Movies from an Independent Confederacy

I would imagine the CSA's film industry would resemble Mexico's. It is certainly there but it is also certainly overshadowed by the "big boys" such as the US, France and GB. Very few people outside the CSA itself would watch their films regularly .
 
While I do doubt they would have a substantial movie industry its not like southerns were a bunch of inbred stereotypes. That is a pretty ignorant assumption.

Im not saying southerners would. Im saying that their government would be so underdeveloped that wouldnt ne able to invent it or understand it.

Case in point is Nazi Germany. Germany was known for being on of the most advanced nations in the world. But having a Nazi government in power, science and progress suffered and went backwards for them.

I wouldnt be surprised if the CSA adopted some pseudo race science as an official stance.

I apologize if I sounded lile I was saying all southerners are stupid. I meant to say how backwards the CSA would be.
 
Im not saying southerners would. Im saying that their government would be so underdeveloped that wouldnt ne able to invent it or understand it.

Case in point is Nazi Germany. Germany was known for being on of the most advanced nations in the world. But having a Nazi government in power, science and progress suffered and went backwards for them.

I wouldnt be surprised if the CSA adopted some pseudo race science as an official stance.

I apologize if I sounded lile I was saying all southerners are stupid. I meant to say how backwards the CSA would be.

They won't come up with many, if any, innovations but they would be more than advanced enough to buy a camera and mike from abroad , point it at people and start shooting.
 
Im not saying southerners would. Im saying that their government would be so underdeveloped that wouldnt ne able to invent it or understand it.

Case in point is Nazi Germany. Germany was known for being on of the most advanced nations in the world. But having a Nazi government in power, science and progress suffered and went backwards for them.

I wouldnt be surprised if the CSA adopted some pseudo race science as an official stance.

I apologize if I sounded lile I was saying all southerners are stupid. I meant to say how backwards the CSA would be.

And science and progress went forwards in many other fields in Germany from 1933-1945, oftentimes in spite of the Nazis. But that's not comparable or relevent for this.

The CSA does not need to invent anything, they can import it from another country. And you still say "understand it". Is it really that hard to understand how a camera works and how to produce a movie? Especially when right to the north is the United States no doubt producing tons of movies as in OTL to serve as inspiration.

And as I said earlier, look at Latin America, in which every country produced some films in the early 20th century. Even places like Bolivia, which was no doubt far, far more backwards than the CSA could ever hope to be, even a CSA without the Upper South. With its population, some level of economic development, and potential, I'd put the CSA somewhere on the level of Chile, although below Argentina and Brazil, if we're comparing it to Latin America.

Pseudo-race science was a leading ideology from the 19th to the 20th century. Non-white races as inferior was a widely accepted view by whites at every level of society.
 
Confederate censorship bureaus would consider Song of the South to be dangerously subversive.

Yeah. Song of the South, despite its modern reputation, was for the time relatively pro=black, as it was supposed to be aimed toward preserving cultural stories developed during slavery and passed down orally before they were lost. The framing device is cringe-worthy when viewed today of course, but not at the time.

IMO if SotS (or rather an equivalent) was made in the ATL it would probably be a product of the American film studios, likely with significant anti-slavery undertones throughout. Let's say for instance that rather than telling the stories from his log cabin during reconstruction Remus is telling the stories to his children while they attempt to cross the border into Kentucky, i.e. the US border, and thus to freedom.
 
Prohibition - would it occur in a CSA? There's a sub-genre of southern set bootlegging films/TV series IOTL, based on dry counties - you could have dry states in a CSA.

Lots of stuff like Dukes of Hazzard and Smoky & the Bandit, maybe.

To a certain extent Prohibition started in the Confederacy. Every one of the states that formed the Confederacy, except for Louisiana, became a Dry State. Combine that with the people of the Appalachians being prone to Unionism during the Civil War and I'd expect hillbillies to be common villains in Confederate movies and TV; portrayed as vicious, alcoholic, inbred, untrustworthy, and possible traitors.
 
Yeah. Song of the South, despite its modern reputation, was for the time relatively pro=black, as it was supposed to be aimed toward preserving cultural stories developed during slavery and passed down orally before they were lost. The framing device is cringe-worthy when viewed today of course, but not at the time.

Not only that, but Brer Rabbit was everything the Confederates would not want black people to be - clever, resourceful, and always pulling things over on his oppressors.
 
A slasher film called JOHN BROWN

The ghost of the infamous abolitionist psychopath haunts the suburbs of Northern Virginia, hacking to death white girls who the curse upon themselves by thinking lustfully about black men.

The opening credits, as per Carpetner's Halloween, feature children's voices singing John Brown's Body Lies A-Moldin' In The Grave.

