'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

[adam_oswalt]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

Greg,

I have to ask again, are you serious? Why are you accusing him of being anti-semetic? Are you being racist becuase you are criticizing a black man's opinion? Black history has been swept under the rug for over 200 years. I just can't understand your logic, and honestly don't want to get into it anymore than I already have. Maybe you want everyone to forget slavery so you can go on being happy and white.

Adam Oswalt

[TheGrayGhost]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

Adam Oswalt: "...Are you being racist becuase you are criticizing a black man's opinion?"

**So now just criticizing someone is defined as racism????

and- "Black history has been swept under the rug for over 200 years."

**Where have you been for the last 30 or so?

********************************
********************************

Thomas Chance

[zathras33]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

...

Similarly, with blacks making up a third of the population of both Virginia and North Carolina, their restriction to a few vignettes constitutes a pretty gross distortion in a movie that otherwise boasts considerable historicity.

Maybe the film makers just don't want to tell the real truth about their decision to minimize the presence of African-Americans in Cold Mountain: there just aren't that many black people in Romania, they had higher priorities in their $80 million budget than hiring the right mix of extras, and they knew that the vast majority of their target audience wouldn't mind the oversight.

The movie was set in Western NC. There were few slaves/slaveholders in Western NC, it was the exception not the rule. Louis Henry Gates, the head of Africana Studies at Harvard, dismissed this objection to the film with the same argument. Thus, historically, the minimization of blacks and/or slaves is historically accurate. This, IMHO, is a red herring.

Peter Schwartz

[tmdreb]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

You're funny, Adam. Read the quote in Greg's post more carefully, and you'll see what he's talking about in reference to Anti-Semetism.

Between that remark and his blaming the problems in his life on he being black, the author of that article is obviously one of those people who sees everything in the world as a racial issue. This view isn't removed from reality, but I can't help but feel sorry for people like this who are trapped in such a viewpoint.

This reminds me when I think it was Spike Lee who blasted The Patriot for completely ignoring the issue of slavery. I am convinced that people like this will not be satisfied until any film set in America before 1865 is a condemnation of white Americans for slavery.

[adam_oswalt]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

i still do not see how the quote that greg posted is anti-semetic. is it because he calls the weinstien brothers astute businessmen?

thomas, i don't know where to begin. you don't understand what i was saying at all, and i don't even think that i want to attempt to explain it to you. i guess if you think that the past thirty years has made up for all of the bullshit that has gone on before that, then good for you. the fact is i don't, and i guess that's what makes me human.

i think that's just about all i have to say on the subject.

adam oswalt

[SCSecesh]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

UHHHHHH! Let see folks - Read the damn book!! Cold Mountain IS NOT A CIVIL WAR BOOK and consequently COLD MOUNTAIN The Movie IS NOT A CIVIL WAR movie. The book was certainly set against the background of the "late unpleasantness", but GET OVER IT!! It was a chick flick!! And by the way, Veasey (the shady minister) drugged and attempted to dispose of a WHITE woman in the book due to her condition and the fact that he was already "bethrothed" to another, NOT married. If that wasn't a play of the race card what was?
It's easy to read folks - NO BIG WORDS!!

[Holy Joe]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

Well said, Phil....I've heard it said and believe it to be true that claiming "rascism" where it doesn't exist undermines the plight of those who are truly affected by it.....food for thought.....

I find it utterly amazing that this topic still surfaces...I guess some things never change....

While we're at it, let's feed Christians to the lions all over again for the "evils" they have committed against human kind [Tounge firmly in cheek]

[tomarch]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

Well, personaly this whole thread brings up another facet of the war that's been overlooked.... Where are the correct portrayals of Canadian-Americans who fought (..or for that matter Canacdian-Confederates!!) I think I'm going to boycott all of 'em untill I can see a real-live-to-goodness Canuck in uniform! :D

Tom Smith :The Maple Leaf Mess,eh?

[Holy Joe]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

Ahh, Tom, Canadians in the American Civil War...an interesting topic....lest we forget about (A-boat) the 114th Montreal partisan ranger (dismounted) pistoleers. :)

Seriously, the role of Canadians in the civil war is an interesting topic....check out http://ca.geocities.com/docmilner/canadians1.htm

[SCTiger]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

Adam:

Is moi entitled to an op-inion? The quote implied (to me) that all Jews should be savvy when it comes to all business or money decisions. He also complains that he has to sit through all those "holocaust" films like "Schindler's List". Why can't we get our own holocaust type film? That's the message I got.

