> A few thoughts on the movie “Gettysburg.” > All Newsletters > <https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/gyzaHGxyYEtxtzhLF1bEAA~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRoo0qVP0S-aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vbmV3c2xldHRlcnM_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MTI5JmVtYz1lZGl0X2pib18yMDI0MDgxNyZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMzE5NzEmbmw9amFtZWxsZS1ib3VpZSZyZWdpX2lkPTcyODI3MTYyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTc1NDA5JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1mMWZiMjg1ZDI5MmUxNGM0NDZlODU2OGU3NjA5YzBkNlcDbnl0Qgpmu5XFwGaIYFkXUhVkbW96YXJ0MTc1NkBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAM~> > Read > online > <https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/T4dJUZegC7ND5Y0mvZ4hbQ~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRoo0qVP4Q9AWh0dHBzOi8vbWVzc2FnaW5nLWN1c3RvbS1uZXdzbGV0dGVycy5ueXRpbWVzLmNvbS9keW5hbWljL3JlbmRlcj9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0xMjkmZW1jPWVkaXRfamJvXzIwMjQwODE3Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTEzMTk3MSZpc1ZpZXdJbkJyb3dzZXI9dHJ1ZSZubD1qYW1lbGxlLWJvdWllJnBhaWRfcmVnaT0xJnJlZ2lfaWQ9NzI4MjcxNjImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xNzU0MDkmdGU9MSZ1cmk9bnl0JTNBJTJGJTJGbmV3c2xldHRlciUyRjQ2NmMzZGNlLTViNmQtNTA1OS1iOGIzLTllMWE0NDBlYThkMSZ1c2VyX2lkPWYxZmIyODVkMjkyZTE0YzQ0NmU4NTY4ZTc2MDljMGQ2VwNueXRCCma7lcXAZohgWRdSFWRtb3phcnQxNzU2QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~> > [image: New York Times logo] > <https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/xgsAvINQF9ThkqMv5hMv8Q~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRoo0qVP0THaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vY29sdW1uL2phbWVsbGUtYm91aWU_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MTI5JmVtYz1lZGl0X2pib18yMDI0MDgxNyZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMzE5NzEmbmw9amFtZWxsZS1ib3VpZSZyZWdpX2lkPTcyODI3MTYyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTc1NDA5JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1mMWZiMjg1ZDI5MmUxNGM0NDZlODU2OGU3NjA5YzBkNlcDbnl0Qgpmu5XFwGaIYFkXUhVkbW96YXJ0MTc1NkBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAM~> > [image: Jamelle Bouie] > <https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/xgsAvINQF9ThkqMv5hMv8Q~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRoo0qVP0THaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vY29sdW1uL2phbWVsbGUtYm91aWU_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MTI5JmVtYz1lZGl0X2pib18yMDI0MDgxNyZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMzE5NzEmbmw9amFtZWxsZS1ib3VpZSZyZWdpX2lkPTcyODI3MTYyJnNlZ21lbnRfaWQ9MTc1NDA5JnRlPTEmdXNlcl9pZD1mMWZiMjg1ZDI5MmUxNGM0NDZlODU2OGU3NjA5YzBkNlcDbnl0Qgpmu5XFwGaIYFkXUhVkbW96YXJ0MTc1NkBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAM~> > For subscribers August 17, 2024 > > [image: Ad] > <https://nl.nytimes.com/f/a/K_H5OPj6KCOdh-xK-Xw-GA~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRoo0qVP0SpaHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlaW50ZW50Lm5ld3lvcmt0aW1lc2luZm8uY29tL2NsaWNrP3M9MTA4OTYwOSZsaT1KQk8mbT1mMWZiMjg1ZDI5MmUxNGM0NDZlODU2OGU3NjA5YzBkNiZwPUpCT18yMDI0MDgxNyZzdHBlPWRlZmF1bHQmdGU9MSZubD1qYW1lbGxlLWJvdWllJmVtYz1lZGl0X2pib18yMDI0MDgxN1cDbnl0Qgpmu5XFwGaIYFkXUhVkbW96YXJ0MTc1NkBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAM~> > [image: Author Headshot] > <https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/gYLgSrZgbpmV70z1f3vSnw~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRoo0qVP0TDaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vYnkvamFtZWxsZS1ib3VpZT9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0xMjkmZW1jPWVkaXRfamJvXzIwMjQwODE3Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTEzMTk3MSZubD1qYW1lbGxlLWJvdWllJnJlZ2lfaWQ9NzI4MjcxNjImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xNzU0MDkmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWYxZmIyODVkMjkyZTE0YzQ0NmU4NTY4ZTc2MDljMGQ2VwNueXRCCma7lcXAZohgWRdSFWRtb3phcnQxNzU2QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~> > > By Jamelle Bouie > <https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/gYLgSrZgbpmV70z1f3vSnw~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRoo0qVP0TDaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vYnkvamFtZWxsZS1ib3VpZT9jYW1wYWlnbl9pZD0xMjkmZW1jPWVkaXRfamJvXzIwMjQwODE3Jmluc3RhbmNlX2lkPTEzMTk3MSZubD1qYW1lbGxlLWJvdWllJnJlZ2lfaWQ9NzI4MjcxNjImc2VnbWVudF9pZD0xNzU0MDkmdGU9MSZ1c2VyX2lkPWYxZmIyODVkMjkyZTE0YzQ0NmU4NTY4ZTc2MDljMGQ2VwNueXRCCma7lcXAZohgWRdSFWRtb3phcnQxNzU2QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAAw~~> >
