MovieChat Forums > Santa Fe Trail (1940) Discussion > Hollywood Economics Trumps Truth

Hollywood Economics Trumps Truth


I think that up until the fifties, the common perception among movie producers was that an unsympathetic portrayal of the Southern cause would cause resentment and boycotts among Southern movie-goers, whereas Northerners would be more likely to overlook a sympathetic portrayal of the Southern cause.

(People on the wrong side of an argument are usually the ones most intolerant of opposing views.)

Hence the many Civil War era films told from a Southern perspective: "Birth of a Nation", "The General", "Gone With the Wind", "Santa Fe Trail", to name a few.

If you want to maximize revenue from your Civil War era film, tell the story from the Southern perspective, or at least feign sympathy for the Southern cause.

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I'm not so sure of that. I heard that Union Civil War veterans openly protested against the pro-Confederate movie Gone With the Wind.

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But did they convince their friends and relatives to not see the film? I doubt it.

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Watching this movie now on TCM (and I agree with Leonard Maltin's review - it is a bad film!).

I always believe that it was not until the 1970s, with the mini-series ROOTS, that Hollywood finally showed us the grim realities of that period. And I agree that movies like GONE WITH THE WIND, showed us the myths, and thus came the sympathies. I think even into the 1960s, with SHENANDOAH, although not quite sympathetic to the Southern cause, but still had a few sprinkles (heck, now that I think of it, even in 1969 with THE UNDEFEATED with John Wayne and Rock Hudson, were we suppose to feel sorry for the Confederates who just lost the war, but fought with honor and dignity!)

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Roots? Are you serious? It was fiction and plagiarism.

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All films based on history usually tell more fiction than truth otherwise they (the producers) may think the viewer would either not understand and/or too stupid to understand what truth is.

-Nam

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Agreed 100%. Over 600,000 young Caucasian men killed,suffering on the battlefields,when the Lincoln administration "pushed" the war.
State's rights.
The only american war necessary was the Revolution.In my aged,learned opinion.

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It's always good when a reliable source comes along to disprove tired perceived wisdom. A case in point, many younger people are convinced of the wisdom of all "aged" people. Thank you for demonstrating that at least one aged person has an opinion well worthy of being ignored, no matter how learned he believes his opinion to be.

The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank.

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