As for blacks being frozen out of hollywood, Was that in "Glory", "Men of Honor", "Antwone Fisher" "A Soldiers Story", "The Tuskegee Airmen" , every Viet Nam film ever made, "Pearl Harbor" "Hart's War" and even "Force Ten from Navarone."??? Where's the freezing? So again he is whining because Hollyweird dared to feature another white guy in a gray uniform, point blank.

When will Hollywood make a movie on the Jewish Confederates? That I would love to see.

BTW I really liked the "The Tuskeegee Airmen" great war picture, wish they all were made like that.

[Alamo Guard]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

All these boycotts, all these months, I think I just climb back atop a hill and watch the clouds.
All this talk about the roles of blacks in the films has both merits. Yes they COULD have used more blacks. But remember where the majority of the movie was shot. Second, how many of the average folks even KNEW the large part the USCT played in the battle? Its the modern school system of history who has chosen to gloss over this. They say the majority of the blacks during the Civil War were slaves. Consequently if you pick up any high school history bok and look under Civil War, do they mention USCT and the fact they made up 10 percent of the troops in the late war? Do they mention USCT in the Carolinas or with The Red River?
Or do they even mention the role of blacks with the Confederate Armies? It just blows me away sometimes that folks can pick and choice what they want to say about history and ignore the true big picture.
Ill climb off the soapbox now.

[va-yank]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

"They should know better. Could you imagine "The Pianist" or "Schindler's List" ever being made with but a few seconds of the reality of the Holocaust? Of course not. A film with such a gross misrepresentation would never make it past page one of a screenplay! And in reality, isn't the Holocaust, which occurred a mere two generations or so ago, emotionally "rawer" than slavery?"

If you read Dellum's words carefully, he is speculating that the Wiensteins, being Jewish, would probably not neglect the importance of the Holocaust in making a film from the WWII era. He then points out that the Holocaust is more recent and more real to many people than slavery. This doesn't really sound anti-Semetic to me. His comparison is not a perfect analogy to draw to Cold Mountain, but probably the best one he could reach for in making his argument.

As the original poster predicted, this has precipitated an interesting series of exchanges. I will stay with my earlier original statement, that Cold Mountain the book did not address the issue of slavery squarely, so it follows that the film would not.

Dellums sees things differently. His is one man's opinion. I don't agree with him, but don't think its a plot that is any larger than this interesting news article.

[ScottFugate]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

While we're on the subject of racial minorities and "Cold Mountain", did anybody else follow the token Native-American in Inman's Company? On one hand I thought he was a nice touch, because Inman's home turf is hard by the Qualla Reservation, and Overhill Cherokees would have been (and still are) a common site in Haywood County, NC. On the other hand, I thought he was way too "Apache" looking, appearing to be a refuge from a John Ford Western. I'm no Native-American expert, but in most old images of Cherokees I've seen, they seem to try to blend in with their dress rather than stand out with long hair, jewelry, etc.

Scott Fugate
Ethnic Hillbilly

[Michael Comer]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

It's been my experience that those that cry "racism" the loudest, are usually the biggest racists. Anything can be taken to extremes.

While the subject of black involvement has been overlooked in the past, I think that has changed immensely in the last few years. There are more and more scholarly studies, books, articles being done on the black experience during our timeframe. I have been involved in some intense research concerning slavery and its many facets at the historic site I work at. It is a fascinating subject and a very complicated one. While I understand what the man was saying in his article I think he is picking the wrong field to fight his battle.

I'm Icelandic - became a naturalized citizen when just a lad. Still have a lot of family back there and I am very proud of my heritage. Why is it I never hear about the contribution Icelanders made to this country? For crying out loud, we were here a long time before that Columbus guy showed up and we were actually on the mainland, not some island in the Caribbean. I'm boycotting everything until we get a national Leif Ericsson Day. It can get pretty silly as you can see if we wear our hearts on our sleeves.

By the way, I'm from southern Iceland so I do Confederate of course. :)

[orngblsm]

Re: 'Cold Mountain' Freezes Out Black History

Gentlmen,


May I please have my two sense in saying that this post is missing the very essence of what the whole movie was about...A Book. This was not a movie depicting the battle of the crater. If I remember right the crater scene only took up 10 minutes max. The fact is that a hollywood movie is a hollywood movie, never a accurate historical depiction. I honestly think that this gentlmen's letter about the unfairity of blacks not being shown during the crater sequence is absurd. If this is an valid complaint to be made then I will post mine; Why weren't any of the white regiments that made the attack on battery wagner shown in glory. Especially the one that fired (accidentally) into the backs of the charging 54th. Just my humble opinion

Respectfully,