I initially clicked on the video “Exposing the Myth of Southern Charm” because I was intrigued by the somewhat click-baity title, but mostly because it was posted on a PBS Youtube channel and this seemed like a (relatively) spicy take for PBS.
I was graced with a beautifully subtle look at the historic slave plantation town of Natchez, Mississippi, and the tourism industry that has popped up around their many antebellum homes. It tells of an overdue reckoning in a community that lovingly preserves and displays their history (and profits from it) while simultaneously desiring to move on from its darker elements. Yet there is nuance as well; we learn of Natchez’s history of progressive politics post-civil war, and the various ways that many residents are working to keep the “offensive” elements of history from getting swept under the rug. There is no narration; the film allows interviewees to speak for themselves, sometimes to their own detriment (with the help of some clever editing).
Apparently the documentary was originally given the more neutral title of Natchez and was produced with some support from PBS but not directly for them. The director and producer also did an AMA on reddit recently that’s worth a read. The movie went on to win a bunch of awards, including best documentary at Tribeca.
I had not, this doc just happened to pop up in the recommended sidebar on youtube. That’s a great write up for it though, thanks for sharing it here :)
Would you say the title is a little sensationalist, considering what the documentary delivers? I haven’t seen it, but based on the summary above I wonder.
I would consider the new title somewhat sensationalist, or perhaps somewhat misleading. Based on the new title, I expected a movie about Southern culture in general, and got something about a rather specific aspect of a specific town. Granted, the content of the documentary does extrapolate out to other places in the south that celebrate the plantation/antebellum/“Gone with the Wind” aesthetic, however I thought the doc would get more into, say, Southern hospitality in general and the resulting illusion that Southern culture is kind and welcoming. I also think the new title implies a more directed, mission-based film–like an investigation or expose–whereas the actual product is more subtle.
However the title isn’t a total lie; the documentary lives somewhere adjacent to the assumptions I list above. I can understand why they (whoever “they” is) changed the original title, which is neither catchy nor that descriptive (I would have been unlikely to click a random video simply titled “Natchez”). However I think they could have come up with something a bit less click-baity and more accurate to the content. Regardless, it’s a good documentary, and despite my misled expectations, I enjoyed the watch.
Did you happen to see my post in c/ShermanPosting yesterday? ;)
Copy-pasting my comment from that post:
I initially clicked on the video “Exposing the Myth of Southern Charm” because I was intrigued by the somewhat click-baity title, but mostly because it was posted on a PBS Youtube channel and this seemed like a (relatively) spicy take for PBS.
I was graced with a beautifully subtle look at the historic slave plantation town of Natchez, Mississippi, and the tourism industry that has popped up around their many antebellum homes. It tells of an overdue reckoning in a community that lovingly preserves and displays their history (and profits from it) while simultaneously desiring to move on from its darker elements. Yet there is nuance as well; we learn of Natchez’s history of progressive politics post-civil war, and the various ways that many residents are working to keep the “offensive” elements of history from getting swept under the rug. There is no narration; the film allows interviewees to speak for themselves, sometimes to their own detriment (with the help of some clever editing).
Apparently the documentary was originally given the more neutral title of Natchez and was produced with some support from PBS but not directly for them. The director and producer also did an AMA on reddit recently that’s worth a read. The movie went on to win a bunch of awards, including best documentary at Tribeca.
It’s currently available for free on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHAauml9rV4
I had not, this doc just happened to pop up in the recommended sidebar on youtube. That’s a great write up for it though, thanks for sharing it here :)
What a fun coincidence!
Would you say the title is a little sensationalist, considering what the documentary delivers? I haven’t seen it, but based on the summary above I wonder.
I would consider the new title somewhat sensationalist, or perhaps somewhat misleading. Based on the new title, I expected a movie about Southern culture in general, and got something about a rather specific aspect of a specific town. Granted, the content of the documentary does extrapolate out to other places in the south that celebrate the plantation/antebellum/“Gone with the Wind” aesthetic, however I thought the doc would get more into, say, Southern hospitality in general and the resulting illusion that Southern culture is kind and welcoming. I also think the new title implies a more directed, mission-based film–like an investigation or expose–whereas the actual product is more subtle.
However the title isn’t a total lie; the documentary lives somewhere adjacent to the assumptions I list above. I can understand why they (whoever “they” is) changed the original title, which is neither catchy nor that descriptive (I would have been unlikely to click a random video simply titled “Natchez”). However I think they could have come up with something a bit less click-baity and more accurate to the content. Regardless, it’s a good documentary, and despite my misled expectations, I enjoyed the watch.
I appreciate the extra and thoughtful r context. I might check it out, thanks.