What is theprototypical American Southern film?

Some films have captured the essence of Southern life and its zeitgeist better than others.

There are precious few movies set in the Carolinas, and this is the most noteworthy.

Dolly Parton and Olympia Dukakais gossip at an outdoor event in Steel Magnolias.

Image via TriStar Pictures

Boorman sets the eerie tone early as the boy on the roof slowly strums, “Dueling Banjos.”

What makesA Time to Killstand out is its unique insight into race relations and divisionsin the South.

It addresses the essential questions as we seek racial equality in the South.

Billy Bob Thornton as the Coach talks to Garrett Hedlund as Don during a football game in Friday Night Lights

Image via Universal Pictures

5O Brother, Where Art Thou?

InMississippi Burning, they share tremendous chemistry as they navigate the tense, racially charged atmosphere of the mid-1960s.

This is not unique to the South.

01140316_poster_w780.jpg

The film is based on the true story of thelife events of Susan Harling Robinsonby her brotherRobert Harling.

Fair warning: be prepared to laugh and cry when watching this Southern classic.

The sensitive subject has been told many times, but12 Years a Slaveis the standard-bearer.

instar51785926.jpg

Directed bySteve McQueen, it is a frighteningly visceral and accurate portrayal of the atrocities of the pre-war South.

It is based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell.

NEXT:The 15 Best Movies About the American Civil War, Ranked According to IMDb

instar53305464.jpg

instar50357497.jpg

Cast Placeholder Image

Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates as Evelyn and Ninny laughing while holding each other in Fried Green Tomatoes

Image via Universal Studios

Fried Green Tomatoes Movie Poster

instar53702026.jpg

instar49993908-1.jpg

instar51526615.jpg

Three women sitting on the sand in Daugher’s of the Dust

Image via Kino International

0191882_poster_w780.jpg

Ed Gentry (Jon Voight) shooting an arrow in Deliverance (1972).

Image via Warner Bros.

2traznjlhynyyskqf6asg3rs2xr.jpg

Intent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it’s dammed and turned into a lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a canoeing trip they’ll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.

instar53750906.jpg

shutterstock_1052829443.jpg

Samuel L Jackson and Matthew McConaughey in a courtroom in A Time to Kill.

Image via Regency Enterprises

a-time-to-kill.jpg

A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.

instar53565931.jpg

instar51374511.jpg

Samuel L. Jackson headshot

instar48594619.jpg

George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson hiding in ‘o brother where art thou’

Image via Universal Pictures

O Brother, Where Art Thou Poster

In the Deep South during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.

instar53302367.jpg

instar51237313.jpg

FBI Agent Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) wears a gun and stands next to a vintage car in Mississippi Burning.

Image via Orion Pictures

mississippi-burning-film-poster.jpg

Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe star as FBI agents navigating a volatile environment in Mississippi during the height of the civil rights movement. Their investigation into the disappearance of civil rights workers exposes a web of racism, corruption, and violence, challenging them to seek justice in the face of relentless adversity.

instar48992070.jpg

instar54073781.jpg

instar52192376.jpg

instar49993187.jpg

The cast of the 1989 film ‘Steel Magnolias’ including Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, and Sally Field.

Image via TriStar Pictures

steel-magnolias-poster.jpg

instar49231857.jpg

instar50238954.jpg

instar53136385.jpg

instar49375111.jpg

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup on a plantation in 12 Years a Slave.

Image via Fox Searchlight Pictures

12 Years a Slave Movie Poster

In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

instar51706705-1.jpg

instar53824699.jpg

instar52344261.jpg

instar53694470.jpg

Jennifer Lawrence as Ree sitting on the steps of her house with her siblings in ‘Winter’s Bone’

Image via Roadhouse Attractions

winter-s-bone-poster-jennifer-lawrence.jpg

Winter’s Bone is a drama directed by Debra Granik, featuring Jennifer Lawrence as Ree Dolly, a teenager in the Ozarks who must track down her missing father to save her family from eviction. The film explores themes of poverty, family loyalty, and survival in a harsh rural setting, with a supporting cast including John Hawkes and Dale Dickey. It is based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell.

instar53732344.jpg

instar47712270.jpg

instar53582727.jpg

Movie

Friday Night Lights