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Documentary Analysis Of Moving Midway By Matthew Chesire

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In the documentary Moving Midway, Godfrey Chesire pieces together some of the story of the Midway plantation and the moving of its buildings to save as much of it as possible from the industrialized world closing in on it. There are several conflicts that appear in this documentary, but I plan to delve into the relationship between the newer industrial society and the older agrarian society. I plan to look at the beginning where the house can be seen in its original location and the development moving in around it. Then I want to analyze the moving of the plantation buildings. Finally, I’ll analyze the part of the movie where Godfrey speaks on how the northern myth won the war but the southern myth won the peace. In doing this, I plan to show …show more content…

It first becomes evident when the camera shows the midway house from the median of the four-lane highway in front of it. The proximity of the highway to the house and the number of cars that drive on it each day appear as a threat to the old plantation. Charlie confirms this threat when he speaks of the fifty-five thousand cars that drive by each day, causing a noisy environment that is causing a form of displacement for the plantation that belongs to a quieter time of horse drawn transportation. This is merely one piece of the industrial society we live in that has moved in on the Midway plantation as the camera also shows images of the shopping mall across the street and of the construction of the new interstate intersection being built nearby. Taken from different angles, some look up slightly while others give a level angle or even look down, giving a mixed feeling to the audience. A feeling of uncertainty, the newer developments seeming threatening but not threatening at the same time. I interpret it as a threat to the physical existence of Midway, but less of a threat to its legacy and what it represents. This threat, has caused Charlie to reach the notion that the buildings of Midway should be moved in order to protect as much of it as possible. All together this part of the moving leads me to the conclusion that industrial society and the antebellum …show more content…

During the civil war era the south had its myth of the plantation and the industrial north had a different myth for the plantation. Godfrey and Robert speak on this starting with the south. They say that the south’s myth was that the plantation was a realm with kind masters and happy devoted slaves. Robert even goes on to say that the myth was necessary to keep the system going. The images that go across the camera are important too as they depict images with slaves that are smiling and seem happy and content in their lives. The northern counter myth was depicted in uncle tom’s cabin, and is seen in the images from the movie with a kind white master failing to live up to image the south is trying to portray. Of course, the north won the war, but the interesting and noteworthy part is that according to Godfrey the southern myth survived and won the peace. Godfrey depicts this in the movie by showing multiple images of movies and art that are post-civil war and primarily made by the north. The slaves are depicted and smiling, happy and even singing, while the plantations are large and beautiful in a glorified manner. Despite the fact that this was a false sense of happiness, this depiction of the plantation gave Americans the pastoral past they were looking for in a rapidly industrializing world and thus the southern myth lived on. This part of

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