The Leaky South

In part three, The Leaky South, Courtney investigates the impact of Tennessee Williams and the Hollywood adaptations of his works on the formation of the image of the South as a “leaky” place with people who are psychosexually in crisis in 50s and 60s. Through a close reading of the movies A Streetcar Named Desire and Baby Doll, Courtney argues that such films define a specific model of gender and sexuality according to geographical codes of identity. This model, shows the complete decay of dream-like version of the Old South with its Big Houses and plantations, specifically depicted in Gone with the Wind, completely ignores the racial conflicts happening in South at the time and replace it with a new version, which describes South as a leaky