Jackson Free Press

Crossroads and the JFP present "C.S.A." Monday, July 10th at 7 p.m. at New Stage Theatre. Tickets are $7 and $5 for members.

History is written by the victors. So what would the schoolbooks say if the South had prevailed in "the War of Northern Aggression"? Would Confederate President Jefferson Davis be the father of our country and Abraham Lincoln be branded a traitor to the white race? If America became a slave nation, would we have fought Nazi Germany? Would rock 'n' roll even exist?

Anyone can spin such fascinating "what if" scenarios, but few could reveal such a visionary imagination or cutting wit as filmmaker Kevin Willmott in "C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America." Willmott's shadow history considers the implications of a victorious Rebel army and the prospect of the Stars and Bars waving proudly over the White House. And Iwo Jima. And the moon landing.

"C.S.A." weds its sci-fi speculation to a subversive, uproarious sense of humor worthy of the dearly missed "Chappelle's Show." Willmott's faux-documentary presents the best kind of satire, the kind that's so thought-provoking, terrifying and funny that you don't know whether to laugh or cry.

"C.S.A." unfolds as a "controversial" British documentary, presented very much along the lines of Ken Burns' "The Civil War." We watch "C.S.A." as if it's being broadcast "in its entirety" on a TV station in the Confederate States of America, with commercial interruptions providing glimpses of American life that's at once recognizably contemporary and an antebellum throwback. Archival material and low-key re-enactments are intercut with talking-head experts, most often a Southern-accented white historian (Rupert Pate) and a Canadian black scholar (Evamarii Johnson).

In Willmott's history, a surprise Confederate victory at Antietam convinces European nations, intrigued by the economic possibilities of slavery, to throw in on the Southern side. After Ulysses S. Grant surrenders to Robert E. Lee, the Confederacy annexes the United States and Abraham Lincoln becomes a fugitive, fleeing on Harriet Tubman's underground railroad disguised as a black man. "C.S.A." dramatizes Lincoln's arrest with an excerpt from a fictitious D.W. Griffith silent film, "The Capture of Dishonest Abe," with the Great Emancipator rendered in humiliating slapstick. The clip reminds us that Griffith, despite being a cinematic pioneer, directed the virulently racist Civil War epic "Birth of a Nation."

As C.S.A. moves through the decades, slavery becomes legal in all states, while black refugees and abolitionists flee to Canada. Reconstruction involves mass lynchings, represented by photos of real ones. Northern and Southern Americans reconcile thanks to novels that resemble "Gone with the Wind" turned upside down by emphasizing "noble" Union soldiers, while still whitewashing slavery. For narrative convenience, Willmott gives the Confederate States a Kennedy-esque political dynasty, the Fauntroys, which includes a present-day senator (Larry Peterson) reminiscent of David Duke, who's a presidential front-runner.

You can't quite call the spoof ads comic relief, because their racist, fun-house-mirror perspective inspires outright shock more than amusement. A spot for a toothpaste called "Darky" features over-the-top racial exaggeration as a voice-over praises Darky's prowess at "Gleamin' yo teefus!" The kicker, though, comes when "C.S.A.'s" epilogue reveals that many of its products were real: Darky Toothpaste changed its name to "Darly" in 1980 but is still marketed in Asia as "Black Man Toothpaste."

A promo for a "Cops"-style show called "Runaway," with shaky video of escaped black men getting rounded up, evokes the demonization of African-Americans in the "real" media. In a sly stylistic touch, "Runaway's" theme song sounds almost exactly like "Cops'" title track, but with a bluegrass twang. A racist, slave-holding nation would have no use for reggae or hip-hop.

"C.S.A.'s" politics can fit the viewers' interpretations: Some audiences will find the C.S.A. and the U.S.A. to be all but morally equal in their treatment of minorities. But if America was really so deeply racist, the minstrel-show aspects in the ads for "Coon Chicken Inn" (once a real fast-food franchise) wouldn't be so outrageous.