*https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/17/opinion/civil-war-film-gettysburg.html <https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/17/opinion/civil-war-film-gettysburg.html>* > This week, out of both boredom and my own impulse toward completionism — > I’m slowly making my way through the many Civil War movies that have come > out of Hollywood — I bought and began watching “Gettysburg,” the 1993 drama > directed by Ronald F. Maxwell and adapted from “The Killer Angels,” a > Pulitzer Prize-winning novel from 1974 by Michael Shaara. > > I have not yet finished the film — it’s four hours, and I’m about halfway > through — but I have a few thoughts nonetheless. The first is that, despite > its made-for-TV looks, “Gettysburg” is a real achievement of set design and > historical recreation. I am genuinely impressed by the level of detail seen > in the uniforms and encampments, and it adds a great deal that a good > portion of the film was actually shot at Gettysburg. Having been to the > battlefield a few times (and having logged many hours in “Sid Meier’s > Gettysburg!”), it is fun as a viewer to see battles being staged as they > would have been fought. > New Line Cinema/Getty Images > > My big problem so far — besides the so-so acting chops of most of the > players onscreen, Sam Elliott and Jeff Daniels notwithstanding — is that > the film is very clearly working from the notion that the Civil War was > first and foremost an unfortunate conflict among brothers. It’s not a Lost > Cause film, but it is Lost Cause-adjacent, in that it downplays the > importance of slavery to the war and the individual soldier’s understanding > of the war. If nothing else, it is striking to watch a film that is, in > part, about *Robert E. Lee’s generalship in Pennsylvania yet takes no > note of the fact that the Army of Northern Virginia took time, during its > march into free territory, to kidnap Black Americans and send them South > into bondage.* > > But “Gettysburg” isn’t unique here. One of the most striking facts about > our cinematic depictions of the Civil War is that, with a handful of > exceptions, they are either sympathetic to the Confederate position or > outright supportive of the Confederacy. It is a testament to the crushing > triumph of Lost Cause propaganda that neither “The Birth of a Nation” nor > “Gone With the Wind” are isolated instances of Confederate sympathy but > emblematic of Hollywood’s perspective on the heroes and villains of the > conflict. (And that’s before we get into the Western trope of the noble > ex-Confederate looking for a new life in the frontier.) > > Other than Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” which is a political drama more > than anything else, we haven’t had a big Civil War picture in a long time > and we probably won’t; the subject is too niche in an era where Hollywood > is loath to take a risk on anything isn’t based on an existing popular > property. But if anyone is thinking about writing a Civil War film, I would > hope that he or she would write one with an unabashedly pro-Union > perspective — a film that foregrounds slavery and takes a skeptical view of > Confederate mythmaking. > > The war that began as a fight to restore the Union and ended as a crusade > against human bondage stands as one of the finest moments in our nation’s > history. It deserves a Hollywood epic that tries, as much as possible, to > tell the truth. > my 2 cents - Lee, Davis, and other leading Confederates/traitors should have all been executed for the crime of treason - the standard punishment throughout history. When LIncoln at his second inaugural address spoke of "malice towards none, charity toward all" not only did he give them a free pass but he laid the groundwork for excusing all future transgressions. Had he followed a different and more militant path, the Southern opponents of Black Emancipation would not have been encouraged to overthrow Reconstruction, engage in lynching of Blacks, and allowed for the birth of the KKK. The entire history of the US might have been qualitatively different - and better! Perhaps we can learn from the results of shrinking from directly confronting the enemy. > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#31677): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/31677 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/107953343/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
