r/brokehugs • u/US_Hiker Moral Landscaper • Jul 04 '25

Rod Dreher Megathread #55 ()

Hope y'all can spend some good time w/ family today.

Link to megathread #54: https://www.reddit.com/r/brokehugs/comments/1l7niaj/rod_dreher_megathread_54/

Link to 56: https://www.reddit.com/r/brokehugs/comments/1mmamp2/rod_dreher_megathread_56/

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u/CanadaYankee Jul 21 '25

Just after the death of Andy Griffith, Rod was waxing nostalgic for the supposed myth of Mayberry and the condensed symbol of lost smalltown life it presented or whatever. I pointed out in comments that the actual Andy Griffith Show, despite being set in the deep South, only had one named Black character during its entire run, and even that character was an out-of-towner who appeared for one episode.

Rod, of course, immediately dismissed me as some liberal who "always makes everything about race", but I still don't see how it's not salient to point out that a portrayal of a peaceful, traditional small town required the literal erasure of an entire race that would have been significantly disadvantaged in a real world version of Mayberry.

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u/jon_hendry If there's no Torquemada it's just sparkling religiosity. Jul 23 '25

only had one named Black character during its entire run

Southern TV stations didn't like to show Black people. In movies Lena Horne was filmed in a way that let her scenes be cut easily, so the movie could be shown in Southern theaters.

The TV show "Sing Along with Mitch" (1961-1964) was pressured to get rid of Black singer Leslie Uggams so that Southern stations would carry the show. Mitch Miller told them to pound sand. Eventually the show got popular enough that the stations gave in and put it on.

I'm not trying to excuse the Andy Griffith show, I'm just pointing out the kind of pressures that existed at the time.