CNN
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In 2016, venture capitalist and Yale Law graduate JD Vance published his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. The best-seller made Vance an instant media star and was later adapted into an Oscar-nominated film directed by Ron Howard.
Eight years after its publication, Vance’s book has found its way back onto the bestseller lists thanks to his nomination as Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate.
Less than 24 hours after Trump announced Vance as his vice presidential candidate, “Hillbilly Elegy” shot to the top of Amazon’s bestsellers.
On Tuesday, the 2020 film adaptation of “Hillbilly Elegy,” starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams, was the sixth most-watched film in Netflix’s top 10 in the U.S., according to the streamer’s platform.
According to research from Luminate, Netflix’s “Hillbilly Elegy” saw a 1,179 percent increase in viewership compared to the day before Vance’s vice presidential bid. The film was watched for 19.2 million minutes on Monday, up significantly from the 1.5 million minutes the film was watched on Sunday, when rumors of Vance’s nomination were circulating.
When the film “Hillbilly Elegy” was first released, it received mostly negative reviews and was panned by critics, although Close and Adams received praise for their portrayals of Vance’s grandmother and mother, respectively, as well as for actor Gabriel Basso, who played a younger version of Vance. Close was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Razzie Award for “Hillbilly Elegy,” the ceremony that honors the worst filmmakers each year.
Hillbilly Elegy tells the story of Vance’s childhood in Appalachia, which he describes as being marked by poverty, abuse and his mother’s addiction. When Hillbilly Elegy was published, the book was widely discussed as an explanation for Trump’s rise among the white working class.
As the book’s popularity skyrocketed following the announcement of Vance as Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Goodreads, a social cataloging website for book recommendations, temporarily restricted actions on “Hillbilly Elegy,” including submitting ratings and reviews. A pop-up warning on Goodreads said, “This may be because we have detected unusual behavior that does not comply with our rating guidelines.” A Goodreads representative declined to respond to CNN’s request for comment on the specific type of activity on Vance’s book detected by the site, but in accordance with the company’s community guidelines, Goodreads introduced the ability to restrict reviews and ratings for a book earlier this year.
Sydney Bishop contributed to this report.
