6.4/10
80%
CSA: The Confederate States of America is a mockumentary that portrays an alternate reality in the modern United States following a Confederate victory in the Civil War. In the mockumentary, the Confederate States has taken over the entire country and slavery is still legal.
The film was produced in an era at a time when the Lost Cause myth present in many earlier Civil War films was under scrutiny. It satirically drives home the central role slavery played in the Civil War.
CSA has been generally well received, despite its extreme narrative. Major criticisms included the low production quality and the film’s repetitiveness in hammering home its key points.
FURTHER READING
Books
Roger Ransom, The Confederate States of America: What Might Have Been, New York: W.W. Norton, 2006.
Film Reviews
Richard Brody,“‘CSA: The Confederate States of America,’ A Faux Documentary That Skewers Real White Supremacy,” The New Yorker, February 15, 2017.
Day to Day, “CSA” The Confederate State of America,” NPR, October 28, 2005.
Noel Murray,“CSA: Confederate States of America,” AV Club, February 21, 2006.
Return to the History of Film and the Civil War Project main page.