Featured image: Confederate Rose, which is also known as “the old man’s beard” or “old-fashioned Southern roses,” are not actually roses at all; they belong to the genus Rosa carolina and range from white to pink blooms on arching stems. This plant was originally named by Thomas Jefferson after his daughter Martha who had confederacy sympathies during American Civil War. The name has remained throughout the years as confederate rose is one of the most popular varieties today.
“The Civil War may be long over but the spirit of rebellion is hard to extinguish even in something as innocent as a girls’ summer camp. Southern Belle is a unique insider’s look at the 1861 Athenaeum Girls’ School in Columbia, Tennessee, where the antebellum South attempts to rise again. Every summer, young women from around the world eagerly sign up to become that iconic and romantic image of southern identity: the southern belle, replete with hoop skirt, hat and gloves, singing the region’s anthem, Dixie.
The camp is held in the historic headmaster’s home of what was originally a four-year college for young women from 1850-1920. Never before have cameras been allowed to closely shadow the students and teachers during this intensive week of historical reenactment. The teachers, all of whom work for no compensation, hope to instill genteel manners and build pride in Southern heritage. Instructor and camp founder Mark Orman explains, “I just don’t want the things that our families did to be discounted … you have to judge things that were going on in the past by the past.” They have also carefully selected the time period so they can share the “truth” with the next generation about why the South seceded from the Union. For them, the Civil War had little to do with slavery and everything to do with states’ rights and unfair taxation … ” [1]
I bought this film and loved it. At this camp, young women are eager to learn the "art" of being a lady by practicing penmanship and learning how to deep curtsy; as well as learning the Virginia Reel dance for the Ball at the end of the camp. These girls learn the mindset of the people in the South in 1861, and why the war was fought. Living history is a wonderful experience for any southern young girl to really know what it was like at that time period. I wish this would have been around when I was a teenager, I would have loved this camp! Of course, you have the leftist scholars at the end of films being critical of the film, but I chose to ignore it. Everyone has their biases, including them.
You can purchase film at the following website: Southern Belle (2010) | Documentary Educational Resources (der.org)
[1] http://southernbellefilm.com/
