‘Reality’ television comes to the Ozarks
After Louisiana and Appalachia’s hogging of the “reality” redneck/hillbilly
TV market, it’s Arkansas’ turn to join the ranks with a brand new show, “Clash
of the Ozarks.”
At this writing it hasn’t premiered, but when you read this it already will have aired Tuesday night on The Discovery Channel. For us in the Twin Lakes Area, the show is set just up the road a piece at Hardy, which “resembles a town right out of the Wild West” where the “lack of progression has turned Hardy into a land where emotions and territory conflicts outweigh a law-abiding society.”
The premise — since all “reality” shows have a premise — is a decades-long feud between two families in the Hardy area that continues today. Their patriarchs, “Crowbar” Russell and Kerry Wayne Evans, are at odds because Crowbar wants to keep the town as it’s always been and Kerry Wayne is a forward-thinking proponent of progress.
Naturally, it appears there will be an oddball character or two. All “reality” shows need an oddball character or two; it must be mandatory. Jimmy Haney is “a mountain man who doesn’t own a pair of shoes and hasn’t lived in a house for years,” and Sevella is “a tough gun-toting elderly woman who is fiercely protective of her family and is rumored to be clairvoyant.”
I’m sure the Main Street Hardy folks are ecstatic, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the show does provide a boost in tourism for this little tourist town on the Spring River as people come looking for a glimpse at the show’s — and the town’s — characters.
Having only seen a couple of clips from the show online, I’m not going to judge it outright yet; I really dislike it when something is condemned sight unseen, unread or unheard, although the clips did make me wince and shake my head. From what I saw it definitely won’t dispel the stereotype of the Arkansas hillbilly, and I really wonder in what kind of light will the Ozarks be shown? Of course, the Arkansas Legislature hasn’t done a lot lately to improve our image, either.
I need to see these excerpts in context to the rest of the show to decide if it’s just a sensational marketing ploy, or if it’s a deliberate effort to show the Ozarks in a bad light. There’s a tendency to promote sensational scenes, then when a show airs it’s nowhere near as dramatic or sensational as promised. My question is will it be more “Deadliest Catch,” or “Amish Mafia”?
For years, I’ve advocated that Arkansas in general and the Ozarks in particular should do more to promote film making here because we have so much to offer in terms of locations with the hills, rivers, lakes and old towns. We have lots of talented people in all kinds of fields related to making movies and TV shows. Filming movie and TV productions helps bring revenue to a community, and not only from the production work. West Monroe, La., has become a tourist destination thanks to “Duck Dynasty” (something Hardy may be hoping for).
I still think Mountain Home and Yellville should try to make inroads to attract filmmakers to the Twin Lakes Area. It doesn’t have to be big blockbuster productions, or just student film projects, either. In the town of Mineola down in East Texas, making low-budget, independent movies — mainly science fiction and horror projects — has become a cottage industry. Other small communities around the country have taken a similar route to become favored location sites for various productions. After all, SyFy and independent filmmakers need locations for their stories, so why not here in the hills?
“Clash of the Ozarks” does fit in with promoting the region to film and TV producers. I just wonder if what producers purport is “reality” in the Ozarks will prove more embarrassing to us and outweigh any potential positive aspect it might have for wanting to attract more productions here in the future. Hopefully, viewers elsewhere in the country won’t judge the entire Ozarks based on this show, and we here in the Ozarks won’t write off future TV and film productions based on it, either.
At this writing it hasn’t premiered, but when you read this it already will have aired Tuesday night on The Discovery Channel. For us in the Twin Lakes Area, the show is set just up the road a piece at Hardy, which “resembles a town right out of the Wild West” where the “lack of progression has turned Hardy into a land where emotions and territory conflicts outweigh a law-abiding society.”
The premise — since all “reality” shows have a premise — is a decades-long feud between two families in the Hardy area that continues today. Their patriarchs, “Crowbar” Russell and Kerry Wayne Evans, are at odds because Crowbar wants to keep the town as it’s always been and Kerry Wayne is a forward-thinking proponent of progress.
Naturally, it appears there will be an oddball character or two. All “reality” shows need an oddball character or two; it must be mandatory. Jimmy Haney is “a mountain man who doesn’t own a pair of shoes and hasn’t lived in a house for years,” and Sevella is “a tough gun-toting elderly woman who is fiercely protective of her family and is rumored to be clairvoyant.”
I’m sure the Main Street Hardy folks are ecstatic, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the show does provide a boost in tourism for this little tourist town on the Spring River as people come looking for a glimpse at the show’s — and the town’s — characters.
Having only seen a couple of clips from the show online, I’m not going to judge it outright yet; I really dislike it when something is condemned sight unseen, unread or unheard, although the clips did make me wince and shake my head. From what I saw it definitely won’t dispel the stereotype of the Arkansas hillbilly, and I really wonder in what kind of light will the Ozarks be shown? Of course, the Arkansas Legislature hasn’t done a lot lately to improve our image, either.
I need to see these excerpts in context to the rest of the show to decide if it’s just a sensational marketing ploy, or if it’s a deliberate effort to show the Ozarks in a bad light. There’s a tendency to promote sensational scenes, then when a show airs it’s nowhere near as dramatic or sensational as promised. My question is will it be more “Deadliest Catch,” or “Amish Mafia”?
For years, I’ve advocated that Arkansas in general and the Ozarks in particular should do more to promote film making here because we have so much to offer in terms of locations with the hills, rivers, lakes and old towns. We have lots of talented people in all kinds of fields related to making movies and TV shows. Filming movie and TV productions helps bring revenue to a community, and not only from the production work. West Monroe, La., has become a tourist destination thanks to “Duck Dynasty” (something Hardy may be hoping for).
I still think Mountain Home and Yellville should try to make inroads to attract filmmakers to the Twin Lakes Area. It doesn’t have to be big blockbuster productions, or just student film projects, either. In the town of Mineola down in East Texas, making low-budget, independent movies — mainly science fiction and horror projects — has become a cottage industry. Other small communities around the country have taken a similar route to become favored location sites for various productions. After all, SyFy and independent filmmakers need locations for their stories, so why not here in the hills?
“Clash of the Ozarks” does fit in with promoting the region to film and TV producers. I just wonder if what producers purport is “reality” in the Ozarks will prove more embarrassing to us and outweigh any potential positive aspect it might have for wanting to attract more productions here in the future. Hopefully, viewers elsewhere in the country won’t judge the entire Ozarks based on this show, and we here in the Ozarks won’t write off future TV and film productions based on it, either.
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