J. Ian Irby This near-perfect documentary explains the history of the oldest Mardi Gras in America, in Mobile, AL, as well as the current state of traditions in that Southern city. Mardi Gras balls and parade presentations are still almost exclusively segregated. The major strength of this film is that it seems like anyone (black, white, elderly, very young, official and amateur) will talk freely to director Margaret Brown. Compelling interviews, all-access footage, captivating cinematography, and a good score are the major highlights.This film is highly recommended. It will hold your interest and keep you talking about deep issues afterward. Congratulations to the crew, as this is one of those films that any trained filmmaker would have loved to have made this well.

Roland E. Zwick If you think racial segregation is a thing of the past in the good 'ole U.S. of A, "The Order of Myths" should disabuse you of that notion right quick.It's a little known fact that the Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama is the oldest such celebration on American soil, predating the one in New Orleans by a number of years (some date it to as far back as 1699). Of far more interest and note is that, to this very day, the Mobile Mardi Gras is presided over by a pair of kings and queens - one white, the other black - with the balls and parades largely segregated along racial lines as well. Margaret Brown's fascinating and eye-opening documentary focuses on the history of the event, along with the intense behind-the-scenes preparations for the celebration in 2007. Brown interviews the respective kings and queens, as well as many of the designers and planners responsible for pulling the event off year after year. Brown also chronicles the many "mystical" organizations who donate money and manpower to the cause (the oldest being The Order of Myths, from which the movie derives its title).Brown has opted not to use narration in her film, preferring to let the people she's interviewing speak for themselves, some articulately, some seemingly unaware of how exactly it is they are coming across - or perhaps they do and just don't care. Yet, no matter how desperately we may want to concentrate solely on the pomp and spectacle of the occasion or to join in the celebration, the images of rooms full of white people and rooms full of black people can't help but color our perception and diminish our enjoyment of the carnival as a whole.Still, it would be easy, I suppose, for outsiders to feel smugly superior to the people on screen, not only for their racist and, in some cases, sexist attitudes, but for their allegiance to traditions that may strike many of us as hopelessly outdated and silly. But Brown avoids turning her movie into an excuse for Southern-bashing and post-Bellum condescension by trying to honestly examine the roots and heritage of the community she's chronicling, not excluding the ugly side as well - the slave trade, the lynchings (including one as recently as 1981), the historic influence of the KKK.So, based on this film, can we conclude that present-day Mobile is a hotbed of racists and bigots? Well, it does have an African-American mayor, and there does appear to have been some small movement towards integrating the festivities in recent years.But in this post-Obama era, it might be incumbent on the fine folk of Mobile, in this one respect at least, to make a little effort to join the rest of us here in the 21st Century.A must-see film.

chuckamok2002 I enjoyed the film a lot. There was one lady who related a story about how celebrities who performed in Mobile in the early days had to stay with black families in their homes because they were not allowed in hotels. She said that the famous singer Paul Robeson stayed with her family and even sang a lullaby to her when she was an infant.A great story, if in fact it were true, but I tend to doubt her story as she referred to him on, I think, three times as Paul "Roberson" or mister "Roberson". If he truly did sing to her, would she, as an adult, continue to mis-pronounce his name? His name was Paul Robe-son, no "R" in his name. It was a common error at the time, but surely not for someone who grew up with that story for 30 some years.

ebrid9000 This is currently a better synopsis of the film: "This film does a credible job of showing how Mardi Gras has progressed, or not progressed, in Mobile, Alabama which is the city where the first US celebrations started in 1703. Much is made of the segregated societies, both black and white, still wanting to keep their groups separate and it gives the wrong idea to a lot of people who have seen it. The Globe and Mail in Canada says: "A study of community ritual, pomp and camaraderie, 'The Order of Myths' also gradually unveils the startling connections between the two communities, where the great-grandchildren of slaves and the great-grandchildren of slave owners still live highly segregated lives." This is patently untrue of the city and it's citizens. True, Mardi Gras groups, all but a couple of them, are segregated by race but it is what each society wants for themselves. Freedom of Assembly is a basic tenet of our Constitution and both races, as private organizations, are free to admit whomever they please. Mobile has had a very diverse city and county government for decades and currently has a black mayor, Sam Jones, elected by a wide margin in the last balloting. He is well liked by most everyone in the city as far as I know and will be a shoo-in next time. The movie presents all the parades and balls as just silly merrymaking but with it's emphasis on racial segregation gives the impression of Mobile having separate water fountain, back of the bus, Old Time Southern Democrat forced segregation." - iPhone1954