A Letter We'd Like to Share...

When there's a letter sent that sums up our feelings here at JamesBest.com, and our other wonderful partner 'Dukes' sites, better than we could say it ourselves...well just read it and you'll see what we mean. The letter was sent to our good friend Ben Jones (a.k.a. Cooter) in regards to the new Dukes of Hazzard movie and the CMT Music Awards.

Ben -

Great to hear from you. As I understand it, the guys who made this film are basically a comedy group, ala Monty Python (and featured in the cast). I think they made the assumption that most Americans consider The Dukes of Hazzard something hokey and embarrassing - and ripe for parody, in a vein similar to the the recent Starsky & Hutch disaster. But clearly, they didn't do their research. The fact that Dukes DVDs are flying off the shelves (season #3 is due out in a few weeks) and the show itself - yet again - is the cornerstone, prime time program of a major cable network is a tribute to how Americans really feel about this series...more

A good friend of mine and I were discussing the appeal of the Dukes a few weeks back. He and I are both avid B western fans, particularly those of Roy Rogers. I'm too young to have caught Roy's pictures in theaters but he was the first TV hero I can remember as a youngster. He and Gene Autry both felt that, in a way, they were America's babysitters... that American children learned basic values from their films and TV shows. I can certainly attest to that; when the Roy Rogers museum in Victorville was about to close down a couple years ago I went to visit. When I saw Pat Brady's jeep "nellybelle" I cried like a baby; it was as if a part my my childhood was going away.

Now here's the key... the story has a happy ending...the Rogers museum now is alive and prospering in Branson, Missouri. Why? Because my experience is one shared by millions of Americans my age and older. To me and others, Roy's legacy is something very alive and very present in my life.

The same goes for the Dukes. The show isn't a wacky 80s flashback for millions of Americans. Those shows... the characters as portrayed by you and the rest of the cast... and the basic, homespun values they represent are as much a part of American lore as Roy, Dale and Trigger. They were even structured like b westerns... delivering the great outdoors, comedy, a little music, lots of action, a moral to each story and, of course, the good guys ALWAYS won. The Dukes were America's babysitters for millions of kids in the 80s... and they continue to perform the same function for new generations today. This is why that CMT audience was screaming so loud - and why millions of us choke up just like Catherine did every time we see you guys back together.

The Dukes have transcended pop culture to become pure, old fashioned Americana.

And you make fun of Americana at your own peril.

STEVE LATSHAW

Hey, thanks for posting the letter from Ben...In the letter he mentioned the Roy Rogers museum moving to branson, missouri, well im only 20 minutes away from Branson missouri, i wonder if Ben might be visiting it when it gets here!

Actually the letter was TO Ben.

Nothing more needs to be said. That letter said it all and said it correctly.