The Appalachian ideals of his Kentucky family and the social and economic problems in Middletown, Ohio, where his mother’s parents moved when they were young, were the subjects of Ohio Senator J. D. Vance’s best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, published in 2016.
In 2020, it was made into a motion picture with Glenn Close and Amy Adams as the lead and Ron Howard as the director.
Why did Hillbilly Elegy get bad reviews?
J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy, which is available on Netflix, has recently come under fire for supposedly demeaning rural Americans and praising his fight against poverty.
Vance talks about his childhood in the Middletown, Ohio neighbourhood and his family’s history. He contrasts his outlook after leaving this life with the legacy of poverty and physically taxing, low-paying jobs that have either vanished or gone worse in terms of job security in his family.
Vance’s mother and her family were from Breathitt County, Kentucky, although being raised in Middletown. Despite societal problems like violence and verbal abuse, they continue to hold onto the Appalachian ideals of loyalty and love of the country. He discusses the alcoholism and mistreatment of his grandparents as well as the drug use and failed relationships of his erratic mother.
When it all worked out, Vance’s grandparents took on the role of his de facto guardians. With the help of his stern but adored grandma, Vance was eventually able to move away from Middletown and enrol at Yale Law School and Ohio State University.
