A new documentary on the enduring charms of Mayberry, the kooky North Carolina hamlet of “The Andy Griffith Show,” poses a tricky question about the nation’s psyche: Why is this fictional Camelot in bib overalls such a cultural touchstone six decades later?
Dwight Eisenhowser was still president when America met Mayberry on Oct. 3, 1960, as the show debuted on CBS to tepid reviews and strong ratings. It ran eight seasons, spawned two spin-off shows and never dropped out of the top 10 programs in audience size.
But other shows of the era are largely forgotten, and even those with distant resonance in the nation’s memory such as “The Dick Van Dyke Show” or “The Beverly Hillbillies” fail to match the cult-like following Mayberry still commands.
Chris Hudson — the Charlotte native who wrote, directed and produced “The Mayberry Effect,” a new documentary recently release — says he got interested in Mayberry’s iconic role five years ago when he toyed with the idea of doing a documentary on a tribute actor who imitated Deputy Barney Fife at festivals and in car commercials.
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As he dove into the Mayberry mystique, “I realized there was a deeper story to tell about ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’” Hudson says, “one with a lot of layers to it.”
He wondered why so many people come to festivals based on the show, why Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy attracts tourists as a Mayberry theme park and why the show brings joy to generations unborn during the ’60s.
“I kept hearing how Mayberry is about a simpler time,” says Hudson, 41, who watched reruns of “The Andy Griffith Show” after school while growing up in Charlotte. “I started thinking about the psychological aspect.”
Recalling good times
For answers, the trail oddly led to the University of Southampton in England, where Constantine Sedikides teaches social psychology. Back when he was teaching at the UNC-Chapel Hill, Sedikides watched TV reruns of “The Andy Griffith Show,” which has been in continual syndication since the 1960s.
Interviewed in the documentary, Sedikides says that nostalgia can have negative aspects, but is mostly a result of people remembering the positives of old times. Thus, the episodes of Mayberry unleash memories of a better, simpler era, whether true or not.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to go back to when things were like they were in Mayberry?” asks Joey Fann, interviewed in the documentary. Fann wrote the 2010 book “The Way Back to Mayberry: Lessons From a Simpler Time,” which argues the enduring popularity of the show is at least in part due to its reliance on basic moral principles and a sense of a loving community.
Others see different lessons.
“I think the idea that Mayberry is about simplicity and silliness is complete bull,” Gary Freeze says in the new documentary.
Freeze, who teaches history and American cultural studies at Catawba College, points out that most of the conflicts in the narratives were drawn from larger themes that confront society, such as family strife, courtship upheavals and general heartbreak.
Tribute artists aboundHudson’s lens lingers on the tribute artists drawn to Mayberry festivals, including the biggest — Mayberry Days, held every September in Mount Airy. Launched in 1990 as a fundraiser for the Surry Arts Council, the festival draws thousands annually and has led a tourism renaissance for the region.
Tribute artists take on the roles of Floyd the barber, Otis the self-incarcerating town drunk, brick-pitcher Ernest T. Bass, mechanic Goober, Mayor Howard Sprague, the “fun girls” from Mount Pilot (Griffith’s daughter Dixie is part of the duo) and gas jockey Gomer Pyle.
David Browning of Bristol, Va., is acknowledged in the documentary as the top tribute artist. Browning’s imitation of Barney Fife is spot-on, from the timbre of voice to the googly-eyes made famous by actor Don Knotts.
How much longer?
Hudson, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Queens University of Charlotte and has an MFA in documentary film from Wake Forest University, says he has come to realize that attendees of Mayberry Days and similar festivals are rewarded with a sense of fellowship by being around other devotees. Many of the same people return year after year and are reunited with other fans, he says.
“They feel good about themselves, being around their own people. They take that feeling with them,” says Hudson, who now lives in Clemmons. “It helps them walk into the future knowing they have people who feel just like them, even if it’s about the weirdest thing.”
Other old shows that used to populate TV long beyond their years — such as “The Three Stooges” or “Little Rascals” — have largely faded away. When will “The Andy Griffith Show” finally go into the sunset?
Hudson thinks that the show has been passed down to new generations. Kids watch it with their parents and grandparents and seem to be attracted to the zany characters and life lessons.