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C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
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Year: |
2004
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Director: |
Kevin Willmott
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Stars: |
Rupert Pate, Evamarii Johnson, Charles Frank, Various
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Genre: |
Comedy, Science Fiction, Historical |
Rating: |
6 (from 1 vote) |
Review: |
You're watching Confederate Television and tonight, due to popular demand, they are showing a controversial documentary detailing the history of the Confederate States of America, from the Civil War through to the present day. Viewers are warned that this documentary's point of view is one of a foreign perspective and does not represent the opinions of the television station. The story begins with Abraham Lincoln's defeat due to the assistance of Britain and France against the North during the war, and the Confederate South's dominance of the country from that time on. Using archive footage, the film maps out what the foreigners object to about this country.
Now, obviously Abraham Lincoln was not defeated, and the North won the Civil War, but as in much innovative science fiction, writer and director Kevin Willmott's C.S.A. exists in a parallel world. Parallel worlds are also useful, if underused, tools in satirical comedy, as you can point out the flaws and serious issues with the real world by illustrating how they could be worse or better in another version of events, and here things are definitely worse. But instead of making us feel more comfortable about the society we live in, C.S.A. forces us to pause and think of the similarities.
Not simply a comedy, then, but a think piece as well, considering the low budget Willmott's film is convincing in its bland but actually accusatory tone, with archive footage deftly intercut with new scenes posing as archive. Not all of it comes off, but he has done his homework with a large proportion of the fiction based on fact, with foreign intervention on the South's side apparently a very real possibility that could have altered the course of the war. After this "Abolitionist" is a dirty word, on a par with "Communist", with slaves and left wingers alike fleeing the Confederacy, including Lincoln. Alas, he is caught, but not executed so as not to create a martyr, and dies years later in relative obscurity.
This revised history sees, well, history being revised by the Government, with slavery being quietly suppressed as the reason the Civil War was fought, all for the sake of peace between North and South. Yet slavery is very much at the heart of the film's concerns, as we move forward and the C.S. authorities fighting and winning a conflict in South and Central America to control its assets (a plan that was seriously considered had the Confederates won), turning isolationist during the Depression, and backing Nazi Germany, only suggesting that they enslave the Jews instead of executing them. Not only that, but instead of the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor, the Americans strike first, winning the war against them with the atomic bomb.
All the way through this are advertisments, previews and a news bulletin interrupting the documentary to give us an idea what this country is like now. The ads, we learn at the end, depict real products that were quietly phased out when the civil rights movements succeeded in the sixties, and even then - Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima haven't felt the need to change their packaging. The film's strength is in its intelligence, OK, say that actor doesn't look much like Hitler, and those movie clips don't look authentic, but the idea is strong, with Canada as the Red Menace instead of the Soviet Union, and African leaders backing slavery as long as members of the ruling tribes aren't subjugated. It's a one joke movie, the humour is far too grim to be really laugh out loud funny, and it does imply a fascistic America would win all its wars, but it's cleverly assembled and deals with a subject many are unwilling to discuss. Music by Erich L. Timkar.
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Reviewer: |
Graeme Clark
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