What 'Lincoln' misses and another Civil War film gets right

[redstar826]

- He used the N-word and told racist jokes. He once said African-Americans were inferior to whites. He proposed ending slavery by shipping willing slaves back to Africa

Comments

[sidesmile]

I've gotten into an argument over Lincoln with a close family friend. Granted she's old, white and conservative, etc but she kept making the excuse because it was a 'different time.' That doesn't excuse that Lincoln was a racist himself.

[ljtaylor]

yeah I don't buy the "different time" argument. my grandmother is 81 and one of the most liberal and open minded people I know, and she got that from her own mother. we've reached a more liberal & tolerant state now (though we've a way to go yet) because people in the past took a stance against the opinions of "the time".

Man, yeah

[jazzypom]

Another reason why I think I'll be watching Lincoln on screener. After seeing Django, I was like, "Ugh, they don't get it at all."

I'd love to see a movie or an unbiased documentary about the Trail of Tears told from a non white standpoint. Because the historical accounts I've read- heart breaking.

Re: Man, yeah

[moonshaz]

OMG, I would, too. SFM.

[tabaqui]

Saw this (screener) the other day, and while it was a very good movie - lots of interesting stuff going on, speeches and things being made, i kept kind of wondering just how accurate any of it was when Lincoln was presented as super-enlightened and anti-slavery/pro-black people. Disappointing.

[wrestlingdog]

Overall, I did like Lincoln (mainly because of the actors' performances), but I was sitting there the whole time wondering when they were going to acknowledge that he was fucking racist.

[redstar826]

yeah, I enjoyed it from an entertainment perspective, but the grumpy historian in my brain (I spent a year researching Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the conflicts between black & white abolitionists) was not so amused

[nycscribbler]

Yes, this. I appreciated the acting, but I certainly hope no one was planning on using it in history class for its accuracy re: the 13th Amendment. (Though its depiction of the spoils system and the use of patronage was fantastic.)

[poetic_pixie_13]

Lawl, I was about to copypasta the same quote to make the same comment.

The more things change....

I mean how dare you lump all white people with the racists~ (had that actual conversation on Monday.... lord give me strength).

[roseofjuly]

LOL

[girly123]

Ain't no lie