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“ the Old South ” Cotton & Tobacco Plantations African Americans (1930)

1930 · Short film · 14 min

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Synopsis

Note: this film was made prior to the Civil Rights movement. It displays plantation life in the American South and may contain stereotypical images of African Americans that may be offensive.This silent film "The Old South" was one of a series of educational movies produced by Eastman Classroom films, a division of Kodak that operated in the late 1920’s and early 30’s. It opens with images of the area to be known as ‘the old south’ encompassing the southeastern United States, stretching towards the central plains (:31). The equator is highlighted as well as the longitude and latitude with which the old south squeezes into (:40). Climate in this area is considerably warm and was ideal for growing various crops (1:02). The coastal plain area is highlighted (1:15). An aerial shot of the waters cutting lines through the land follows (1:29). The flood plain is noted (1:39). The highlands are noted on a map as well as in actual footage (2:17). Home living and work about the home is looked to as locals work on a log cabin (2:24). Women are filmed as they cook and conduct domestic tasks around the home (2:41). A man and young boy work to sharpen tools by hand (2:55). Locals are filmed in colonial attire as horse drawn coaches drive past (3:23). A small school classroom is visited with young women sitting as the teacher lectures (3:30). The film notes much of the population settled around the richest areas for soil (3:40). A map displays the population of 1860 (3:47). Farmers hack at…

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Details

Running time
14 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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