But the intro to the American Pickers alone is rich with allusions to “telling the history of America,” and it’s clear that that history resides in the rural plains, small towns, and out-of-the-way places, not on the coasts or in the big cities. At least in the scope of this specific show, there are some practical reasons for this: the kind of objects the Pickers are looking for aren’t likely to be found in those places, either because the high cost of land and a more transient population means that these artifacts aren’t likely to accumulate or because the people there know what they’ve got and aren’t willing to sell it for cheap (while never stated explicitly, the presumption is that it’s the monied city folks who are the collectors buying this stuff off the Pickers). Nevertheless, the stereotype of middle America as the Heartland is in full force, and likewise of the Heartland as being representative of a blue collar American way of life that is simpler, more straightfoward, and full of conviction.