Customer Reviews

CSA: The Confederate States of America

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

Folks here trying to point out inaccuracies in the alternate history that unfolds when the CSA wins the Civil War are missing the point. Any chaos theoretician will tell you that a slight change to a system will result in massive change years later--in the "real" CSA there would probably never be a war with Japan, or the Nixon/Kennedy debate, etc. So what! A true examination of alternate history this is not, but I'm a hard-core history buff, and I was extremely entertained by this piece. It's a hoot to see footage of the Berlin Wall going up, used to illustrate the "Cotton Wall" between the US and Canada!

This was meant as a very biting satire of American culture, race, and slavery. It succeeds on that level. The only, and minor, complaint I have is that the low budget of this highly ambitious production occasionally spoils its "reality."

Also, some folks here presume this is some sort of Spike Lee production, which is not the case. Lee was asked to put his name on it as a "presented by" for marketing purposes, a seal of approval thing, much like Tarentino has his name on some Chinese action films. This piece is entirely Kevin Willmott's baby, he's a professor in the Film Studies Department of Kansas University.

"CSA" takes the format of the broadcast of a faux British documentary about the history of slavery in the CS after the War of Northern Aggression. It's punctuated with commercials that suggest what life would be like in a society that has thoroughly integrated slavery into its basic structure.

Contrary to what some reviewers claim, the documentary is a coherent, well-worked-out speculative history of what might have happened if the South had won. Some of it is based on what the South did, or wanted to do (the invasion and subjugation of South America, for example); most of the rest seems plausible, if only in terms of "human nature".

Several reviewers correctly pointed out that all the South wanted was the right to continue to spread slavery to states entering the Union, and that it had no /intention/ of conquering the North. This overlooks the fact that the only way it could have had what it wanted was by overthrowing the US government and seizing power. The South /did/ invade the North, and had it seized Washington, it's unlikely it would have simply walked away from the opportunity to take control. Would you?

If you're expecting an SNL or MAD TV sketch, you'll be disappointed. Though there are slap-your-knee/laugh-out-loud moments, the subject matter and its basically serious presentation prevent most of it from being amusing.

Highly recommended, if you have the stomach for this sort of thing.

i won't claim to know enough about american history to question the alternative history presented here. from what i do know though its accurate enough to turn the current history on its head. indeed, just before the end of the film credits inform us just how close perhaps we came to the horror described in this film actually being reality.
at times hysterically and painfully funny, bitingly scathing of the csa while at the same time showing that (sadly), as some people have already pointed current us attitudes aren't that different, even behind a facade of political correctness. this film pulls no punches throughout
using real footage this is essentially a faux english documentary narrated by a ray stubbs soundalike, shown on csa tv interspersed with ads that straddle the border between truly offensive and truly funny (think south park/ borat) ads. it starts off with the south winning the war of independence with the history commented on by two talking heads, a black history professor from montreal and a csa-based white author - both, natch, on different sides. we also get to see the brilliantly odious (little lord - sorry, couldn't resist) white bread presidential candidate fauntroy v. we also see the troubles that this increasingly isolated country suffers from and due to its attitude to slavery. te former includes some of the 'problems' with slaves mentioned below - in fact considering that phrenology was once accepted as good science the acceptance of the concept of freedom diseases like 'drapetomania', which causes slaves to run away should surprise no-one. the csa becomes more and more isolated as other countries recoil from its policy (though hands up europe has more of its share of blood on its hands due to colonialism. sadly too black african leaders don't come out of this too well either.) one of the more shocking revelations is the support the csa lends to hitler and his 'biologically correct' policies - indeed the then president suggests to him why exterminate jews when you can instead 'put them to work' since extermination is a "waste of livestock". maybe not so surprisingly is the fact that the csa fosters a right-wing christian fundamentalist mentality (with the catholic church accepted to be, after much debate, christian). hmmm, where's that mirror???
as pointed out some of the products show in these ads used to exist in the 'real' us. take the slave shopping network or control aid contrari - showing how blacks and mixed race are shown as truly sub-human in this 'brave new world' - with side effects which are not recommended by vets (VETS!!) on servants who are about to 'drop a litter'. to show how well these ads mirror the america of the past, look at the pisstake of 'cops' called 'runaway'. devoted to the capture of runaway slaves (quite the problem apparently), it has a laugh-out-loud theme tune; think the cops tune performed by a bunch of drunken hicks and you're there.
one final thought though - look at this ad and see how close it is to the parallel universe 'cops' show, look again at the faces of the runaways/ criminals and those of the cops. notice anything? just in case you missed it, how close is the 'fantasy' of teh csa to the reality of modern day america? the more things chance...

basically a ton of assumptions made without even a historical basis. the jokes were weak at best. what a load of crap. just plain stupid.

I cannot believe I've never heard of this film before! Watched with my friends, and we couldn't stop laughing. The commentary on racism in America, the Civil War, advertising, and other topics is nothing short of brilliant. Telling the story in the manner of a Ken Burns documentary (the director says he was influenced by Burns' series on the Civil War) allows constant novelty and interest with very little budget, and the nonstop hilarity gives the message that drop of sugar that helps the medicine go down, even for white Americans who tend to shy away from such a pointed reminder of the terrible crimes of our immediate ancestors.

