Examples Of Stereotypes In King Of The Hill

Lizzy Bollen

English 161

Prof. Stueber

April 6th, 2023

WP4

As a native Texan who grew up watching King of the Hill and developed a love for animation, it only makes sense that I would take a homesick-fueled deep dive into the stereotypes used in King of the Hill. Looking at real Texan reactions and opinions, including the creators and writers behind the show, will help me answer the question: Are the stereotypes used in King of the Hill more hurtful than full of heart? This is especially interesting to me having moved from the South to the Midwestern United States and witnessing many misconceptions, such as people being confused by my lack of accent or being flabbergasted that I didn’t own horses. While these stereotypes aren’t harmful

The realism combined with “blink and you miss it” comedy-style writing intrigued audiences. King of the Hill heavily relies on satire in order for the jokes to land, but what exactly is satire? In Ethan Thompson’s academic article King of the Hill and Sitcom Satire, he defines satire as “laughing "at" someone whose behavior or beliefs deserve ridicule.”(10) Through this definition it is rather easy to see why the below characteristics within Judge’s characters could be viewed as a mockery towards the southern working class or simply in poor taste at first glance. The show is centered around the Hill family in their fictional town of Arlen, Texas. Although Judge himself has confirmed that he based Arlen off Dallas’s suburbs of Richardson and Garland; Austin and Dallas still argue over which city Arlen would be a suburb of. Hank and Peggy are married with a 12-year-old son Bobby and Peggy’s 18-year-old niece Luanne living with the Hill family while her parents serve jail time for assault with a fork over a beer, and subsequently destroying their family trailer (How fitting). We also get to know Hank’s childhood buddies and current neighbors Dale Gribble, Bill Dauterive, and Boomhauer. Who in their own right, represent varying degrees of the redneck spectrum or even their own archetypes, if you will. Likewise, as with many cartoons, these side characters and their B-plots rely much more on stereotype humor than the immediate Hill Family. But why has King of

Although large Texas cities like Houston and Dallas are quickly becoming global cities and steadily growing, when many think of Texas as large expanses of farmland and dry deserts filled with cacti. The American West, mainly South West, has been fed to us in a particular light through the eyes of the media. Look up the best movies set in Texas; more than half are Westerns featuring the likes of John Wayne; a third are classic sports movies like Varsity Blues and Friday Night Lights; the rest is a mix of military movies, space movies, and horror flicks. And while they do portray certain aspects of Texas culture, it’s a slightly skewed and outdated portrayal. However, this is what makes King of the Hill different from many portrayals of Texas, namely animated portrayals. For example, if The Simpsons did an episode in Texas, it would have a cowboy-esque storyline. But Judge’s KOH shows an earnest, and sympathetic look into the weirdness that comes from the mundaneness of suburban life in the South. While many episodes see the Hill family and neighbors enjoy rodeos and football games, that’s not what the entire show is about. Instead, Judge and Daniels allow these aspects of Texas culture to create unique, memorable storylines of their own. While Mike Judge heavily plays into the “football is life” aspect of Texas while also