Of course there is a possibility that this is a leftover Halloween decoration, but Halloween was a couple weeks ago so that is a little unlikely. I wondered what the motivation was to display this cardboard cut-out. Were they proud of this Duck Dynasty character? Did they think he was "American"? Is this the kind of person they want to display for their kids? Or did they just think it was funny?
I hope that the family did not purchase this cut-out because they idolize the Duck Dynasty characters.
I saw this before I had officially met the family and this definitely conveyed a certain message to me. Without even knowing them well, I had already judged them... Like Isabel's friend judged the family that displayed the robes of the KKK.
What we choose to show others says a lot about us. It is so easy to make assumptions about a person just because of what we see. We judge people all the time. We like to think that only certain people live in the North Shore: wealthy, polite, classy people. When I saw the cardboard cut-out, I unconsciously categorized them as a different type of people than they actually are.
Luckily, they turned out to be a normal family.
I'm glad to hear that the family turned out to be normal Jacqui! But all jokes aside, I do think that the fact that this family has a cardboard cutout in their home tells us a lot about American culture. Interestingly enough, I had an extremely similar babysitting experience this weekend! The family I sat for had a life-sized cardboard cutout of Adam Levine, who the kids told me was their favorite judge on the show "The Voice". Both of these shows being reality like television shows, I think it tells us how much some American's value tv! Although I may be stereotyping, it seems to me that a big conversation around every lunch table is TV. Discussions of what shows are good and what happened in those shows this past week is something we are constantly surrounded by. I think that as Americans we like to make heroes out of everyday people. The man from Duck Dynasty, and the singers on The Voice are everyday people who many love to watch turn into heroes.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about Adam Levine! But I do know that the Robertson's from Duck Dynasty have strong traditional views. That is what a lot of people like about them, I think. This is the first time such Christian and conservative views have been so clearly exposed in media (that I've seen anyway). And has been accepted. Of course, not by everyone, but the TV show is wildly popular. I have only seen a few episodes myself, and it's pretty hilarious. Overall, judgement is a very natural human thing, Jacqui. I would have done the same, I bet. I would have assumed that they were Christian and held the same values as those they idolized. That brings up another question, I think... Do we always hold the same views as those we idolize? For me, it's usually a yes. But I think it would be interesting to hear what others have to say. I would just assume they are fans of Duck Dynasty... but that being said, I don't know if it's fair to assume that that is because they hold the same beliefs.
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