Dolly Parton's America Dixie Disappearance
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Dec 17, 2019 The podcast discusses the controversy surrounding Dolly Parton's Stampede (formerly Dixie Stampede), the debate over the removal of 'Dixie' from the name, and explores Dolly Parton's role as a unifier amidst cultural contradictions in America. It delves into the historical inaccuracies of the show, reactions to renaming sites, and reflections on reshaping historical narratives.
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Stampede As Theatrical Civil War
- The Dixie Stampede stages the Civil War as a friendly neighborly competition with North vs South teams, horses, pig races, and a huge patriotic finale.
- Guests eat big country meals while cheering and watching a sanitized, theatrical version of history that avoids slavery.
Tourist Imaginary Sanitizes The South
- Tourist attractions like the Stampede present an idealized antebellum South that erases slavery and emphasizes grandeur.
- This 'tourist imaginary' reshapes public memory by showing a sanitized past rather than confronting exploitation.
A Critic Trips A National Conversation
- After Charlottesville in 2017, writer Aisha Harris visited the Dixie Stampede and published a critical review that went viral.
- Her piece spotlighted plantation imagery and exclusionary signs, prompting national backlash and debate about Dolly's brand.