"C.S.A." airs a bulletproof counterargument against those who claim that flying the Confederate flag or honoring the Rebel cause is not about race. No matter how sincere today's Johnny Rebs may be in saluting the positive aspects of Southern heritage, they simply cannot separate or explain away the murderous, dehumanizing institution. By projecting the horrific implications of the Confederacy across a century-and-a-half of American history, "C.S.A." might convince contemporary sons of the South to stop whistling "Dixie."

Previous Commentsshow

I can't *wait* to see this film.

DonnaLadd

Jul 5 2006

nice scenario by film maker. In all likelihood, slavery would've been abolished by the 1900's. Technology was improving and it would've been cheaper to pay a wage than be responsible for full time care and ownership. At some point an agreement between the two sides would've been reached, being North and South. I don't see Kaiser or Hitler pulling their tricks and having the South fight the North all over again. I think the two sides would've still fought together for common defense as they both believed in the Monroe Doctrine. as for civil rights, different story of course. However, would the backlash generated by reconstruction still have taken place which resulted in many of the Jim Crow laws? interesting question. Even more interesting would've been in Lincoln lives and NOrth still wins. I don't think the African American Community would like what he had in mind.

Kingfish

Jul 5 2006

The scenario "What if the South won the Civil War?" is one of the two favorite story lines in the alt-history genre (along with "What if Germany won WW2?"). A whole minor industry is based on these two scenarios alone. To me, one of the most realistic, sober assessments is the many Harry Turtledove books (some call him a hack, but I still think they yield some compelling insights). Only Turtledove builds an entire timeline from "What if the Union did not find Lee's lost orders just before Gettysburg". *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT* The South wins, pushes almost to Philadelphia, wins the war. The CSA and USA fight another war in the 1880s over the South's purchase of NW Mexico, giving the CSA direct access to the Pacific. Mexico can now pay off its egrigious foreign debts (Britain and France being major creditors). Britain and France intervene on the CSA side only if the CSA abolishes slavery (which it does). From here until the beginning of WW2, the CSA basically has South Africa-style Apartheid. There are even WW1 and WW2 with the USA and CSA on opposite sides. Turtledove, rather predictably, has a 20th Century CSA history pretty much mirroring that of real-world Germany - including a "Holocost". The last part many not be too original, but I still find it disturbingly plausible; a grim reminder that if history were just a little different, it could have been "Confederate Negroes" instead of German and Polish Jews. In truth, there's no way to know for sure, especially the further away the Civil War receeds into history. But alt-history is an important way to get people to speculate about what-if, and hence gain additional insight from history and human nature.

Philip

Jul 5 2006

You know, these get boring after awhile... The best is "Guns of The South", also by Turtledove. After that....

Ironghost

Jul 5 2006

Sounds like an amazing film. And sometimes it feels like the CSA did win. What the heck am I supposed to make of this actual billboard? Cheers, TH

Tom Head

Jul 6 2006

Uh... some ad agency was desperate? :) There was one wit at one magazine who pointed out that since, Oh, 76 or so it did seem that the South had finally risen again, at least politically. To which I'd point out GWB is a Texan, and therefore not Southern. :D

Ironghost

Jul 6 2006

I don't know if I could watch this movie. Even the thought of it depresses me gravely. Had the South won, the inhuman suffering of black folks would have erased all doubt as to whether Southern whites are human or are capable of even slight humanity toward others they consider inferior to them. I'm worried if seeing the movie would again cause me to regret that Grant didn't kill all the southern whites. No, there certainly wouldn't have been any Rock and Roll because there wouldn't have been any slave musicians that whites could steal the idea and sound from. "After all, Rhythm and Blues had a baby called Rock and ROll, according to Little Richard and many, many more. I should add that I pay particular attention to how southern whites still respond when northern, eastern and western whites, or other races of people, cast them as racist, dumb, and inhumane sub-humans. I have noticed great anger and hurt in these situations by most whites. I'm still surprised by this after all these years. This shows me that southern whites still haven't shaken a past that few of them actively participated in. Can you imagine the damage that would have been done to blacks and southern whites, although not in comparison, had the south won? Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee can't burn in hell enough to satisfy my taste. However, I may try to watch this movie just as I failed so miserably at seeing the Color Purple until about 5 years after its release. That is, if I can conjure up a reason to see it.

