Griffis 1: on Courtney and 10

Response to Susan Courtney’s discussion of her new book “Split Screen Nation: Moving Images of the South, the West, and the USA Mid-Century”

I was interested to hear Susan Courtney’s study of the South on film during the “Tennessee William’s era”, because I’ve often considered if there’s a cohesive way to study the history of “southern film”.   The most obvious problem is that there isn’t (or at least wasn’t) a southern film, just Hollywood films set in the south.  These films have generally been limited to the two variations that Courtney discusses: the earlier romanticized plantation film (Jezebel, Gone with the Wind) followed in the 1950’s and 60’s by what she refers to as the Tennessee Williams’ “Psycho- sexual”, or “decadent” southern film.  There are notable exceptions from this period such as The Miracle Worker and To Kill a Mockingbird, which present different versions of the south and feature virtuous white southern characters.  Additionally, the horror/ thriller films Cape Fear, The Night of the Hunter, and Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, like the Williams’ based films, are based on the Southern Gothic literary tradition, but with a stronger focus on violence than sexuality (though both themes are present).

There is a relatively small pool of popular mainstream films set in this south from this period, so it seems we should take more of these films into account when discussing a “southern style” from that period.  I understand that Courtney focuses on close readings of the film text, but I think it is limiting to study the popularity of the Tennessee Williams’ style film, without taking into account the already established popular tradition of southern gothic literature that places Williams among Faulkner, O’Conner, Capote, Carson McCullers, Walker Percy, etc.  Placed in this context Williams’ popularity seems less of a phenomenon. I look forward to Courtney’s book and certainly see the validity of focusing on the Williams’ version of the south on film, since I agree that it was dominant during this period, but I am curious about the possibilities of a more comprehensive study of the south on film.  Considering that “the south” is not a singular entity, but a large, diverse geographic area, it may be an impossible feat without over-generalizing, particularly as the films begin to vary wildly from The Last Picture Show to Deliverance during the 1970s.

Noelle Griffis