![]() ![]() The sit-in movement began in Greensboro, just down the road from Mount Airy. ![]() It offered a nostalgic portrayal of the region – one that countered the negative images of the region present in the civil rights coverage that millions of viewers were also watching on the evening news. Throughout its run, The Andy Griffith Show regularly ranked among the top 10 most watched shows. What we might all agree on is that Mayberry did not represent the South of the 1960s. If so, then one could say the show was realistic. Yet it might also be that Griffith chose to depict the nostalgic South of his youth, in which he grew up in a primarily white community. So one could argue the show was not realistic. Oprah Winfrey, a fan of the show, once asked, “Where are the black people?” Historically, Mount Airy has had a black population, albeit a small one. On one hand, there appear to be no African-Americans living in Mayberry. One could argue both for and against the idea that the presentation was realism. Was it realistic in its presentation of a small Southern town like Mount Airy? Who are we to argue that what he presented was not an accurate representation of his own experience?īut consider Mayberry, the show’s setting. Most people associated with the show acknowledge that it reflected Andy Griffith’s vision, which he has repeatedly said was to tell universal stories about goodness that reflected the values he grew up with. But if we want to pursue the idea, we can think about this from two different angles: one is what Griffith may have intended to depict, the other is about the reality that existed in Mount Airy. Television is meant to entertain people, which the show did very successfully. My response is that in some ways the question does not matter. I was recently asked whether the show’s portrayal of the region was realistic or accurate. In some episodes, their dialogue suggests that they were well aware of the feminist movement of their day. Female characters, particularly Andy’s girlfriends Ellie Walker and, later, Helen Crump, were educated professional women who had their own homes. Bass, they were fully developed characters with endearing, and likeable qualities. When there were hillbillies on the show, like the Darlings or Ernest T. One important factor in the show’s lasting appeal is that, unlike today’s reality TV programs (a large number of which are set in the South), The Andy Griffith Show didn’t trade in negative stereotypes about the region or Southerners. ![]() Yet in the end, whether it was or wasn’t doesn’t matter much, because the show’s fans believe it to be true: Mayberry is Mount Airy, and Mount Airy is Mayberry. Certainly, the show made numerous references to Mount Airy and other N.C. Even if Griffith disagreed with that assessment, which he did on several occasions, it’s what fans of the show believe.įans also want to believe that Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy, N.C., was the true setting for the show. Andy Taylor was such an iconic television character it was as if Taylor and Griffith were one. Yet it was his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show that received the greatest response from writers and fans alike. The passing of Andy Griffith last week prompted an outpouring of love and respect for the man and his life’s work in movies, television, and even gospel music.
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