One of the goals of this blog is to look at the way reenactors are portrayed in popular culture. Perhaps one of the places that reenacting has been depicted the most is on cartoon shows. By my count there are six cartoons which have depicted Civil War reenactments.
The Simpsons by far has had the largest number of Civil War reenactments (not surprising considering the fact that the show has been on the air for 22 years).
Homer the Great (Season 6)
Synopsis: It is discovered that Homer is The Chosen One, the prophesized leader of the Stonecutters, an ancient secret society. Homer intends to use the club to stage a reenactment of the battle of Gettysburg but after the society abandons him he decides to reenact the battle with colobus monkeys instead.
What they got right: A lot of reenactors are members of a certain ancient secret society and enjoy advertising it to the point that some reenactments and groups put the stipulations “no Masonic emblems” in their authenticity guidelines. The Camp Chase Gazette, a magazine for reenactors, ran a series of articles on how to reenact a 1860s Masonic meeting.
What they got wrong: Pretty much everything, I hope to God I never go to a reenactment with colobus monkeys! The uniforms on the monkeys are just bad (I can’t believe I had to just write that sentence).
The PTA Disbands (Season 6)
Synopsis: The episode opens with Bart’s class visiting Fort Springfield a Civil War era fort (which looks like something from a bad western) which has recently been purchased by Diznee and is now charging an entrance fee. As such the class has to spy on the reenactment of the battle in which the “Ninth Bearded Infantry” slaughters a group of Confederate soldiers who are attempting to surrender calling out “we need leaches and hack saw for our gangrenous limbs.”
What they got right: Many historic sites employ reenactors to interact with the public, occasionally involving battles. It should be noted that the year before this episode aired Disney had proposed building a park in Haymarket Virginia dedicated to American history that would have included a Civil War fort, a battlefield where daily battles would be reenacted, and a lake where the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac would be reenacted.
What they got wrong: The uniforms were pretty bad but that’s really about it, I personally think that this would have reflected “Corporate History” as it would have happened at the proposed park or any other “corporate” history park.
Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious (Season 8)
Synopsis: Marge is losing her hair from stress so the family decides they need to hire a nanny. Homer says that to help to pay for the nanny he will give up “the Civil War recreation society [he] loves so much.” The scene then jumps to Moe’s Tavern where the regulars are preparing for their reenactment. Moe remarks that they now need a new General Ambrose Burnside since Homer has left. It is also revealed that Apu portrays Stonewall Jackson to which he adds “the South shall COME AGAIN!”
What they got right: Once again this is a very short segment so there’s not much here to work with but the presence of alcohol is a realistic touch.
What they got wrong: Although a few of the bar flies wear uniforms of the common soldier the majority of men portray historic figures and generals. In reenacting (well, good reenacting) there are very few people portraying historic figures. In essence their group wouldn’t need that many people portraying officers and presidents. This is a common misconception that reenactors dress up as historic figures. The uniforms are pretty bad.
The Sweetest Apu (Season 13)
Synopsis: It’s time to reenact the Battle of Springfield (apparently not the same one that was fought at Fort Springfield). Homer prepares for the reenactment by getting a keg at the Kwik-E-Mart. The battle, which was fought between the North, the South and the East (soldiers wearing plaid), starts out well but quickly degrades with a rollerblading Disco Stu portraying Stonewall Jackson and Professor Frink in a giant mechanical spider (ala Wild Wild West).
What they got right: Barney playing General Grant and getting drunk off of Homer’s keg is a great moment. While the anachronisms are more over the top than most reenactments Principal Skinner getting upset at the inaccuracies is also a good moment.
What they got wrong: The Simpson’s falls into an all too common trap, and that is that reenactors are locals who get together to celebrate a battle fought at their town and then hang up their uniforms for the rest the year, rather than being dedicated outsiders who come to in order to reenact the battle. I suspect this is more a plot device to allow the characters to become reenactors rather than an overall misunderstanding of reenacting. While they’re still pretty bad the uniforms are better than any other Simpson’s episode.
Family Guy: To Love and Die in Dixie
Synopsis: When Chris witnesses a robbery at a convenience store the family is put into the Witness Protection Program somewhere in the Deep South. While there the family watches a “Civil War Reenactment” which involves a stage on which actors portraying Grant and Lee argue before Lee defeats a drunken and obscene Grant when he falls over, thereby winning the Civil War.
