Hillbilly Elegy. (Photo by Lacey Terrell / Netflix)
You might already know the story of
Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance’s memoir that argues that a variety of social ills in Appalachia low birth rates, declining religious affiliation, domestic violence can be attributed to “hillbilly culture.” At the end of last year, Hollywood ran the book through a few spin cycles, bleaching its film adaptation of Vance’s virulent right-wing commentary, which places blame on government welfare programs for incentivizing perverse behaviors that tear families and society apart. Naturally, most critics scanned
Elegy for its politics. However sanitized the movie is of Vance’s beliefs, it was still destined for the front lines of the culture war.