The Order of Myths

The Order of Myths
The Order of Myths
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Margaret Brown
Written by	Margaret Brown
Produced by	Margaret Brown; Sara Cross; Steve Bannatyne
Cinematography	Michael Simmonds
Edited by	Michael Taylor; Margaret Brown; Geoffrey Richman
Distributed by	The Cinema Guild
Release dates	January 19, 2008 (Sundance Film Festival); July 25, 2008 (United States);
Running time	79 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Order of Myths is a 2008 documentary film directed by Margaret Brown. It focuses on the Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, Alabama, the oldest in the United States. It reveals the separate mystic societies established and maintained by Black and White groups, and acknowledges the complex racial history of a city with a slaveholding past.

While showing the mystic societies' ties to economic, class and racial stratification, the film showed the beginnings of interaction between the Black and White courts. It tells some of the history of Africatown, a community formed north of Mobile in 1860 by Africans from Ghana, transported illegally as slaves to Mobile decades after the end of the slave trade.

The film competed in the Documentary Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.^[2] It had a limited release in New York in July 2008, and ran on Independent Lens, a PBS series featuring independent films, in 2009.^[3] It was distributed by The Cinema Guild.

Critical reception

The film appeared on several critics' top-ten lists of the best films of 2008. Andrew O'Hehir of Salon named it the 9th-best film of 2008,^[4] as did Ella Taylor of LA Weekly (along with Moving Midway)^[4] and Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe.^[4] It also won a Peabody Award in 2010.^[5]

References

^ Anderson, John (January 21, 2008). "The Order of Myths". Variety. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
^ "2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films in Competition" (PDF). November 28, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 25, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
^ "Independent Lens: The Order of Myths". Independent Television Service (ITVS). January 26, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Metacritic: 2008 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 2, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
^ White, Tom (April 1, 2010). "Peabody Awards Announced; 'Order of Myths,' 'Brick City' Among Winners". International Documentary Association. Retrieved October 29, 2024.

External links

The Order of Myths at IMDb
The Order of Myths (2008), documentary by Margaret Brown about Mobile Mardi Gras, website

[1] Anderson, John (January 21, 2008). "The Order of Myths". Variety. Retrieved October 29, 2024.

[2008fac-2] "2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films in Competition" (PDF). November 28, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 25, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2008.

[PBS-3] "Independent Lens: The Order of Myths". Independent Television Service (ITVS). January 26, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2009.

[mctop08-4] "Metacritic: 2008 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 2, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2009.

[5] White, Tom (April 1, 2010). "Peabody Awards Announced; 'Order of Myths,' 'Brick City' Among Winners". International Documentary Association. Retrieved October 29, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]