Ray Carter

Jul 6 2006

I wish we had time to have a panel discussion afterward. I'll ask Todd if there's a way to jam that together. Unfortunately, Monday is a tough night for us here, but I might be able to pull it off. Let me ask around.

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

Don't do anything differently on my accord. I can handle any personal fallout or feelings I might have as a result of viewing the movie. I'm far better at watching and handling these types of movies than most black people I know.

Ray Carter

Jul 6 2006

No, it wasn't. You just gave me an idea. But it may be late to pull it together anyhow. I'll let everyone know if we do.

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

I'm leaning toward showing up. I want to know what other blacks folks think about this movie.

Ray Carter

Jul 6 2006

Maybe you want to write about your response for it as a "Your Turn" for the paper?

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

I'll think about it. I can't say enough how I love the fact that hardly anyone knows who I am.

Ray Carter

Jul 6 2006

1st Thought WTF!!!! 2nd Thought WTF!!! :-) 3rd This will create dialogue. Dialogue is always good as long as it is respectful, also I apologize for not presenting the most civilized dialogue towards some (trolls) at this site. This is one of those things that you really can't control you can only hope that yourself and others learn something from it. --------------------------------------------- After some careful contemplating, reading the article, and reading the responses. My initial reaction stemmed out of my thoughts about the people that still hold the shameful legacy of slavery dear to their (IMO) Cold Hearts. My second reaction was still playing off the First. This 3rd reaction understands the need to get things out in the open, whether it be thoughts, Ideas, ect. or whatever, it is just very important to talk & discuss, things like this, if you have a particular feeling one way or the other it is why we have Psychiatrist, it is why over the ages most civilized respectful people have learned to talk about their feelings, emotions, and problems rather than keeping them bottled up inside and acting out in violence. This is something that Blacks of the current era should be asking ourselves, and then there is my subconscience that asks? "Why would I or anyone even need to contemplate such a thing"? But, we can't control our random thoughts and contemplations, and we can't stop racist from thinking racist thoughts. So it is better that it is out in the open and discussed.

JAC

Jul 6 2006

Everything you just said, JAC, is why we work so hard to maintain a respectful tone on this site–to try to facilitate these types of discussions. Passionate? Yes. Divergent opinions? Yes. Belitting? No. Racist? No. Rude? No. And all bets are off on trolls who who showing their butts, no matter where they sit on the political spectrum. They get what they deserve. And if they can't see why they get treated that way, well, it's not our problem. We used to have John Dewey's quote on the site: "Democracy begins in conversation." And conversation DOES NOT mean shouting down and belittling other people. We have a dire need to talk TO each other in Mississippi. I'm happy to say that it is happening, despite those who try to shout us down to make us shut up. Ain't gonna happen, so they might as well stop wasting their energy.

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

Thanks for your comments, JAC. I remember watching "Do the Right Thing" in a mixed audience of people. That movie was power-packed with emotions about race. An older white gntlemen and his wife walked out about the same time as i did, and I noticed he was sweating and darn near dis-orientated. He said to me "I don't know what to say about that movie." I said I don't either. And I will still say had a white man made that movie instead of Spike there is no telling what awards that movie might have won. I wonder what will be the responses and reactions of whites and blacks as they watch, and after seeing the movie. I probably shouldn't say this but I will. There were some white people so overcome by quilt, shame, and pain that Do the Right Thing stirred in them that I believe I could have asked them to borrow some money then and there and they would have given it to me. If I attend the movie I will be sure to bring a bucket for the money, if any givers; and a stick just in case I and others like me have to fight our way out, in the event a few good men and women decide to make it all right at this late stage and time. Smile if you can, but not too long.

