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Confederate Pennsylvania

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An investigation into why Confederate flags are flown north of the Mason-Dixon line.
NeilDB

25 responses // Confederate Pennsylvania

  • nice job neil, interesting subject
    SeanLuke
  • I think the subject is really interesting. I would like to see more images and not so many talking heads. But I give you the green.
    Springer
  • an interesting topic, it's a bit boring though, try cuttin it down by a min. or so.
    facultykev
  • One comment for people who fly the confederate flag....YOU LOST GET OVER IT! That is so disrespectful to our country. If you are going to fly a flag,fly the American flag. If I were an African American I would tear down any rebel flag I could find. I couldnt even tell you about the quality of the video because I was so mad!
    hudgeliberal
  • Really interesting, still don't get how people can ignore the history of the confederate flag and fly it for their own reasons. The symbol used by the Nazi's is far older than WWII, but because of the pain and suffering associated with it, you'd never catch anyone of any intelligence or sensitivity displaying it.

    I've always assumed anyone flying the confederate flag was a stupid redneck....and.....well.....
    idderbelle
  • i like that you seem to have done a good job of not putting the film's subjects on the defensive and were open to what they had to say.

    so did you feel better or worse about seeing the flags after making the film?
    pinkstate
  • Good work. I'd want a little more from at least one person, like the mayor in town or black guy who hates the flag.
    I think we all need to realize that we have to be completely overly critical and not wander. 3 min max is my rule (but I have a really hard time breaking it).
    Nate1234
  • Very well made piece. I agree with Nate1234 that the pod would be even better if it included the opinion on the other side of the issue. Well done and interesting none the less.
    blueflame
  • I hate to go whistling Dixie -- I prefer to let my freak flag fly! But I really like this piece. Maybe b/c I have a weakness for Hogs...
    It's understated. You get the sense that people trusted the producer with their strongest unpopular opinions.
    Interesting ideas in this piece: We Americans like to root for the little guy. But the big guys are awful good at disguising themselves as little guys for their own advantage these days...
    rmd22
  • That piece was one biased, onsided and fails to have the other side express themselves about the slavery issue or what those rednecks did to distroy their human dignity, their families and their self worth. Those confederates should have died the same way they killed those black by working them to death for nothing. The confederate flag is a symbol of losers and those who fly it can't accept that.
    melloman
  • I appreciate the comments about the need for an opposing viewpoint in this piece.
    Personally I cringe when I see people glorify the Confederacy or the systematic racism that followed it in the south, and that certainly was not the intent of this documentary.
    This piece is about people's motivation for displaying a controversial symbol. Its one-sided because people who feel the other way can't offer any truthful insight into why any of these six particular people fly the confederate flag, they can only offer conjecture based on stereotypes.
    NeilDB
  • I think you achieve what you are attempting in your description, but does presenting that information make a good pod? I think the pod, through your subjects, indicates the elasticity and ambiguity of symbolism. It implies the question "Just because a person, or society as a whole, views a symbol as one concept, means that others must accept that concept as well?". As the woman says "everybody is entitled to their own opinion."

    I think exposing that concept directly could create more of an impact. In a way, you've presented your subject's opinion, and your subject's opinion of the interviewer's opinion of what the other side thinks (slavery/racism). I think it would be better with both direct opinions, and what each side thinks of those opinions after hearing them. Perhaps focusing upon the impasse of subjective definition in the conflict. This could also be used to increase and sustain the tempo of the pod, which I thought was a little slow and broken.

