The Man in the Grey Frayed Hat: The Beverly Hillbillies and Rural Masculinity on the Small Screen

Between 1962 and 1971, America's TV dial centered on The Beverly Hillbillies. Hated by critics but loved by viewers, the show featured a mountaineer family, the Clampetts, moving to the sunny hills of Hollywood. But in an age of suburbs, mass consumption and mass conformity, why would a show about hicks from the Ozarks be so popular? Sandwiched between the situational comedies of I Love Lucy and Bewitched, more popular than Leave It To Beaver, or Bonanza, this show has yet to receive the scholarly attention it deserves. Why would Clampetts resonate with audiences as much as the Andersons of Father Knows Best or the crew of the Starship Enterprise?

Ultimately, the show’s popularity rested on the intersection between conceptions of gender, environment, and television. The Beverly Hillbillies succeeded because it not only acknowledged the anxiety of post-war problems, but also because it addressed the gendered tint of them. With a perceived crisis in masculinity threating the role of the American male, a show that addressed these problems resonated so much with viewers. Americans found comfort in the show’s constructed image of gender, specifically that of rural masculinity. The characterization of the Clampetts showcased a longing for older forms of manhood, something that was perceived to be lost in post-war society. Jed, the show’s fulcrum, was a startlingly anti-thesis to the man in the grey flannel suit, a foil to the Male Panic of the late 50s.