Margaret Brown's compelling documentary on the Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, AL turns the spotlight on a troubling tradition that has remained in place since the festivities first took place in 1703: complete racial segregation. Despite the dramatic sociopolitical changes that tore down state-sanctioned segregation, the Mobile event still consists of two parallel happenings divided along color lines. Wisely, the film (shot in 2007) avoids a head-on confrontational assault, instead allowing the participants from both celebrations to tell their stories and share the details of mounting each Mardi Gras celebration. While the events may be separate, they are certainly not equal: the wealthier white Mardi Gras organizers receive recognition from Mobile's mayor while the black event is completely ignored by the City Hall elite (even more disturbing is an extended sequence in which the parties held for the white Mardi Gras king and queen only welcome African Americans as butlers and kitchen staff). For a celebration meant to embody joy and merriment, the Mobile Mardi Gras comes across as a sad and troubling reminder of deeply embedded historical racial issues, and the white Mardi Gras royalty's attitude that change is unnecessary only adds salt to the wound. [Note: this is also available w/PPR for $99 for public libraries and $395 for colleges and universities from The Cinema Guild, www.cinemaguild.com.] Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
The Order of Myths
(2008) 80 min. DVD: $29.95. New Yorker Video (avail. from most distributors). ISBN: 1-56730-492-3 (dvd). Volume 24, Issue 2
The Order of Myths
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