I chose to look at the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes because the site is thought to be a good indicator of a movie’s overall worth. It was interesting to see that none of the reviews from the website discussed the negative portrayals about the Appalachian people, but rather explained how the four “city slickers” were victims to their decrepit actions. It also seemed like critics omitted discussions about negative depictions concerning the Appalachian people because it was not particularly relevant to the overall themes of the movie. One audience review on the website describes the setting as a “very incestuous, back-hoe section of Georgia”, which shows that the way in which Appalachians were portrayed reinforced the common stereotype of people in the region. Personally, I do not think that anyone mentions the depiction of Appalachians because they do not see it as a problem in this context. In the film industry, I think many people give directors a “free pass” to do/say whatever they want in order to bolster their story without questioning the way in which individuals are depicted. Within the Appalachian community, I feel like this issue is especially prevalent because people generally do not view hillbillies as a marginalized group in the same way they do with other groups of people, and it is subsequently seen as a non-issue.
source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/deliverance/