From Birth of a Nation to Ken Burns: The Civil War in Cinema

The American Civil War has been always been a popular subject in cinema. This obsession reflects not only the nation’s ongoing attempt to understand a most traumatic period, it also reveals changing attitudes about American identity and character. This multi-media presentation provides a comprehensive overview of the American Civil War as seen throughout over a century of film history.

Lance Rhoades, Program Director for the Saturday Movie Matinee Series at the Mercer Island Library, teaches film history and theory, and is a frequent speaker on cinema, literature, and history nationally and internationally.