Free State of Jones. Directed by Gary Ross. Written by Gary Ross and Leonard Hartman. Release Date: June 24, 2016. I think I’ve gotten pretty good at generating quick opinions about pieces of…| Civil War Pop
Cold Mountain. Written and directed by Anthony Minghella. Based on the novel by Charles Frazier. Release Date: December 25, 2003. In his book on the Civil War in popular culture, Causes Won, Lost, …| Civil War Pop
South Park. “White People Renovating Houses,” Season 21, Episode 1. Directed by Trey Parker. Written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I may be letting this site lie fallow while I’m distracted by other projects, but the apparently indefatigable Matthew C. Hulbert—author of numerous blogposts and the excellent, award-winning book, The Ghosts of Guerilla Memory: […]| Civil War Pop
Saturday Night Live. “Civil War Soldiers,” from Season 42, Episode 18, “Jimmy Fallon.” Remember when Obama was president and we kept calling things “teachable moments?” Well, I can’t resist indulging in one today, since Saturday Night Live did a skit last night that could almost have come completely out of Battle Hymns. Indeed, far from pedantically […]| Civil War Pop
As some of you know, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is opening a new exhibit on March 24 exploring the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry. This has taken up nearly all of my work time since I became Research Historian in November. It’s been fun immersing myself in the histories of these two teams and collaborating […]| Civil War Pop
Greetings all! Some of you have probably noticed there hasn’t been much activity here lately. I’m sorry about that but other commitments have been piling up and I just haven’t had time to keep things humming along here on Civil War Pop. I already mentioned my new job (more about that below) but I also have […]| Civil War Pop
Men Go to Battle. Directed by Zachary Treitz. Written by Kate Lyn Sheil and Zachary Treitz. Release Date: September 13, 2016. When I heard someone had made a small indie Civil War comedy, I was naturally intrigued. America’s bloodiest conflict doesn’t lend itself to laughs, with the shining exception of Buster Keaton’s The General. If judged strictly […]| Civil War Pop
I’m happy to announce that this week I started a new job as Research Historian for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. While I’ll miss my colleagues at The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, I’m delighted to enter a position that allows me to do more public history and help promote this amazing institution. I was […]| Civil War Pop
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter. Directed by William Beaudine. Written by Carl K. Hittleman. Release Date: April 10, 1866. Available here. It’s Halloween! There isn’t a lot of Civil War horror stuff (unless you count Gods and Generals! Zing!), but there is this little gem about one of Reconstruction’s most enduring figures, Jesse James. He […]| Civil War Pop
The Birth of a Nation. Directed by Nate Parker. Written by Nate Parker and Jean McGianni Celestin. Release Date: October 7, 2016. Rarely have I walked into a movie with so much external context bleeding through the theater walls. Almost two weeks into The Birth of a Nation‘s run, and the film is more successful as […]| Civil War Pop
Reviewing Shenandoah made me realize something: wow, there are a lot of sad sack leaders in Civil War fiction. In that film, it was George Kennedy’s Colonel Fairchild. He only gets one scene but spends all of it in a seemingly deep state of depression. His tone is muted, his eyes are downcast, and his whole demeanor […]| Civil War Pop
Shenandoah. Directed by Andrew W. McLaglen. Written by James Lee Barrett. Release Date: June 3, 1965. I’ve been busy, busy, busy, so it took me a lot longer to get around to watching Shenando…| Civil War Pop