Ray Carter

Jul 6 2006

I love it when Donna drops a column every now and again that shuts up most of the commentators. Where are all the loquacious people living in the home of the brave and land of the free? Why aren't they talking now? I am coming. I'm begging everyone else to attend too. I'll see you there!

Ray Carter

Jul 6 2006

Thanks, Ray. Certainly, these are difficult topics. There's a guy right now over on the Ledge forums whining because I suspended him from this site (twice, because he snuck back in once and then did the same thing again). He's a prime example, to me, of why these issues are difficult. On the one hand, you want to fully air out the way people think in order to promote discussion–but then you run into walls such as that gentleman put up on race (and ethnic issues, in general). He is an intelligent man and on all other issues very independent-minded -- but he lives in a box on race issues, and simply cannot see it. It's as if he's blinded by his own rage that anyone would even try to have those discussions. I tried both times to keep him in here because, in many ways, he was needed as an example. But I realized both times -- and especially in response to e-mail complaints I got -- that he was going to shut down any further discussion because of the way he attacked people who didn't agree with him and hogged the discussion. He was one of the few people that it pained me to suspend both times I sent him to the showers.

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

But the bigger goal is to get as many people as possible into these discussions -- not limit it to the predictable white-vs.-black arguments. You know as well as I do that I have suspended at least one black poster who swung sledgehammers at everyone in site, regardless of race. And this is working here. Our early discussions about hip-hop, for instance, were tired and predictable with a handful of defensive white guys talking about how it was going to ruin their kids, and a handful of hip-hop defenders. But over the course of a couple of years (after the defensive white guys went off to lick their wounds because they're not in charge here), we got around to some real, unpredictable, complex dialogue where race or party was not the predictor of what people would say. I am in awe of those discussions and the willingness of so many people with divergent views and backgrounds to work so hard to participate, or listen, respectfully. And I'll take my lumps in order for this to happen; it's hard to explain just how much I don't care about (and rather delight in) the people who are so used to controlling the dialogue in this city and state (and country even) going around whining about how they can't shout everyone down here. Because that is exactly what they are trying to do. Hat's off to you all for creating the kinds of dialogue that the trolls so want to drown out. Ha!

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

Also, Ray, I think it is so important for people not only to show this willingness to get down in it here on the site, but to show up in public and sit next to each other during difficult discussions and performances. The most thought-provoking, and touching, times I've had in my life have been here in Jackson at public events that challenge us all to face each other's pain and fears. We met at one of them. ;-)

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

I'm confused: are we talking the souths miracle win in the Civil War (which is what it would have taken, Divine Intervention) or Race again? I'm not allowed in the latter. I'm not articulate. :)

Ironghost

Jul 6 2006

Oh yes you are, Iron. You manage to articulate quite a bit in a few words. And that's why you're one of my favoriate posters here. ;-)

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

One of my favorite lines in Gone with the Wind is when Clark Gable is talking to a group of fellow Southerners about what a mistake the war was. "I think it's hard winning a war with words, gentlemen. . . . I'm saying very plainly that the Yankees are better equipped than we. . . . All we've got is cotton and slaves, and arrogance." The South was NEVER going to win that war. We had the best general, but one man can't win a war. If Lee had accepted command of the Northern Army, the war would have been much shorter. I wish he had accepted, a lot less people would probably have been killed.

James Hester

Jul 6 2006

Of course not. And we shouldn't have won it. But it's remarkable how people around us still seem pissed off by that fact. Eek.

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

Wish I lived close enough to Jackson to come watch this with y'all. I want to see the film, but even more, I'd like to get the reactions of others afterwards.

C.W.

