World News – CA – Amid controversy, Yale Law Grad’s memoir, ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ hits Netflix

Written by Yale Law School graduate J. . D.. . Vance, « Hillbilly Elegy: A Memory of a Family and Culture in Crisis, » caused a stir in 2017 when the media reached out to her for a glimpse into a region targeted by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

But when some found it offensive in his portrayal of Appalachia, criticism of the book increased. And the film version released on Wednesday stumbled into critical circles as reviewers claim the parody of film boundaries, are condescending and don’t say much.

On the other hand, the film, directed by Ron Howard starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams, hit number one on the Netflix charts.

“The film is a well-told family drama. The reason the critics [beat up] is simple: The book was treated as a humanizing « Trump supporter » and is now a Bad Book ™, « he tweeted.

Other users said the movie was the best they’d seen all year and that Vance’s story – overcoming a difficult upbringing – resonated with them.

But Richard Hanley, an associate professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University who specializes in media trends, said he saw social media users « ditching » the film on negative stereotypes.

« The film has a backlash that reflects something . . . a backlash to the book, « he said.

A request for comment from Vance was emailed to Narya, a venture capital firm he co-founded, on Friday.

« Hillbilly Elegy » tells the story of its author, who grew up in an economically disadvantaged part of Ohio, had a turbulent upbringing and was the first of his immediate family to attend college.

Vance started at Yale Law School in 2010 and felt « like a strange species, » he told students in a 2017 lecture in New Haven.

Meredith McCarroll, a native of West North Carolina and co-editor of Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy, said the book treats Appalachia « as a block » and goes beyond memoirs to offer « sloppy analysis. » Appalachian people are lazy or ornery. ”

Vance’s book blames the people themselves for the poverty in the region and, according to McCarroll, does not examine the structural factors.

« It gave people a statement that people are getting what they deserve, » she said. « If you don’t know a certain type of person and you are relying on a story, it’s really easy to discard the complexities of that region. ”

McCarroll also argued that Vance’s writing of the book may have been politically motivated. Vance is a conservative thinker and recently called himself a nationalist on Twitter.

While she was about to watch the film, McCarroll hadn’t done so on Friday afternoon, but she feared it might perpetuate stereotypes about Appalachians.

That’s exactly the kind of concern Hanley saw on social media, along with criticism that the movie deviated from the book.

« The last movie I saw so much heartache in was ‘Cats,' » Hanley said, admitting he hadn’t seen the movie either. « How bad can it be? »

The social media response, which Hanley did not refer to as a « scientific survey, » was about « the backlash on the movie, which refers to the backlash on a book that doesn’t portray a region in its best light ».  » he said.

« Hillbilly Elegy », published in June 2016, has become a « must » for many people . . . to get a glimpse of the results of this year’s election, Hanley said.

The New York Times even called it one of six books to understand Trump’s victory.

« But it’s a far more complicated life than even this book would reveal, and I think it became a cartoon too, a comic version of life in Appalachia. ”

And there was another problem: while many focused on poor rural whites than those who put Trump into office, McCarroll said, his base extends well beyond impoverished communities in rural Appalachians.

« I think Appalachia has long been the scapegoat for a lot of different reasons, and I think this certainly happened here, » she said.

Trump won more than 52 percent from Suffolk County, N. . Y. . , Voters in 2016, Newsday reported. According to the New York Times, it gained more than 55 percent this year.

« It was a racial alliance, not a class alliance, » said McCarroll, referring to a story by Ta-Nehisi Coates who argued the point and was published in the Atlantic.

With that in mind, Hanley said that Hillbilly Elegy’s tale – town versus country, a class distinction between whites – distracts from America’s biggest problem: racial segregation.

But he also believes that the response – both the post-release hype and the subsequent criticism exacerbated by the film’s negative reception – is « scalloped » because the book is « embroiled in the politics of the time  » has been. ”

The problem with “Hillbilly Elegy” isn’t memory itself, McCarroll said, but that “[Vance] goes well beyond telling his own story when he switches from the first-person singular to the first-person plural. ”

« It was the generalization and speaking from a we perspective that I think irritated a lot of people, » she said.

Vance uses anecdotes – like the case of a lazy worker he meets in a factory – to « illustrate this problematic behavior without giving it context, » said McCarroll, who said the book overlooks the structural problems that contribute to problems in the region.

After the book came out, McCarroll said, people would approach her and claim they understood her experience as an Appalachian.

Although she grew up in western North Carolina, McCarroll now lives in Maine and directs the writing program at Bowdoin College. Her experience with Appalachians was completely different from what Vance described, she said.

« It’s frustrating that people see this as representative, » she said, adding that it can be difficult to push a writer back when they are successfully positioning themselves as a region’s insider.

“I’m not interested in being anti-Vance, but Pro-Appalachia. And I think if we celebrate his story too much and keep him at the center, we are not paying enough attention to the real problems in the region that could be resolved. ”

Meghan Friedmann covers North Branford, Guilford and Madison. Before joining the Register team, she worked on an independent journalism project on migration in Berlin. If she doesn’t answer, you can find her coastal trails and eat your way through New Haven. She welcomes feedback and ideas from readers.

Amy Adams, J. . D.. . Vance, Ron Howard, Hillbilly Elegy, Glenn Close, Netflix