On Saturday evening historian Michael Birdwell of Tennessee Tech discussed the history of Civil War films. Michael was kind enough to put together a filmography of roughly 1,300 Civil War related titles. In addition to his analysis we watched a few clips from a selection of films which served to inform the discussion. The final clip was a light-hearted and classic Bugs Bunny episode which I am sure many of you are familiar with. The cartoon is a window into our biases about the South, slavery, and the Civil War. At one point Bugs refers to the war as the War Between the States. Notice when Yosemite Sam, who plays a Confederate officer, confronts a black-faced and banjo playing Bugs Bunny with the words: "It’s one of our boys…Hey there boy…." When the slave plays Yankee Doodle and is threatened by Yosemite Sam Bugs pleads: "Don’t beat me massa."
Enjoy.
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Chattanoogie!?