Jul 6 2006

A bit o' light reading for any history revisionists who happen to drop by.

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

When brother fights brother, it gets very personal. There are still people alive who are only a couple of generations removed from that war. Some people have very long memories. Like those (I'm trying to be nice) "unusual" people who have lots of time on their hands who dress up and recreate Civil War battles. It's important to remember history and learn lessons. It's another thing to live in the past.

James Hester

Jul 6 2006

I, too, like hearing from Ironghost. Personally, I like honest and consistent people. Divergent and different views as well as divergent and different people make us grow. Fortunately, the world won't stop turning for any of us. We grow or get left behind to wallow in needless pain like racist and old fools we all know. And none of us have reached perfection regardless of race, accomplishments or legacies. But there is room and capacity for improvement in all of us if we care about doing what we know is right. I'm not terribly bothered by where I find anyone at a particular time as I know we're, all, more or less, products of the enviroments, lecagies, socialization processes, and experiences passed on to us by others. Too often these things were passed along by these processes when we weren't adequtaely able to know what to accept and reject. We're grown now, though, and a new day should be upon us.

Ray Carter

Jul 6 2006

"Like those (I'm trying to be nice) "unusual" people who have lots of time on their hands who dress up and recreate Civil War battles". Why are those people so fat? I thought times and food were lean back then and starvation was among the biggest problems. Didn't Lee ask Grant for thousands of rations to feed the starving boys at the surrender. but look at those recreations and you'd think we lost it because we had a chicken leg in one hand and were firing between chews with the other. And other....I'm sorry I'm typin out loud agian........but they are all fat.

ATLExile

Jul 6 2006

The owner and publisher of the Northside Sun wrote an article about the pre-Civil War South nearly a year ago. It was so obvious that he wished the south had won. He talked about how good life was for white folks back then and how much better the world was to boot. At the end of the long column, with four or five words, he said in dismissive terms too bad those times weren't so good for blacks, too. I was furious and tried to find the column on the internet so as to tell him what a racist dipshit he appears to be, but the article wasn't there that I could find. Wyatt wrote this article around Civil War Enactments.

Ray Carter

Jul 6 2006

Thanks All. Ray you mentioning "Do the Right Thing" reminds me of one of my Mottos/Creed for the past year or so. "If more people saw the interest/benefit of doing the right thing as opposed to the doing the wrong thing we would be better off as a society" perhaps if they/we would just Think about doing the right thing when they/we are in the process of doing the wrong thing. Pretty soon you'll start exercising those positive thoughts and it may bring you/we/us into being better persons. I know that there are plenty of people that are out here trying and doing the right things only to be torn down by someone who thinks they are on a more morally righteous ground than the next person, and it is starting to happen to often in these days and times people who are IMO morally bankrupt dictating morals to others. That was kinda off topic but self-analyzation is so relevant, to everything.....

JAC

Jul 6 2006

I also think this is a very good book "The Real Abraham Lincoln" A new look at Abraham Lincoln, His agenda, and an Unneccessary War. By Thomas J. Dilorenzo. Not revisionism but another view into the processes behind an embryonic Republican vision. The South was quite obviously in the way of his plan...

ATLExile

Jul 6 2006

Uh, yeah. The Civil War years, where the infant mortality rate in the United States was comparable to rural Ethiopia's today, where the life expectancy was somewhere around 60, where there was generally no running water in homes, no toilet paper, no electricity, no central air, no regular bathing and no deoderant (Southern belles slathered on the vinegar to reduce BO), no central heating, no automobiles, terrible food, dirty water, you had to sit or stand frozen in one position for an annoying length of time if you wanted your picture taken... And that's not to mention slavery, misogyny, child marriages, and living under your parents' thumbs for the duration of your life. Wonderful time to live. Not to mention a war that would claim 600,000 lives and injure millions more. They were doing battlefield amputations ALL the friggin' time because they had no way of fighting the smaller infections. If these geniuses would just study a little bit of history, they'd stop pining for the Civil War years pretty quick. Lord, have mercy. Cheers, TH

