As part of a Civil War centennial celebration, the Confederate flag was raised over South Carolina's capitol building dome in 1962, and although it was scheduled to come down a year later, somehow it just never did. Flash forward to the emotionally-charged, politically correct atmosphere of 2000: as the NAACP stages a march insisting that the flag be removed, Southern apologists thump the podium over states' rights and rail against more Northern interference with the South's "way of life." The Civil War, Part Deux? While it would be simple (especially for a "northerner" like myself--although I don't think in those terms, whereas the appellation "southerner" is worn with pride) to dismiss this squabble as silliness from crotchety geriatrics who spent too much time during their formative years listening to grandpappy rail on about "the cause," filmmaker Ryan Deussing's thought-provoking Confederacy Theory (an ALA-VRT Notable Video for Adults) suggests that the issues run much deeper. We hear blacks and younger whites denouncing the flag ("when I see a Confederate flag, I think racist"), Southern enthusiasts who argue that "the South was right" (on their version of the real bone of contention during the Civil War--states rights), members of the Council of Conservative Citizens ("if being pro-white is racist, then I guess I'm a racist" says one woman; think: the KKK in suits and dresses, who all clap heartily after an illiterate member rants about "the HIVs" [sic] among Africans, who he refers to in "pro-white" terms as a "bunch of monkeys"), and the truest, sanest voice of reason, Alan Gurganus (author of Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All; in my opinion, one of the best novels of the '90s), who finds the whole mess rather embarrassing and depressing (the South "should learn from defeat, not turn it into a grudge"). Combining excellent archival footage, powerful interview clips (sometimes illuminating, sometimes chilling), and fine contemporary coverage, Confederacy Theory traces the history of the Confederate flag, examines its cultural importance in Southern society, and deftly explores the divisive questions at the heart of the flag's prominence in South Carolina and throughout the South (a smaller version of the Confederate flag, for instance, is part of the Mississippi state flag). Sure to spark discussion, this is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)
Confederacy Theory
(2001) 56 min. $275. UC Extension Media. PPR. Color cover. Volume 18, Issue 3
Confederacy Theory
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