Walking Dead, the Dukes of Hazzard, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Gone with the Wind and other Georgia media hits

Interestingly, my part of the country has produced some international successes in TV and Film.   I just finished re-watching the second season of the AMC TV serices "The Walking Dead" with a friend who is viewing it for the first time.   I became a fan of the show the first time around.   I am not keen on horror, vampires and related shows, but I was convinced by another friend to give it a try and found it to be a very interesting, well acted, scary at times story of survival and the interaction of a group surrounded by the breakdown of society due to a pandemic that causes people to become zombies or to have to survive zombie attacks.     One of the things I like about watching this show and the reality series, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo", is that it is filmed withing about 100 to 200  miles of my home.   It does show the culture, the people, the georgraphy, the architecture and other social activities.   This makes me wonder what the rest of the world thinks of us.  I think there is a fairly accurate portrayal of the very humane qualities of the people here.   Ordinary people in ordinary situations, and then in contrast, ordinary people in extraordinary situations.   The movie, Gone with the Wind made a great impact on the world's perceptions of the Deep South.   The image of women in antebellum hoop skirts drinking tea under stately oaks has been shattered by Moma June with her gaseous eruptions and Lori, Andrea and Carol's gritty survival instincts.   The underlying essence of a southern woman is perhaps unshaken in the values of family, independence and willingness to do whatever it takes to survive and help the ones they love endure in the face of overwhelming odds.   I like Moma June because I know the town and the environment within which she is operating.  She has managed to take what comes down to pretty much nothing and propel her family into the international spotlight.   That in itself is impressive.   I met her briefly in front of her home, and found her to be a very genial and gracious person willing to take the time to talk and promote the larger causes that the family fame has drawn attention to.    I realize that many people are embarrassed by her and the family antics, but I think the closer we get to keeping it simple and loving each other and ourselves the more deeply happy we can be.
Leadership takes on different forms.   In Honey Boo Boo, June is the leader.   In the WAlking Dead, it is Rick.   I think a lot about leadership, and the importance of having good leadership.   I look at governments, neighborhoods, groups of friends, work environments and repeatedly we all know that the ones that achieve the most and function the best are the ones with strong leadership.  I wonder about places like Egypt and Iran and other situations that are bereft of strong leadership.   We all want someone to come in , take over and make everything ok.   Sometimes we think that will be our husband, or our wife, or a parent, or a boss.   We put people in impossible situations and wonder why they fail.   We are hurt and disappointed when our President doesn't meet our expectations.   I think we all want to live in the movies rather than understand the complexities of the society that we live in.