Tom Head

Jul 6 2006

Uh, that post was directed at the guy whose op-ed Ray read. I got a phone call halfway through typing it and didn't see the later posts. :P Cheers, TH

Tom Head

Jul 6 2006

I've always kind of liked Civil War stuff. Guess you can't really help it growing up in certain parts of the South. The thing I really liked about it was that it was a time when leaders led- the Generals had almost as much of a chance of being killed or injured in battle as the enlisted men (Stonewall Jackson for example). Wars today don't hold the same glory...

Rico

Jul 6 2006

Tom you forgot no dental care. Can you imagine the toothaches! Pull um out.... Laudanum was about all they had....but hey....if I only had Laudanum after this day at work........

ATLExile

Jul 6 2006

I remember that reenactment column, Ray. Wasn't there a little boy sleeping with a Confederate flag involved. It was such romantic B.S. that I could hardly stand it. But it showed a lot about where some people come from–and about how hard it is to achieve understanding when misplaced romanticism for disgusting, horrible times rules people. It says something about why he didn't think twice about giving a cash prize to a columnist who wrote that blacks ought to give thanks every day for slavery. And it might say something about how certain people can look at someone like our current mayor who is trying to suspend the Constitution for the "thugs" among us as simply a "loose cannon," who is amusing at worst. Something about that attitudes reminds me of white folks at a minstrel show, and makes me feel more sorry for Mr. Melton than ever.

DonnaLadd

Jul 6 2006

I thinks so, Donna. The content of that column or opinion blinded me. I don't remember hardly anything else about the whole issue. I started to cancel the subscription. Had I done that I wouldn't have got to read Dr. Matthias, who is possibly just as over the top or crazy.

Ray Carter

Jul 6 2006

ATLExile writes: Tom you forgot no dental care. Can you imagine the toothaches! Pull um out.... Laudanum was about all they had....but hey....if I only had Laudanum after this day at work........ Ah, yes. Laudanum for toothaches, brandy for surgery! Those were the days. Course, those were also the days when you stood a real chance of dying from a tooth infection. I'll take 2006, thankyouverymuch. :o) Cheers, TH

Tom Head

Jul 6 2006

You ain't kidding, Tom. Don't forget greater openness to mental disorders and illnesses these days. I thank my lucky stars that my severe depression happened as late as 10 years ago. If it'd happened 20 years ago, I'd likely be in a mahogany box now. That's all I'm gonna say. And, however hamstring Miss's race relations still are (not to mention relations with other "others"), I think we can all agree the communication is at least somewhat more free-er now than 20 years ago as well. Plus, can you imagine life without South Park, King of the Hill, Jon Stewart, and the JibJab net short "movies"?!?!?!?!?! (we'll forget about Paris Hilton :P)

Philip

Jul 6 2006

Civil War re-enactments are weird. I've met a few guys (overweight and no) who do both sides, Rebel and Yank. I guess it's like playing solider. To be fair, my esteemed ancestors fought on both sides of the war. Whichever was winning, he'd fight on. :D

Ironghost

Jul 6 2006

LADD wrotes "I remember that reenactment column, Ray. Wasn't there a little boy sleeping with a Confederate flag involved". How sweet......except for the Laudamum part.....maybe they'd drugged him to shut him up.... The last site I visited here in GA. with a reenactment showed a little girl in antebellum drag...hoop skirt and pantellettes aiming a "winchester". What ever happened to the may pole....and skip to my loo.....

ATLExile

Jul 7 2006

I've honestly never understood the fascination with Civil War reenactments. For that matter, I've never understood the romanticism of the Civil War and all of its appurtenances.

Jeff Lucas

Jul 7 2006

Agreed. I certainly think it's fascinating (and educational) history, and the whole thing was so, so sad. But there is nothing romantic about it. And the romantic revisionism is the worst–the folks who try to say it wasn't about slavery.

