- Alternate Character Interpretation:
- Is the government a good or bad thing in these movies since they're often after genuinely horrible crooks but mistreat ordinary citizens for Felony Misdemeanor activity.
- Is Bama a Fallen Hero who was once like Gator or is he a Monster? Gator seems shocked that he's become such a terrible person since their childhood but everything indicates that he's a Sadist who absolutely loves all the horrible things he does and always has.
- Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Dude's girlfriend Maggie from the first film has her fans for being played by Diane Ladd and having some memorable moments of defiance toward Roy and the sheriff.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer Crazy Cat Lady Emmeline is a highlight of the second film's supporting cast.
- Moral Event Horizon:
- In White Lightning, as awful as the murders of Donny, his friend, and Dude are, it really becomes clear just how evil the sheriff is when the reason why he drowned Donny and his friend comes out. It had nothing to do with moonshining, but rather was because he couldn't stand being insulted over his corruption by a hippie who he had been harassing while the kid and his friends were minding their own business on their last night in town.
- In Gator, Bama becomes a truly repellant figure with the reveal that he puts drugged teenage girls to work in his brothel, and even his Morality Pet relationship with Gator gives way when, after Gator rejects one chance to leave town, Bama starts trying to kill him.
- Squick: Lou talking about how she's been sexually active since she was nine.
- Values Dissonance: Part of this is Deliberate Values Dissonance but the government goes to elaborate lengths to shut down anyone involved in moonshining. It's treated as equivalent to drug smuggling and worth federal prison time.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Ymmv/WhiteLightning
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