the rest of America whilst explaining how these perceptions came to be. By mostly focusing on Hollywood movies from all era's, the great southern writers and play writes and the rise of Rock n Roll. Showing how all these artistic projections have simultaneously painted a picture of entire region, people and history by actively reinforcing certain stereotypes (whether deliberately or not)...whilst also bringing new levels and ranges to their own respective mediums and pushing the boundaries in what can be done with film, writing and music.

That my sound a bit heavy, but luckily Rich Hall is much better at making his point than me, and also he is way funnier...his rant about how and why Hollywood biopics of musicians are so awful is absolutely hilarious, yet will also make you feel like a proper mug...but at least glad that your are not as cynical as this guy!...

If you have the slightest interest in either movies, literature, popular music or the human condition then check out Rich Hall's The Dirty South on BBC iplayer NOW!

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00t26zf/Rich_Halls_The_Dirty_South/

This is from something else...still pretty funny though...