What they got right: Pretty much the only thing is that Civil War reenactors are indeed human beings, other than that…
What they got wrong: Pretty much everything. Civil War reenactments don’t take place on a stage and almost never involve interactions between historic figures. The episode also depicts reenactors as ignorant rednecks who use the reenactment to push neo-Confederate propaganda about the nobility of the South and the incivility of the North.
South Park: The Red Badge of Gayness
Synopsis: The town is preparing to reenact the Battle of Tamarack Hill (a fictional battle). To win a bet with Stan and Kyle Cartman assumes the role of Robert E. Lee and, after getting the Confederate reenactors drunk on S’more Schnapps (the official sponsor of the reenactment), convinces his troops to win the battle. Afterwards the drunk troops continue their onslaught across the country in an attempt to win the Civil War for the Confederacy. In the end Kyle and Stan end the rebellion by dressing up as Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln and surrendering the Confederacy.
What they got right: Many reenactors assume that there is a spy amongst us who helped write this episode and S’more Schnapps has become a standard reference amongst drunken soldiers around the camp fire. Indeed many a reenactment has been fueled by liquor, but of course not to the extent that the episode depicts.
Is someone spying on us?
What they got wrong: Once again the episode falls into the all too familiar plot device of having the town members dress up to reenact a local battle. The uniforms are pretty generic although the worst mistake is the use of the Confederate first national flag as the American flag.
The Cleveland Show: The Blue the Gray and the Brown
Synopsis: When Cleveland is manipulated by a wealthy local man, Emerson Plunkett V, into helping save a statue of the slave owning town founder Cleveland decides to beat him at his own game, by winning the reenactment of the battle of Stoolbend. Along with Tim the Bear, Holt, and Lloyd, Cleveland wins the battle by going to the library and reading the Wikipedia article on the battle, thereby preventing the Union troops from falling into a trap. In the end Lester, who refused to break his tradition of reenacting the Confederates, takes a “fake bullet” for Cleveland allowing him to finally defeat Plunkett by shooting him in the arm, which Cleveland notes he will have to have amputated which will get infect and eventually kill him.
Cleveland Informs the Union Commander of the Trap
What they got right: The reenactment is hands done the best one of these in terms of material culture although it still has its problems. They don’t say much about reenactors as a group, rather focusing on Cleveland’s own motives for reenacting.
Lester Takes a Fake Bullet for his Friend
What they got wrong: Once again reenactors are portrayed as locals who gather to reenact a particular local battle. They mostly act as if the reenactment is something that takes part of a single day rather than an entire weekend. Taking hits, that is getting shot, is treated like a game children play with comments like “I got you,” “No you didn’t,” which depicts reenactors almost as children playing war.
Honorable Mentions
There are two cartoon episodes that should be mentioned even though they don’t relate directly to Civil War reenacting exactly.
Futurama: Lethal Inspection
This episode starts with a reenactment of the Sith-al War, a future conflict between Earth (whose uniforms bear a striking resemblance to Union uniforms) and the Sith. The reenactment includes cardboard props and resembles Live Action Role Playing more than reenacting.
American Dad: In Country…Club
A truly wonderful and hilarious episode. Stan takes Steve to a Vietnam reenactment at a local country club so he can appreciate what veterans have gone through. The reenactment is carried out using paintball guns (and derivatives including sharpies as knives, and paint sprayers as flame throwers) and golf carts as PT boats and helicopters (with a ceiling fan mounted on the roof). Throughout the episode the country club members who seem to be going about their daily lives interact with the reenactors. Steve takes the reenactment too far and ends up suffering PTSD. The episode is more of a commentary on Vietnam than on reenacting but depicts the reenactors, while committed to experiencing and depicting the true horrors of war, as inevitably partaking in a farce. A great comment though is made about Civil War reenactors when Stan says to Steve, who thinks they’re going to a Civil War reenactment, “No, Civil War reenactments are for historians and people who hate blacks.” This commentary is something that I think is at times too true as a segment (albeit a small one) of the Confed reenacting population are proponents of Neo-Confederate beliefs.
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