Hunting things and saving people. This is the plot and purpose of Eric Kripke's ongoing CW series Supernatural on the most surface level. Despite the overt fantasy which frames the series, it is better defined as a drama which explores the depths of not
only family but also class. Fans and critics both have discussed the ways in which Kripke was constructed family and masculinity. Oddly, though, discussions of class have been surprisingly sparse in both critical and fan circles.
Likewise, there is only a small pool of literature that focuses on the theoretical and lived experience of white trash. White trash, of course, is in and of itself a term that is hotly debated. What does it mean? Who does it include? Is it even real? Who is included within the umbrella of white trash? Who decides who fits within this rubric?
Through out this project, these two discourses will be joined together in order to broaden the scope of conversations within both spheres. Chapters including the genealogy of white trash, the aesthetics and commodification of white trash, and the construction of a specifically homosocial white trash family use Supernatural as a case study for the ways in which contemporary meditated American culture views or, more aptly, does not view class.