This "documentary" says much more about 1940 USA than it does about the history of cotton and the South. It's an example of the political correctness of that time: don't say anything that offends white Southerners! It's fascinating to watch: you get to hear how Southern history and slavery used to be taught in schools in the USA (I say "used to", but this was the version of the history I heard as well as late as 1980 or so in Kentucky). The movie doesn't have a political agenda, but as a result of its skewed view of history, ends up explaining cotton and Southern history largely in sympathy to the South, particularly regarding the issue of slavery, with only one scene depicting its horrors -- "balanced" with a scene of a slave family that will make you cringe for all the wrong reasons. I don't think the film was intended as propaganda -- I think the producers were actually trying to present something historical (and cash in on all the "Gone With the Wind" mania of the time). I give it 8 out of 10 because, wow, you'll learn a LOT about the climate of the USA in 1940 with regard to how it wanted to think about the Civil War.
Review of The Old South