DonnaLadd

Jul 7 2006

You know, I have a hunch that if people walked into that South Carolina legislative session and said it wasn't about slavery, they would have laughed and laughed. I can't believe anybody still believes that crap. Cheers, TH

Tom Head

Jul 7 2006

ejeff "the romanticism of the Civil War" you just said it...."Romanticism". It is always the looking back through a filtered lens that hangs us. That's Romanticism.....

ATLExile

Jul 7 2006

Or, Tom, reads the Mississippi Articles of Secession. Nope, nothing to do with secession. Again, I find the whole thing very sad, and for all Americans. But we gain character from such times, or can if we don't try to turn them into something that they weren't.

DonnaLadd

Jul 7 2006

Actually, what I'm waiting for is the film on what would have happened had Booth missed Lincoln. No one cares about that, for some reason.

Ironghost

Jul 7 2006

Actually Tom, my take has always been slavery was a major cause but the only cause. The population shifts was more major than slavery. revisionism at work? No. The North was more populated and the numbers were growing more and more in the North's favor. That meant the South was finding itself consistently outvoted on major issues. Slavery was the major one. Right behind it was tarriffs and taxes. The North was already voting in Congress tarriffs and taxes that affected only the South. A dirt poor farmer in Arkansas didn't necessarily care about slaves as he'd never own them but that plow or ax suddently doubling in price DID affect him. The North also wanted a more centralized government and the South did not. Result is because of population shifts, this war was probably coming or secession was in some form or another at some point. The South was looking at economic ruin, through abolishment of slavery and after that tariffs (or has anyone forgotten Calhouns threat to secede over tarriffs?). The South wasn't going to sit back and let the North dictate to it how it should handle slavery or other issues.

Kingfish

Jul 7 2006

Lawd, I HOPE TO GOD I can see this movie! I had been asking myself what may have happened if the South had won the war, and to be able to see it on screen in an incredible thing. I wouldn't be surprised if a busload of Tougaloo College students showed up tomorrow. We love that kind of stuff. ;-)

LatashaWillis

Jul 9 2006

Please come, LW. You can be my protection. Make sure you sit next to me. I got a feeling this is going to remind me of some portions of Blazing Saddle. Comedy is my favorite type of movie. Since the movie was done by Brits I expect it to be funny and not very hurtful or offensive. Since this is the summer, we aren't likely to see many Tougaloo students.

Ray Carter

Jul 10 2006

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. What a film. Were you there, Ray? I didn't see you.

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2006

Y'know, I remember going to the Sambo's that was in Meridian during my childhood. Did they have a Sambo's here?

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2006

Well, well, well. WHOA! That was a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD movie. Ray, I don't know if you were there or not since I don't remember what you look like. Boy, I wish there was some sort of open discussion afterwards. Talking to Donna was okay and all, but you know... :-)

LatashaWillis

Jul 10 2006

Donna, I don't think there was a Sambo's here. I'll have to ask my mom. Anyway, I think I would be afraid to walk through that big toothy grin.

LatashaWillis

Jul 10 2006

I've heard about CSA & wanted to see the movie. Sadly, I had to work tonight. FWIW, there's only one Sambo's remaining in the US, and it's in Santa Barbara, California.

