Book Review : Split Screen Nation
As the focus shifts to “ The Screen South ,” Gone with the Wind , A Streetcar Named Desire , and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , receive much enthralling discussion , not only for their cinematic achievements , but also for their role in marking the South the ultimate repository of America ’ s transgressions , racial and otherwise . For Courtney , Hollywood ’ s characterization of Southerners as uber-racist , sexually perverse , mentally unstable , and savagely violent , allows the rest of the nation to imagine itself , comparatively , blameless . Strangely , To Kill A Mockingbird , receives little mention , beyond the idea that it is , somehow , “ much less blatantly Southern ” than the others mentioned here . Moreover , no explanation of , or evidence for , this supposed “ difference ” is presented .
“ The Screen West ,” by contrast , comes across as a , virtual , lump of clay , waiting for rugged pioneers to sculpt it in a way more racially mono-cultural , more individualistic , more patriotic and , thus , more “ American ” than “ The Screen South ” could ever be . Westerns like “ The Big Trail ,” “ Stagecoach ,” “ Rio Bravo ,” and “ Big Jake ” endlessly showcase the Cowboy hero ’ s triumph over an unforgiving landscape devoid of civilization , hostile natives , and unscrupulous Southerners seething over the Old Confederacy ’ s defeat .
Those interested in the evolution of film , filmmaking , and onscreen storytelling will find Split Screen Nation : Moving Images of the American West and South a treat to read . Those interested in film ’ s ability to shape cultural attitudes will also find the book intriguing .
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