Whiteout: 10 Redneck Stereotypes in "Justified"

FX's new show about a U.S. Marshal returning home to Kentucky is full of racist white trash. Check out all the other obvious ways to identify the show's yokels.

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Complex Original

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Not redneck enough for you? Keep reading.

Daggone, FX's new show Justified is good watchin'! It's also a primer for anyone who's managed to avoid Jeff Foxworthy specials and wonders what exactly redneck stereotypes are. The series finds Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) returning to the hill country of eastern Kentucky, where he grew up, as punishment for gun-slinging in a crowded Miami restaurant. Back home in Harlan, KY, he runs into Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), a former co-worker from the coal mines who became a bank-robber and player in the White Power movement, Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter), a childhood crush who married Boyd's abusive brother, and other tragically trashy folks. C'mon now and check out these redneck stereotypes with us! (Note: There are spoilers, y'all.)

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MULLETS
• Boyd's dim-witted underling Dewey Crowe, played by Damon Herriman, sports the classic look that is business in the front, party in the back. We're not sure what business that would be, as he, like all the other yokels, seem to be unemployed ex-cons.

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CRACK SHOTS
• Whether he's quick-drawing and putting a murderous Miami gun-runner down with three slugs or placing a hot one just shy of friend-turned-foe Boyd Crowder's heart in a climactic showdown, Givens hits bullseye. Or rather squirrel's eye, as hunting them for dinner was no doubt how the feller got so nice with a pistol.

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BIBLICAL MISINTERPRETATION
• The preacher of the white supremacists, Boyd explains to Givens that the Bible says Jews, who control money and the disparity between rich and poor to mongrelize the world, are the love children of Cain and the beastly mud people. The Marshal figures that he can't possibly believe that bullshit and that he simply uses the Good Book and the Patriot/White Supremacy movements so he can make money and blow shit up. Apparently they file the Bible in the self-help section of Harlan's Barnes & Noble.

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STREETS WITH NO NAME
• When the Marshals need to find Ava to protect her from Boyd because they think he'll try to kill her for gunning down his brother, they run into a problem. Apparently GoogleMaps don't cover the patch of backwoods dirt that she calls home. You think they're annoyed, wait 'til you see the FedEx delivery guy.

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HUNTING
• We haven't seen this much head mounted on walls since we peeped Sasha Grey's Face Invaders 4.

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PICKUP TRUCKS
• It seems the only way to get around Harlan is in a pickup truck. The rustier the better. Plus, as an added bonus, they make for great three-wheeled lawn ornaments!

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BIG OL' BELT BUCKLES
• Not only does Crowder wear one, it's also a confederate flag that goes perfectly with his proudly displayed White Power tats and flags while he's blowing up a black church with a bazooka in front of several witnesses (nobody told him white people are supposed to be subtly racist in 2010)! And it also makes sure that he keeps everything below the belt separate from 'tang that can't be found in a trailer park.

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HEAVY DRANKIN'
• Some would call it Southern hospitality. Others (namely the Surgeon General) would call it severe alcoholism. Whether Givens is greeting folks in the morning, afternoon, or at night, a handshake is chased with bourbon. On behalf of his liver, it is a pleasure to meet you.

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MOONSHINE DRANKIN'
• Oh, not only do they drank, they drank daggone moonshine! Yes, even Givens, 'cause brain cells only prevent a Marshal from shootin' straight.

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WIFE SWAPPING
• When Boyd Crowder's domestically abused sister-in-law Ava guns down his brother, he exacts revenge by trying to make her his woman. Turns out she is his brother's keeper.

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