This compilation features films about the American cotton industry. Cotton has always been an important commodity for America, both as a producer, a consumer and a manufacturer. America currently is the worlds second largest cotton producer and cotton was the single most important crop of the Southern United States for much of the 19th century, which is when it came to be know as King Cotton. These films explore cotton farming, manufacturing, processing, cotton gins, cotton mills, cotton products, and cotton production in general.
Included Films:
California Cotton Mills
California Cotton Mills
Produced: 1924
Length: 7 Minutes
King Cotton
King Cotton
Produced: 1930s
Length: 16 Minutes
When Eli Whitney created the cotton gin he revolutionized the way people thought of cotton almost over night. “King Cotton” is a look at the history, farming, and ultimately the uses of the versatile plant. Produced by Chevrolet the message eventually revolves around how cotton is used in many aspects of Chevrolet cars thought not before explaining everything a person could ever want to know about how cotton is planted, grown, picked, and made into other products. A thoroughly informational look at a fiber that is often overlooked, we are left with no doubt at the end of how cotton is king.
The Plantation System in Southern Life
The Plantation System in Southern Life
Produced: 1950
Length: 10 Minutes
The history of the plantations of the old south have long been steeped in controversy, marred by the way in which many people have shunted aside the grim facts of slavery and slave life. “The Plantation System in Southern Life,” made in the 1950s, curtails around the grim reality of what made a plantation so wealthy and explores a house open for tourists, showing its history through its artifacts of daily living – like a washing bowl and vintage decorations. A family of tourists heads the exploration of this one sided history lesson and as they explore the house, we are taken back in time to see recreations of what life might have really been like for white people on the plantations, how the plantation was organized, and even a glimpse at slave quarters, when cotton and tobacco was king.
How Textile Mills Are Modernizing
How Textile Mills Are Modernizing
Produced: 1958
Length: 26 Minutes
This interesting Technicolor film documents the history and modern technology of textile mills. Electricity changed many production methods for the textile industry and we get to see the old and new ways juxtaposed together for comparison. There are many great shots of all the different processes of cloth making, including the cotton mills, cotton processing, and weaving in the mills. We watch as workers tend machines that comb yarn, spin yarn and thread, weave fabric, and dye fabric. There is also discussion of how the new electric machinery has improved working conditions, eliminating millroom fever and elevating morale. There is a heavy emphasis on the electronics of the machines and much industry jargon is used in the narration. Overall, this is a superb historical film bursting at the seams with valuable content.
