In FX's new drama Justified, Timothy Olyphant plays a Kentucky U.S. Marshall forced from his posting in Miami to head back home to the heartland. Olyphant plays Raylin Givens, a hard talkin’ fast shootin’ U.S. Marshall who’s a fan of Wild West ultimatums to “get outta town.” In the series pilot, the viewer is introduced to Givens as he guns down a bad guy after not taking Givens up on his life sparing offer to get out of Miami within 24 hours. This killing, while justified as the other man drew first, forces Givens relocation back home to Kentucky. Through the 46 minute pilot, we’re introduced to a cast of White Supremacist characters and Givens’ old flings from before he left the heartland. In the end, another Wild West gunfight leaves one of Givens’ old mining buddies (and White Supremacist leader) on a gurney while Givens saves the life of an old crush.
Whenever Hollywood goes Hillbilly, hilarity often ensues; whether intentional or not. By bringing up decades old cultural stereotypes of gapped toothed, road kill eating, gun toting idiots who’d rather shoot up old soda cans than work a normal 9-5 always seem to find their ways into these shows. What makes Justified different is the ability to move past the predetermined Hollywood norms. While many Red Stater’s will still be angered by Hollywood’s attempt at portraying the backcountry of Kentucky, they don’t (in my opinion) have much to get up in arms about. No pun intended. Yes, they show the extremes of a Kentucky hillbilly, yet through people like Givens’ ex-wife, and even Givens himself, they show that Kentucky ‘aint all bad.
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