CSA- The Confederate States of America

From the outset, it's hard to see who this mock-umentary is for. Any audience without a grasp of the history involved will have trouble following the narrative, and anyone with a genuine interest in the question posed will be disappointed in the entirely faulty premise. 'CSA' claims to tackle the question, 'What if the South had won the American Civil War?', yet had the South really 'won' the war, they would have achieved their aim of being left alone to govern themselves as separate states. This fact is utterly overlooked here and instead we follow the South's successful invasion of the North and the continuation of slavery. There is no intention to do anything but wink at a black US audience, no attempt to discuss the complex issues of emancipation and the hideous mess of Reconstruction with any depth or integrity. This conflict is little understood outside the US and yet shaped the history of the world's only superpower. It is a pity then, that what should have been interesting and illuminating film opts instead for an immature and petty attempt at satire. Racism persists in the US? Tell us something we don't know. [Caroline Hurley]