Its coming up on 50 years since Deliverance was filmed.

I watched Deliverance recently. I’ll not link to the movies trailer. I’m jaded and callous toward most mass media knowing what to expect but this one takes the cake. Its not only because of its questionable scenes but also because its a clear attack on Southerner and Appalachian via bigoted stereotypes. In fact, this movie and its few scenes are pretty much the gold standard on bigotry towards Southerners and Appalachians.

I checked out its Wikipedia page after watching it and was just as disgusted to read “In 2008, Deliverance was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” I would like to say I’m shocked but I’m not.

“Deliverance was well received by critics and is widely regarded as one of the best films of 1972.”

I found this part interesting – Following the film’s release, Governor Jimmy Carter established a state film commission to encourage television and movie production in Georgia. The state has “become one of the top five production destinations in the U.S”.[26] Tourism increased to Rabun County by the tens of thousands after the film’s release. By 2012, tourism was the largest source of revenue in the county.[26]

This was Hollywood telling Georgia to do its bit in a humiliation ritual and they’ll be famous.

Disgusting. Do not recommend.