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2 reviews for:
The South Never Plays Itself: A Film Buff's Journey Through the South on Screen
Ben Beard
3.13 AVERAGE
2 reviews for:
The South Never Plays Itself: A Film Buff's Journey Through the South on Screen
Ben Beard
3.13 AVERAGE
mythaster's review
3.0
“The South in Queen & Slim is both a haven and a Hunter. The couple is celebrated and protected but also hounded and betrayed. Here, finally, after nearly a hundred years of cinema, is a rendition of the South as not uniquely evil or uniquely good but exactly as evil and good as the rest of the country. And it feels a little like catharsis, after all these movies through all these decades, to see the South onscreen as just another slice of the American horror show.” (p 250)
So the title of the book is misleading. I thought this would be more of a history about who put what stories centering the south on film - the who’s, the why’s, the who-got-left-out-of-their-own-story kind of history. Instead, the book is just an overview of movies set in or inspired by the south. It’s interesting, but it’s just as much a TV guide as it is a history, so I came out of it moderately disappointed.
Probably the best chapter is the one on Black filmmakers through the years, for obvious reasons. Sometimes throughout the book I wanted to take notes, keep a tally of films to watch (I didn’t because I’m lazy), but I might actually go back and compile that chapter’s movies into an actual list. Also, it’s not a movie, but it reminded me that I reeeeally have to watch Atlanta.
(I would have been equally interested in a chapter on non-Black BIPOC-created southern movies, and queer movies, too - maybe I can find those somewhere else?)
So the title of the book is misleading. I thought this would be more of a history about who put what stories centering the south on film - the who’s, the why’s, the who-got-left-out-of-their-own-story kind of history. Instead, the book is just an overview of movies set in or inspired by the south. It’s interesting, but it’s just as much a TV guide as it is a history, so I came out of it moderately disappointed.
Probably the best chapter is the one on Black filmmakers through the years, for obvious reasons. Sometimes throughout the book I wanted to take notes, keep a tally of films to watch (I didn’t because I’m lazy), but I might actually go back and compile that chapter’s movies into an actual list. Also, it’s not a movie, but it reminded me that I reeeeally have to watch Atlanta.
(I would have been equally interested in a chapter on non-Black BIPOC-created southern movies, and queer movies, too - maybe I can find those somewhere else?)
dana_naylor's review
slow-paced
3.5
Took me a long time to read. In the intro, the author says this was written in response to the documentary Los Angeles Plays Itself. I found it helpful to watch the documentary first (it was available through my library streaming service). The book is a bit of a mess; chapters veer between analysis of movies and bits of memoir. I still found it interesting overall. I think the concept is fascinating but execution isn’t the greatest.