There is a fascination in watching old films that have become documentaries of past eras themselves. When I first began to watch 'Virginia' I became spellbound by the blithe way stereotypes were presented and accepted without question. Then I began to judge it from my own perspective now in 2023. Finally I came to a realization that while we cannot help the environment in which we were raised there are certain universal injustices that must be acknowledged by any thinking person. It is possible to be a caring, white landowner who feels affection and some responsibility for non white employees. It is not possible to refuse to see the equality and superiority of any person who honestly makes a success of life. Equally it is not possible to ignore the impediments put in front of non white Americans to intentionally make it extremely difficult for them to achieve success: in education, business, land ownership, etc.
When Fred MacMurray's character says, "The War Wasn't Fought over Slavery", and then goes on to say that the Emancipation Proclamation, since it wasn't enacted until 1863, was a political afterthought, I had to stop the film and listen again. His explanation as to why he thinks the Civil War should not be considered as the direct result of slavery, false as it is, is fascinating. You still hear that same statement but I had never heard anyone try to prove it by using the Emancipation Proclamation.
So, I give this film 5 stars because it is an excellent view into how the minds of Civil War apologists work, in real time. II could not give it more because some of its conclusions are horrifying. Ts casual racism, in a few different forms, both southern and northern, is worth investigation as well. The fact that in 1941 anyone could use racially charged epithets without pause and assume a completely different way of speaking to someone, based solely upon their color of skin, should elicit concern from anyone who watches it.
