Conflicting Views on the "NORTH AND SOUTH" Trilogy

[rpowell]

Comments

The trilogy

[ext_5428792]

I grew up watching North and South, and since my mom was a history teacher, I got particular insight to the goings-on in the movies.

Starting at age 10, I was into the saga. As a young kid, I saw the soap opera aspect first, and was bored with the politics. As I got older, and more mature, I could view the movies with new eyes and really have a respect for them.

I'm one of those people who did not see loyalty entirely regarding Semiramis and Ezra. I got the feeling they thoroughly respected Clarissa but not her husband, therefore having mixed feelings, but ultimately staying with the plantation....not bc they felt obligated but bc they saw an opportunity to start over fresh, in a place that they, along with Brett and Madeleine, would be making new with their own hands. Ezra practically begged Semi to do so, mostly bc he was crazy about her. 😉 Also, Clarissa gave them land of their very own to do with what they wanted. She clearly had an affection for them and treated them as such.

Poor Orry had never gotten a different view of life until he went to West Point and met George. George opened Orry's eyes to a lot, which wasn't always easy to swallow. Even at the end, where Orry met the slaves leaving Mont Royal, he asks where they're going, they say we're leaving, he says but this is your home....they say, no sir, this was never our home...his genuine look of confusion really sent home the point that he had probably viewed them as family, but not fully thinking about how these folks got there in the first place. Many had been there since he was a child so he grew up with many of them, making it somewhat understandable his feelings on the matter. He did ultimately agree that owning people was wrong and he would never have that in his family again.

I saw a lot of growth in all of the characters....except Bent and Ashton. Well, ok, there were *tiny* glimmers of hope for them both at a couple of points in the movies but the stomped those out fast with their true ugly nature's shining through. Virgilia was a character to be hated, understandably, bc she did become fanatical in her fights. It wasn't enough to state her position and walk away....she had to throw it in your face and rub your nose in it too. Her love for Grady was real, I believe that. And I do feel that she repented for a lot of the awful things she did. That was seen by George's visit to her in prison, as well as making amends with Orry....they could at least agree to disagree, and get along. But every character grew in the story....war will do that to you.

I want people to understand that this movie not only touched on the slavery issue in a very accurate manner but it also clearly portrayed the division of families: brother against brother, father against son. It was horrible for everyone involved. Even 12-yr-old boys would go to war, starting out as drummer boys but ending up carrying rifles...and sometimes dying in the fight. Many mothers never saw their sons again. It was a terrible, bloody deal that killed (I believe) over 600,000 soldiers....and that's for both sides. And it should NOT be forgotten.

So, do I view this as an "ode to the south"? No. I see it as an ode to the War Between the States. This movie is about both sides, not just the South. The northern states had fine-tuned business practices with machinery, replacing people, but the south resisted changing over to machinery, with the claim that jobs would be taken away from people. I do also feel that the majority with money wanted to maintain their prestige and lifestyle, which included having servants/slaves, and they didn't want to give that up. But it all boiled down to the south not wanting to be told what to do, and deciding they didn't want to be part of the "united states", would rather create their own country, and seceded. Lincoln decided that would not do, so war was declared.....all in the name of being united. And this miniseries eloquently played out the story, not glossing over anything. All the blood, gore, sadness, devastation, violence, betrayal, domestic abuse, all of it is put on the screen SO ITS NOT FORGOTTEN. SO WE DONT REPEAT IT. I fear that we may be headed for another war btwn the states, and dread the day of it happening.

Re: The trilogy

[ext_5458346]

North and South the mini series is more relevant than ever today when SJWs and ultra leftists are now tearing down Confederate statues. They have basically painted the Confederacy as a two dimensional "evil empire", never mind practically all civilizations that we studied and admired practiced the institution of slavery.