    There is also the conflict of flying a flag as social presentation of personal identity. Under these circumstances, it normally weighs overall public subjectivity of a symbol prior to display. That is, such display is normally a symbol of social cohesion and solidarity. In this case, such display is considered anti-social, through embracing social taboo as personal identity, considering that such display is taboo north of the mason-dixon line in contrast with south of it. As the woman says, "displaying a little bit of non-conformity." This exposes why you focus north of the mason-dixon line. But, as could be shown, such display can operate beyond the simply anti-social to actually generate the opposite of cohesion, social fracturing. What truly is the source of the fracture? The audience can be left to shrug and continue without impact.
    Orpheus
  • neil - good handling of topic. now, i've heard (from the horses' mouths, so to speak) why they think the confederate flag is cool. personally, i could never overcome the negative baggage associated with it, to use this symbol as a positive icon. josh's music is cool.
    geotune
  • It was definitely interesting to see. I haven't spent enough time in Pennsylvania to know about this. I'd like to see more -- more history, more community reaction, and to echo others, more opposing viewpoints (though you're right to focus mostly on those who fly the flag).
    whizzeregg
  • great work!
    dannamil
  • Cherished Christian flag? what the... ?

    Independence, a colonial Western attitude & Republicanism is definitely the meaning of that flag. I don't know how much of the Civil War was ACTUALLY about slavery & how much was corporatization from the industrial North imposing on the fertile South...

    perhaps History IS in the hands of the Winner...

    BlueBerry Pick'n
    can be found @
    ThisCanadian.com
    "Silent Freedom is Freedom Silenced"
    BlueBerry_PickN
  • Very good piece. I liked it a lot. And I'm a Black woman. I understand what they mean, I have no problem with the flag, I have other issues to occupy my time.
    latisha
  • Very intersting perspective. Symbols mean different things to different people. This is not the one you usually hear. Nice work!
    MelodyProductions
  • This piece is bogus. You went to some "redneck" town, found some "highly influential" citizens who pontificated on the values of the Confederacy or, as they probably call it "The War Between The States".. Let's face it The Confederates lost the war, the Union won and this is the 21st. Century. Let's get on with it people!
    What's next, flying the Nazi flag because it has a nice color scheme?
    garryla53
  • I think the most thought-provoking statement made in this whole piece is that the KKK flies 'the confederate flag, as well as the U.S.A. flag.'
    flowergirl
  • Hmm.... The last statement about a bit of non-conformity says it all, seems clear all the people in the piece are attempting to stake a rebellious stance, thats what they say they believe in (in their own ways) and that flag seems to be how they are acting it out.

    However the fact remains that many in history who have held and presented racist points of view have done so while waving that flag.
    Simply choosing to align yourself with a portion of a symbol doesn't by itself change that symbol's meaning. And it definitely doesn't help communicate clearly, unless a person simply wants to communicate that they are provocative.

    Regardless of the passions surrounding the flag, the fact is, that flag is not an American flag. It was raised by a nation that sought to destroy the United States in favor of a new nation. To fly that flag may speak of rebellion but it was not raised in the spirit of the United States.

    Finally for any who are interested check this link on wikipedia, it lists all the flags flown by the confederacy during the civil war.
    link

    On that wiki page you'll see the "Stars and Bars" the first and official flag of the confederacy. If a person truly wanted to simple wave the flag of defiance, rebellion and (lets say) non-conformity The "Stars and Bars" would be more accurate without all the historic baggage. People could (if they chose) display their personal feelings and be historically accurate without implying any unwanted agenda.

    Unless they really have some other agenda to express.
    jscott
  • the confederate flag DOES represent slavery... no two ways about it...
    awarmington
  • I love the piece neil.. it really says something about the amazingly ignorant conceptions some hold. I think some of the other viewers may have misinterpreted your objective. (I say this after reading their comments on your video.) I know you were not by any means advocating for flying the flag, and your intentions were clear to me - great job making them unclear to the interviewees. They were undoubtedly honest.
    hilm06
  • I really liked it. I don't believe it represents slavery. People need to read up on the history of this flag. Also there are blacks in the south that fly this flag. I've got one. In my opinion it is a quite more dramatic flag than the one we fly today. Lets face it. If the North American Union does finally form...the new flag will stand for what? Look like what? Times change but I'll always fly this one. In the U.S., Mexicans fly their flag, Italians fly theirs, the U.N. flies everyones, except the KKK's.
    cobraking
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