Louisiana is a state that’s full of diverse people and cultures. Being one of the major port cities in America, many unique characters from all over the world have decided to settle here right off the boat and call Louisiana home. This creates a diverse region with that distinctive Louisiana flare that you can find in every parish. With spicy food and laid-back attitudes, Louisianian lifestyle can be summed up with the Cajun French phrase “laissez les bons temps rouler,” or let the good times roll. 

Our state’s image throughout America is a fun-loving place where the people know how to have a good time. After all, our biggest attractions and influences of the state’s tourism industry are the “Big Easy” and Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras brings in revenues that reach into the millions. According to an article by Jed Lipinski in The Times-Picayune, the 2014 Mardi Gras season brought in $465 million to the New Orleans’s economy. 

Mardi Gras season is anticipated by Louisianians all year long, counting down the work days till their first parade. Preparation uses the same level of strategic planning as Head Coach of LSU football Ed Orgeron in a game against Alabama for determining exactly how many months before Mardi Gras it is socially acceptable to eat king cake. 

Has this state holiday that brings joy and fun to many been misconstrued by the media as just a big drunk party that is as wild as a frat party and music festival combined? Does it only display a negative representation of Louisiana and its population? 

I think this holiday has been misinterpreted by many because after all, Mardi Gras originated from the Christian practice of indulging before Lent and has nothing to do with throwing beads off a moving vehicle or flashing for said beads. The term Fat Tuesday, which is another name for Mardi Gras, refers to the practices of eating fatty foods before the ritual of fasting during Lent. Instead of seeing it as a harmless celebration, many know Mardi Gras as a city full of raggers taking off their tops. This problem may stem from the media creating a false stereotype of the holiday. Yes, Mardi Gras can get a little wild depending on the time of day or street you’re on, but that party aspect is only a small margin of New Orleans Mardi Gras festivities. 

In reality, most of the New Orleans parades are family friendly and run during daylight. I feel it is mainly Louisiana natives that get to know the true Mardi Gras. This can be seen in how Mardi Gras is portrayed in the media. National news stations like Fox News or CNN only show clips of intoxicated partiers stumbling on Bourbon Street whereas most local coverage, such as by WGNO, of parade routes is scenes of float riders throwing beads to children. 

I might be biased because I was born and raised here, but I think Louisiana is one of the greatest states to live in. It has just been given a bad reputation, thanks to the media’s portrayal of the state’s people being overly exaggerated. From news coverage not showing all aspects of Mardi Gras and shows like the popular TV series “Swamp People,” the small percentage of Louisiana natives shown on TV does not represent our whole state, and I’m afraid that is what has happened in the past few years. Just because you see a thirty-minute show where everyone wears overalls and you need subtitles because their accents are so strong that you have no idea what they are saying does not mean everyone in the state is like that. My parents both grew up with their lives revolving around the swamps. My mom shelled soft shell crabs to pay for college and is an educated woman with her master’s who’s spent the past 26 years educating students. My dad was a fur trapper for 30 years hunting in the Louisiana swamps for a living. However, they do not go around acting like they are on “Swamp People,” doing idiotic things for attention. Plus, my dad only wears overalls to casual events. That is just an example that yes, Louisiana does have the type of people you see on TV, but it is mostly extremely exaggerated content that lives up to its name of reality TV. The same can be said for Mardi Gras and how it’s portrayed. Just because you see drunk partiers willing to do anything for plastic beads does not mean that’s how Louisiana is 365 days a year.