History Channel Film Draws Ire Of Reenactors
By Ed Ballam

Ft. WAYNE, Ind. - A growing group of reenactors has called for a national boycott of The History Channel and its sponsors for airing what they feel is a program that sullied their reputations.

They feel the documentary characterized them as "wild-eyed wackos," racists bent on perpetuating the Civil War, and linked them to modern-day hate groups.

The producer of the show says that was not what he was trying to do and apologizes if some reenactors took offense at his work.

The program entitled "The Unfinished Civil War" aired twice in February and received critical accolades from a variety of fronts. It was written and produced by Glenn Kirschbaum of Greystone Communications in North Hollywood, Calif.

The reaction from a large group of reenactors was apparently much different. They rejected the show claiming it stereotyped every Civil War reenactor as a "Confederate flag-waving racist." While acknowledging that hate-groups exist, the boycott organizers say the film wrongly smeared reenactors by linking them to a "fringe element promoting a political agenda" while ignoring the fact that most reenactors participate to portray the history of the Civil War and honor those who fought in it.

Paul Calloway of Ft. Wayne, Ind., is the reenactor who spearheaded the drive to boycott The History Channel and its sponsors.

"Every time that film airs it does more and more damage to our hobby," Calloway said in a telephone interview from his home. "It promotes the perception that we're all a bunch of wild-eyed wackos." Calloway and his supporters are demanding an apology and a promise that the film will not air again.

The film's producer is listening to their request.

"I know there are some reenactors who are upset with the film and that upsets me," said Kirschbaum in a telephone interview. He said he did not intend to offend anyone and apologizes if the film was misconstrued.

Calloway said reenactors, numbering into the thousands, are offended that the film married reenactors with the controversies surrounding the Confederate battle flag and racism in America.

"We don't reenact to help keep the Confederacy alive, we reenact to honor our ancestors," said Calloway who is a Western Federal impressionist with the Tar Water Mess.

In the weeks prior to the showing, Calloway said The History Channel promoted "The Unfinished Civil War" as a documentary that would delve into the world of reenacting and examine why people are involved with the
activity. What was aired was something completely different, he said, noting that the film looked at the flag controversy, examined racism and had only about 15 minutes dedicated to reenacting, despite that every promotional advertisement featured reenactment scenes, not highly charged flag rallies that were a large part of the final production.

Kirschbaum said he did originally intend to focus just on reenactors, but when he started working on the story, he found something completely different and set about to film a larger story. He also said the film in its introduction explains the shift in focus.

"We were trying to show that the repercussions of the Civil War are still being felt today," Kirschbaum said. "We were telling parallel stories."

Kirschbaum said he and his company are working on a statement they plan to issue in regard to the film, but as of presstime, the exact language of it had not been finalized.

"It is not in my best interest to offend reenactors," Kirschbaum said.

As for the request that "The Unfinished Civil War" not air again, Kirschbaum said he made the film for The History Channel which owns it. It will be up to the network whether it airs again.

Mike Feeney, director of public relations for The History Channel, said the film has aired twice and it is not presently in the network's lineup.

"It is not scheduled to be re-aired as of yet," Feeney said in a telephone interview. He would not comment on whether it would air again, saying that decision had not been made.

In response to the boycott, which was announced in early March, just weeks after the Feb. 19 airing, The History Channel issued the following statement:

"The History Channel produces programs that tell stories as they happened, looking at these issues fairly and from all sides. 'The Unfinished Civil War' was no exception. In 'The Unfinished Civil War,' we presented a straightforward portrayal of how the Civil War still affects the lives of some Americans today. As journalists and documentary producers, we also recognize that it would be impossible for one program to represent every element, and address every concern, of the Civil War reenactment community."

Calloway said he and others in the reenacting community are looking for a written apology which they can distribute. The apology will be used to rebuff critics who point to the film as evidence that reenactors are racists, he said.

"There has been some damage done already and we can't go back and undo that damage, but we can prevent more from happening," Calloway said, noting that some schools have cancelled programs by reenactors and living history impressions in the fervor caused by the film. A letter might help reverse the negative impressions some reenactors feel the film left, he said.

Calloway said an electronic petition calling for the boycott, posted on the Internet, has already garnered nearly 3,000 signatures. He believes that the number could easily grow to more than 10,000 if the petition was physically circulated at reenactments.

"I think The History Channel and Greystone Communications realizes that there is a large number of us who are upset," Calloway said.

Kirschbaum acknowledged that.

"We're hearing them loud and clear," Kirschbaum said, noting that he did not intend to "lump" reenactors in with racists and those caught up in the battle flag controversy.

"I made a film that I thought captured the mood of the country," Kirschbaum
said.

He said the outrage of the reenactors caught him by surprise, based on the rave reviews the film had been receiving from around the country and the critical acclaim it had, not only from within the Civil War community, but from mainstream media outlets as well, including the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly.

"We thought we had an absolute winner," Kirschbaum said.

He said that he and his production company have "for years been champions of Civil War reenactors with a number of other Civil War films having been produced using Civil War reenactors.

"The Unfinished Civil War," despite its promotion, is not solely about reenactors and Kirschbaum thought the explanation at the beginning of the film set the record straight. He said he believes much of the controversy
lies in a misconception.

"People were expecting one thing and got something else," Kirschbaum said, noting that an appearance by David Duke in the film may have touched off a negative reaction within the reenactor community who thought they were being included in his company.

"We set out to do a film about weekend warriors and what we found was completely different. Some people understood what we were trying to do, some didn't." He said good people can have different opinions and there is "always room for dialogue." Kirschbaum said people should view the film for themselves and form their own opinions.

Calloway said that if Greystone Communications and The History Channel have any plans of working with reenactors in the future, an apology had best be forthcoming. The boycott, according to Calloway, was initiated because there was not prompt reaction from the production company or the network.

"We felt we needed to put the petition up to put in writing what we were feeling," Calloway said. "If they hope to work with us again, we really need an apology and that film needs to stop airing. If it doesn't, they may not have a lot of support from reenactors in the future. I certainly don't want to be portrayed as a racist."