This film was produced by Spike Lee, who handled similar material a few years earlier in Bamboozled. Lee makes it sound like that film tanked because audiences can't deal with the reality of racism, and there's certainly some truth to that, but at less than 1/40th the budget, CSA deals with roughly the same material and succeeds in all the same places Bamboozled fails.

CSA was written & directed by Kevin Willmott, a professor of film at the University of Kansas.

Very good movie. Controversial for most people im sure. It describes how the history would have changed if the South would have won but this only one groups perception. Many predictions sound accurate. But there are a good amount of predictions i would have of debated with the makers of this movie. They have these fake commercials for modern day confederate states that are pretty racist, but funny if you don't get offended easily. But keep in mind this was made not to piss off people but to show how America is still like the south in someways.

Yo Bubba, it's a COMEDY! Not a spewing Bud Light through your nose at Larry the Cable Guy kind of comedy, but a sub-genre of traditional comedy and satire called... you're really gonna love this... BLACK COMEDY. Feel free to ditch Junior's broken down Trans Am in the cable company's parking lot if they broadcast this movie on your local History Channel.

From Wikipedia: "The purpose of black comedy is to make light of serious and often taboo subject matter, and some comedians use it as a tool for exploring important issues, thus provoking discomfort and serious thought, as well as amusement, in their audience."

C.S.A. does explore some important issues, such as revisionist history. This topic appears important to several other "reviewers." In the Post-Reconstruction era, from 1877 until Brown v. Board of Education, white supremacists, like Woodrow Wilson, were able to revise the Civil War story, making property-owning Christian Southerners victims of a "War of Northern Aggression."

This revised story claims Southerners had no desire to expand slavery, and that the biblical "Curse of Ham" would have likely gone out of fashion... like leisure suits. This delusion remains today, despite the record of pre-Civil War violence in Kansas and Missouri, the passage of The Fugitive Slave Act, and the Dred Scott court decision. This delusion allows John Brown to be rejected by the National Statuary Hall while Brown's captor, Massa Robert E. Lee, is venerated as a freedom loving patriot.

While the actual "Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union" does NOT contain any reference to unfair taxes or tariffs, the deluded continue to pontificate otherwise. It does list failure to uphold the "rights of property" of slave holders, denouncing "as sinful the institution of slavery" and "the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery" as justification for secession.

C.S.A.'s lampooning of D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" featuring a runaway blackfaced Abraham Lincoln may provoke discomfort in some viewers. Both defenders and detractors of Lincoln are told that it wasn't about slavery, but he rejected the Crittendon Compromise of 1860... as in "bring it on." The original 1915 silent film was based on "The Clansman," a play by Thomas Dixon, son of a Confederate Army colonel and classmate of Woodrow Wilson. Wilson, the first post-Civil War Southern President, is quoted in support of the KKK in Griffith's blockbuster. Wilson, when not endorsing picture shows, found time to bring the Jim Crow laws of the south to the federal government...that's called "Git'R'Done."

C.S.A. is not for everybody. Racists, whether they fly the flag in public or only in their hearts, will be offended... as the rest of us are by them, and their abhorrent ideology.

This mockumentary is worth the watch. As alternate history is has the value of being consistent. In all fairness, I must admit I was born in occupied Georgia, lo those many years ago, and was delighted to hear the war called the name I always give it, "The War of Northern Aggression". (Tho I suspect I interject a bit more sardonic humor into the name.)

The thesis is certainly realistic. Any student of "The War of Northern Aggression" understands that foreign intervention on the side of the CSA could have changed the course of the war. Sadly enough, too much of what is presented is consistent with human nature. Ironically enough, too much of what is presented is consistent with the USA today if you just switch a few nouns around. The only historical inconsistency I found was the idea that anyone could dispute or ridicule R. E. Lee. In defeat he was a saint that no one spoke against... in victory, he would have been a god. (But, what the hell.. it's their story.)

The damn thing is scary. Growing up in Macon, Georgia in the 60's, I soaked up racism with Momma's milk. I outgrew it and it's disturbing to watch how prettily and logically hate can be packaged. It's difficult to imagine much financial motive to this. Perhaps it's just a reductio ad absurdum commentary on our times.

Given the alternate history shown through this mockumentary of America's history if the Northern States not only lost the war but became part of the Confederate States, with the mindset of slavery and mistreatment of women and other minorities being a God-given right to the Caucasian Americans living in that country, it makes me wonder where it will stand in this present day, dealing with the current world situations. This definitely deserves an update to see what has happened in that America over the past decade.

Well done by Spike Lee. The uninitiated will believe that it is racist, and if so then they miss the point. Put your feelings and prejudices aside and enjoy the humor. An interesting perspective. Too bad that we will not see this on mainstream TV because it violates the PC code.