"Country Strong"

By Hannah Franz

Country music stands for the American south as much as poverty, conservatism and the rural landscape.

Country music and with it especially Nashville, Tennessee, is a dazzling, safe contrast to the many negative connotations one may have thinking about the American South.

Why does country music stand for the south? It originates in the folk traditions of the British Isles and mixed with the traditions of the African slaves and other immigrants.

With the development of the radio in the 1920’s country music became popular all over the country. The first country radio station was from Forth Worth, Texas. Nowadays Nashville, Tennessee has the biggest country music production and is known everywhere as the Capitol of country music.

Since singers like Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood became more popular, country music is getting more and more popular (again) for a younger audience and also world wide. Today Taylor Swift is one of the most successful American musicians, with only 23.

Many TV and film producers recognized this wave of popularity and TV series like “Nashville” became more and more popular not only within the US but also worldwide. Another example is the movie “Country Strong” from 2010. This movie is a good example of how the south (and with it especially the country world) is presented in popular culture.

The following I would like to take a closer look at two of the four main characters and the movie “Country Strong”.

The main characters are portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow (as Kelly Canter), Tim McGraw (her husband James Canter), Leighton Meester (as Chiles Stanton) and Garrett Hedlund (as Beau Hutton).

The story is about a former Country superstar (Paltrow), who struggles with alcoholism and loss of her unborn child and a rising artist who is under-confident (Meester).

The setting is Nashville, Tennessee and Dallas, Texas.

This movie shows many southern stereotypes and also a lot of stereotypes found especially in the country music scene.

First of all the language stands out. Although neither Paltrow nor Meester are from the South they talk in a very southern accent throughout the entire movie. When Kelly (Paltrow) is not on stage she is wearing plaid shirts and jeans that make her look very stereotypical southern. Also all the men surrounding her always wear cowboy hats.

The following I would like to focus on the main character Kelly Canter (Paltrow) as a female stereotypical southern woman and Beau Hutton (Garret Hedlund) as a modern southern man.

Kelly Canter is a fallen former Country Star who is trying a come back but is not ready for it. She is trying to express herself in her songs, but although her therapy isn’t finished yet she wants to go back on stage.

She expresses the typical Southern Belle to the outside world (especially to the media and to her fans) but on the inside she is hurt. She has a public breakdown, because she falls of a stage during one of her concerts while being drunk. Due to that she loses her unborn child. She tries to recover but fails doing so. After a couple failed attempts do be “the old Kelly” she finally has a great concert, but she is still hurt inside. After the concert she commits suicide, leaving a note quoting Jimmy Webb:

“If you see me gettin' smaller I'm leavin' don't be grieving .

Just got to get away from here

If you see me gettin' smaller don't worry I'm in no hurry

I've got the right to disappear“

Her story in this movie can be seen as a critique to the image that the media is trying to show to its audience. The Country world is always show as a perfect world on its own, where everybody has to be flawless to the outside (See Leann Rimes, Faith Hill, Shania Twain, etc.) In the end she fails holding up this flawless image and her only solution is to commit suicide.

There is also a male counter part to Kelly Canter – her sponsor Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund). He is a musician and later on her affair (although she is married). He also has a southern accent, is almost all the time wearing a cowboy hat, doesn’t talk much and is very manly and muscular. He drives an old truck and reminds of a lonesome cowboy. He helps Chiles when she is unable to perform on stage and supports Kelly the best he can. Women love him; he starts an affair with Kelly Canter but then starts a relationship with Chiles.

Beau represents the stereotypical southern cowboy. He is very handsome and doesn’t need to talk much. He seems to be restless and is still looking for great success. But he always looks good by doing so and even when Kelly dies, he doesn’t show up at her funeral but watches from the distance.

All in all, the movie “Country Strong” shows a lot of stereotypes within the country world and also the US South. Although the protagonist Kelly Canter (Gwyneth Paltrow) seems to be in contrast to the dazzling country world, she also embodies the typical (struggling) southern belle. She is always pretty (even when committing suicide!), classy, knows what to say and is portrayed as a victim of the media. Also stereotypical for the south stands Beau Hutton as a lonesome cowboy. Although the movie seems to want to show the downside of the country world, it is full with stereotypes the movie plays with.

Interesting in terms of the representation of the south are the songs, which also brought an Academy Award Nomination to the movie, but here is a closer to the song “Country Strong”. This song is sung by Gwyneth Paltrow and is the last song character Kelly Canter sings before she commits suicide.

The title “Country Strong” already is a reference to the stereotype, that Southerners, and also other people who don’t live in the city, are “stronger”, like the lyrics say “hard to break”. Southerners are said to be closer to nature, they depend on nature and just like nature they can be “rough” and persistent (“Push me in a corner and I’ll come out fighting”) and can stand enough. Furthermore there is a reference to the religiousness Southerners are connected with. (“I may lose but I’ll always keep my faith”).

This song shows up a lot of stereotypes the south is connected with, but it is also important to keep the story in mind. After the (very successful) performance of this song, character Kelly Canter commits suicide. Therefore the song can be read ironically and showing, that these stereotypes are not true; Kelly didn’t “come out fighting”, at least not this last time.

“I know you see me like some wide eyed dreamer

That just rolled in off up a dusty Midwest bus

Yeah, on the outside I look fragile

But on the inside is something you can't crush

'Cause I'm country strong Hard to break

Like the ground I grew up on

You may fool me and I'll fall

But I won't stay down long

'Cause I'm country strong

I have weathered colder winters

Longer summers without a drop of rain

Push me in a corner and I'll come out fighting

I may lose but I'll always keep my faith”

To sum up one can say that the movie lives through stereotypes but not entirely without questioning them. Especially two of the main characters Kelly Canter and Beau Hutton are a stereotypical (troubled) Southern Belle and Cowboy. But especially the Southern Belle gets questioned and criticized; the moment she seems to have back her grace she dies.

This movie shows just a very special “world” within the south, but also this “world” is build upon a lot of stereotypes that are also typical for the south and also the west. This movie shows a lot of those. Some stereotypes/prejudices are criticized at the end when Kelly Canter dies (like the role of women and the influence of media in popular culture) and some are especially supported like the role of men (Beau as a stereotypical cowboy) and the appearance of women and men (boys wearing cowboy hats, and everybody is wearing plaid t-shirts and cowboy boots) also, like in the song “Country Strong”, the people are really close to there hometown which is also represented in the end when Beau turns back to small stages and Chiles (actually a rising country star) following him.

Sources:

• Country Strong. Shana Feste. Screen Gem, 2010. DVD.
• http://countrymusichalloffame.org/country-music-history/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOLzfxrgvKM Film Trailer
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXq19aI1DwE Country Strong clip