Any film that portrayed white girls thinking lustfully about black men would probably be banned in the Confederacy and the director, screenwriter, producer and actors all blacklisted.
 

aspie3000

Banned
A type of western genre which takes place in the lawless Appalachian mountains with family blood feuds and such. I could see the Appalachian people and culture being the Souths "wild west."
 
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I was thinking more like the Soviet Union?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_the_Soviet_Union
Which despite the politics has produced some genuine classic!
Politicization of the Soviet Union is greatly exaggerated ... It was more in different ways. For example, for the films of the 1970s, full apolitical character is characteristic. As for the Confederate films, this is also true, as for modern American cinema. The only difference between North and South is that the North is industrial, and the South is agrarian. Think about what films the farmers will love.
 
Are they popular enough to create a rival to Hollywood, perhaps create a niche like Bollywood, or fail spectacularly altogether?
I don't see a surviving CSA being a cultural exporter*, at least as long as slavery persists. However, should slavery end in manner that's even half-way amicable** I think Afro-American cultural production (southern blacks invented both Jazz and Blues music) could certainly take off and allow a sort of afro-american equivalent to Bollywood to develop in New Orleans. After that the CSA as a whole might start to export more media, but I think it will be a more skewed output that leaves the uninformed consumer thinking that the CSA is 60% black, 20% Cajun, and 20% Texan.

*perhaps some war movies could get international acclaim. I don't see a film about the Alamo stirring up much controversy, same goes for any civil war flick that focuses on the personal experiences of soldiers (rather than "REEEEEEEEE YANKEES").

**Yes yes I know its unlikely but let's humour the notion for a moment.
 
Any film that portrayed white girls thinking lustfully about black men would probably be banned in the Confederacy and the director, screenwriter, producer and actors all blacklisted.

Agreed, it would more likely be about a psycho who killed White Girls who spurned the advances of "Black Animals" as John Brown would be portrayed as a "Black Republican" who wanted the mixing of races.
 
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Politicization of the Soviet Union is greatly exaggerated ... It was more in different ways. For example, for the films of the 1970s, full apolitical character is characteristic. As for the Confederate films, this is also true, as for modern American cinema. The only difference between North and South is that the North is industrial, and the South is agrarian. Think about what films the farmers will love.

Farmers tend to like well made films as much as people from the city. The CSA will have problems with that. They will have films but well made films would be fairly rare. They wouldn't have the educational system, the writers or the actors as anyone with real talent would move north and make easily 5X as much money.
 
I don't see a surviving CSA being a cultural exporter*, at least as long as slavery persists. However, should slavery end in manner that's even half-way amicable** I think Afro-American cultural production (southern blacks invented both Jazz and Blues music) could certainly take off and allow a sort of afro-american equivalent to Bollywood to develop in New Orleans. After that the CSA as a whole might start to export more media, but I think it will be a more skewed output that leaves the uninformed consumer thinking that the CSA is 60% black, 20% Cajun, and 20% Texan.

*perhaps some war movies could get international acclaim. I don't see a film about the Alamo stirring up much controversy, same goes for any civil war flick that focuses on the personal experiences of soldiers (rather than "REEEEEEEEE YANKEES").

**Yes yes I know its unlikely but let's humour the notion for a moment.

Would it? Southern Blacks had access to US music halls, record companies and radio stations OTL all of which will be much more difficult since the CSA is foreign . It is going to be difficult for foreign music to crack the US market.
 
Would it? Southern Blacks had access to US music halls, record companies and radio stations OTL all of which will be much more difficult since the CSA is foreign . It is going to be difficult for foreign music to crack the US market.
I don't think I ever implied that CSA cultural exports would significantly penetrate the US markets. I compared it to Bollywood, which also hasn't significantly penetrated the US markets, instead becoming more of a niche/novelty.
 
I don't think I ever implied that CSA cultural exports would significantly penetrate the US markets. I compared it to Bollywood, which also hasn't significantly penetrated the US markets, instead becoming more of a niche/novelty.

The North always did have a taste for Southern culture, even in the antebellum period, so I could see a well-made movie or two managing to succeed up North.
 
The North always did have a taste for Southern culture, even in the antebellum period, so I could see a well-made movie or two managing to succeed up North.
Yeah on that note the British Film industry may be a better comparison in terms of its ability to penetrate US markets (especially as unlike Bollywood, the national cinema of a CSA would also be english language), a few hits here and there but certainly nothing to threaten Hollywood's hegemony.
 
The North always did have a taste for Southern culture, even in the antebellum period, so I could see a well-made movie or two managing to succeed up North.

When it was a part of the US, a successful revolt changes that. At the very least it will be considered "foreign" and at least during the silent era probably treacherous as well.
 
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