Review of C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2005) by Emerson B — 21 Aug 2013

You really have to enjoy history to get anything out of this film. Being in the camp of a history buff I found the ideas to be more interesting than the movie itself (Not to say that it was a terrible movie). CSA is a alternative history mockumentary chronicling the Confederates victory during the War of Northern Aggression and the subsequent history that followed. Almost everything in the film is a parody of real historical events including a Cotton Curtain between the pro-slavery Confederacy and the abolitionist Canada and a 1990s sex scandal with the a high ranking politician.

The film interestingly and somewhat distastefully looks at Confederate culture through various commercial interludes of bizarre white supremacist themed advertisements. I felt like the director was snickering all the way knowing he could get away with the most outrageous things under these circumstances. I felt that filmmakers overemphasized the "we have slaves in 20th century America" and completely nixed what could've been a fascinating interpretation of geopolitical world dominated by an America with a different agenda. The film explored this a little however most things stayed the same; the Nazis were defeated in WWII and Kennedy was still assassinated. I felt this film is a missed opportunity but nevertheless pulled off a few neat tricks.