Review of C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2005) by Eric Y — 06 Mar 2006

[color=black]I haven't posted in a while because, well, I haven't seen or done anything. But that all changed last night when I finally got out to the art house to see CSA: Confederate States of America.[/color].

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[color=#000000]This little movie has bounced around for almost two years, looking for a way to get into the theaters and the public debate without seeming racist. I don't know why anyone would think it was racist, though. It is, instead, one of the greatest political satires I have seen since ... I'm gonna have to say Gulliver's Travels.[/color].

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[color=#000000]The conceit of CSA is that a hundred and forty years ago, the South won the civil war. Now, in present day, a British docuentary airs on local TV outlining the history of the Confederacy from the capture of Abraham Lincoln fleeing D.C. in blackface to the adoption of slavery by the northern states, cooperation with Hitler (and a plea that he enslave Jews rather than eliminate them), and putting down 60s unrest (including a close call with abolitionism and women's suffrage).[/color].

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[color=#000000]There's a whole lot of bigotry in CSA including a commercial for a medical program to treat slaves for people who "just didn't have the grades" for med school. Still blacks probably won't see much difference between the satire and actual white America today.[/color].

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[color=#000000]But CSA isn't a movie about race. It's not a movie about equality. It's a movie about America and the achiles heal of Americanism. And that's its genius. [/color].

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[color=#000000]Because we refuse to give up slavery, the world isolates the US. Nations refuse to trade with us and our military might is the only thing that keeps us on the world stage. In the words of one character, "The world was always meant for [Americans], we just ain't claimed it all yet."[/color].

[color=#000000]And are we much different. How far will we go for an idea? How many foreigners will we kill just because we don't want to feel bad about ourselves. Slave-holding is a metaphor for all that the US does to make itself feel powerful - from refusing to learn foreign languages to killing Moslems because we momentarily felt weak on one day in September. How out of touch will we allow ourselves to get?[/color].

[color=#000000]Find CSA. Watch it. Laugh at the funny parts. And worry about whether being proud to be an American is the same as being proud of what Americans do.[/color].