Ex

Jul 10 2006

Yes, I was there. I sat behind who I believe was Adam and a pretty lady. I started to speak to Adam but passed in order to not blow my anonymity. There were nice white people on both sides of me. I saw Todd as I walked in and purchased a ticket. I was the guy wearing the safara hat. The attendance and atmosphere were great. I saw lots of nice people. The movie wasn't hurful or painful at all. Likewise, I didn't see or feel any tension, animosity, or shame or guilt. The movie was done tastefully, respectfully, and apparently honestly (from a historical perspective). The tone of the movie was similar to portions of blazing saddles in that it dealt with racial images and tensions but not in crude or blatantly inhumane terms. Some would argue it glossed over the truth of how it would have actually been, but I wouldn't at this point. I believe this is a good movie for all to see. Even children could have watched this movie without suffering any lasting harm. I don't know the answer, but I wonder if this movie would cause the average person to re-think the issue of race and make any changes concerning it. I do believe it could have that effect on the people who came to the movie, but I don't know that we were an average audience. I loved "Do the Right Thing" (although Spike didn't do it in the movie) and Jungle Fever (although Samuel Jackson stole the show) because of the blatant and crude way Spike dealt with race. Despite all the tension generated by Spike's in-your-face style it made me think deeply about race and how to appropriately deal with it. Those movies also enlightened me about how we and others view one another. I wouldn't let little children see either of those movies though. The movie was also funny but not too funny. Kind of like my joke at the end of my July 6, 2:06 post.

Ray Carter

Jul 11 2006

Well, you know you can still go to that mammy greasy spoon down south of Natchez, L.W. And I agree: I wish we had planned a discussion for afterward. Maybe we can screen this again with a discussion afterward. I'll look into that. I agree with you, Ray. It was done masterfully, and I thought, over all, the crowd wasn't too uncomfortable -- and it was very diverse. I thought some of the older folks in the crowd, black and white, might have been the most uncomfortable, but that likely was because they lived through things that the younger folks haven't, or their parents and grandparents did. And there were certainly raw moments in the film. Something I couldn't help but think about is how far comedy has come when it comes to race. I remember well a time when issues were simply too raw to be funny about, when simply an image could offend, even if that image was done to communicate a higher truth. But evidence is everywhere that we are moving to a new place where a film like this, Stiggers' column, a film like "Barber Shop," Dave Chapelle, Chris Rock, and on, and on, and help take us all to a new level of understanding by allowing us to laugh together without worrying as much about being offended, as long as meanspiritedness or bigotry isn't underlying the humor -- and smart folks know that when they see it. I really see this in our younger generations today. Certainly, last night, I thought the folks who laughed the loudest were in their 20s. But I also bet every single one of them -- not to mention us older folk -- learned something new. I certainly did. A successful evening all around. Cheers to Crossroads. And that pretty lady was Adam's wife. ;-)

DonnaLadd

Jul 11 2006

Ex, what was Sam Bowers' connection to Sambo's here? Did he own the franchise or something?

DonnaLadd

Jul 11 2006

Donna-- I don't know about the restaurant franchise. I do know that Sam Bowers owned Sambo's Amusement Company in Laurel.

Ex

Jul 11 2006

I may be confused. What does that mean? Pinball machines? (I love pinball.)

DonnaLadd

Jul 11 2006

Yep, pinball machines and also white supremacy. Two miles from our church in Laurel, at the southernmost end of 4th Avenue, stood the Sambo Amusement Company, a dilapidated wood-frame building that housed a pinball machine business. There was no business sign on the building or sidewalk. The main door, a windowless slab of corrugated iron, admitted no browsers or curiosity seekers, and all the windows of the building visible from the street were boarded up. You were told to state your business from the outside. The eighteen-foot-high fences surrounding the building were reinforced at the top with a thick wrapping of concertina wire, as though anyone in his right mind would steal into the compound unannounced. Inside the fence a pack of underfed hound dogs scratched around the bare ground and roamed in and out of the pickups abandoned in various stages of decomposition. The Sambo Amusement Company also served as the headquarters of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi. The above paragraph is from the first edition of The Last Days by Charles Marsh, pages 35-36.

Ex

Jul 11 2006

Gag me with a white supremacist.

DonnaLadd

Jul 11 2006

I can't believe I finished that paragraph without making any comments about Pinball Wizards...

Ex

Jul 11 2006

Hardy, har, har. Snicker. Giggle.

DonnaLadd

Jul 11 2006