The parody-movie genre is like comedy-genres' slightly smarter twin brother - the humor often goes above people's heads. And I REALLY love a good parody movie, especially when it is as well executed as "C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America"! Before I saw this movie I had read that the film offended some folks, but after watching "C.S.A.", I can't for the life of me understand why. Haven't rednecks been saying for decades: "if only the South had won the Civil War"? Well, by golly, now they have it on the silver screen! This isn't the first Ken Burns-parody I've seen. The short film, "The Old Negro Space Program" also uses this form - but "C.S.A." shows that it can be effective in a full-length movie format! Using the Ken Burns-style of documentary as a guide, "C.S.A." portrays an alternate history in which the Confederacy wins the Civil War (or the "War of Northern Aggression" as they like to say in the South) and the ramifications of this victory up until the modern times. Shown like a TV documentary with hilarious commercials and newsbreaks, the parody is complete! Also, there are well-known historical images used, but with slight changes - such as a Confederate battle flag on the Iwo Jima and moon landing photos. With the help of European allies, the C.S.A. turns the tide of the war and invades Washington, D.C. to victory. Abraham Lincoln is captured and tried for war crimes - pardoned and exiled to Canada. "Dixie" replaces the national anthem. New York, instead of Atlanta, is burned and pillaged by Southern troops. The "Davis Plan" brings slavery to the North by adding a tax that you can avoid IF you own slaves. "Reconstruction" applies to the North and the alternate history continues through the Plains Indian Wars, the introduction of West Coast slavery, the Spanish American War, a World War I in which is fought in the Americas (as the C.S.A. tries to apply "manifest destiny"), the Wall Street crash, Hitler visiting the U.S., World War II with Japan, a parody of the "Red Scare" of the '50s in which the enemy is the JBU-The John Brown Underground (which conducts bombings like the IRA), "The Cotton Curtain" wall constructed between the C.S.A. and Canada, the Kennedy assassination of the '60s resulting in slave rebellions in Watts. You get the idea! Not all of the ideas in the movie are fabrication, such as the mention of "Drapetomania" - a real "slavery disease" that ignorant doctors of the 19th century actually espoused! The commercials give great comic release to the sometimes serious tone of the movie, with such variations as: a '50s educational film on "cotton being king", "Leave it to Beulah", "Runaway" (a "COPS" parody showing runaway slaves), "The Shackle" (a slavery monitoring device), "Better Homes and Plantations", and the "Slave Shopping Network" (parody of the Home Shopping Network). Also mentioned in this "alternate history" is rock and roll (you had to know that that was gonna be mentioned!). There is a ban on "race music" and Elvis becomes a star…in Canada! However, the filmmakers had a golden opportunity that they let slip through their fingers - when John Lennon was misquoted as saying, "The Beatles were bigger than Christ", and there was a multitude of Beatles bonfires in the south captured on newsreel footage. It would have been great to show these under the guise that The Beatles were "kicked out of the country for their views on racism and Christianity"! Overall, "C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America" is a smashing success in that it gives a subtle, intelligent slam to racism - as opposed to the sometimes bombastic approach of say, "Blazing Saddles". Tired of hearing, "The South will rise again"? Well now you can actually see it! This is easily one of the best-executed parody movies that has ever been made.
This is great! It gives you a real perspective on the whole punk / new wave scene in its infancy. The first episode is a roundtable discussion about what punk / new wave actually is and the roundtable is made up of Snyder, concert promoter Bill Graham, music critic Robert Hilburn, a teenage Joan Jett, Paul Weller of The Jam and Kim Fowley dressed like Bowie during his “Fame” era. It’s cool seeing how a very young Paul Weller holds his own with the veteran Graham and a somewhat mocking Snyder. Elvis Costello’s appearance in the next episode is fairly laid back and uneventful. Iggy Pop takes it to the next level with his intense demeanor. You keep expecting him to jump Snyder at any minute. The legendary Wendy O. is the guest on the last episode of disc one. When Wendy and the Plasmatics rip through “Head Banger” and “Master Plan” it makes you wonder what the hell the audience was thinking. I figure the first two rows were scared shitless at the site of Ritchie Stotts and when Wendy blew up the Chevy Nova I’d say they were halfway to the exits. Disc two packs a lethal punch as well with Patti Smith, Sex Pistol John Lydon or Rotten as most know him, The Jam and last but by no means least, the American punk godfathers themselves, The Ramones. They finish things with three future punk classics “We Want The Airwaves”, “I Wanna Be Sedated” and “The KKK Took My Baby Away”. This is a crash course in what the whole scene was about. You can see history in the making. Well, punk history anyway.
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"CSA: The Confederate States of America"
"The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder: Punk & New Wave"