Difference between revisions of "Gone with the Wind"

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Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American drama film adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. The film was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner. It follows her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton, and her subsequent marriage to Rhett Butler. <ref>https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Birth+of+a+Nation&oq=The+Birth+of+a+Nation&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64l3j69i60&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8</ref>
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Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American drama film adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. The film was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner. It follows her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton, and her subsequent marriage to Rhett Butler. <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film) Gone with the Wind (film)]. Wikipedia. Retrieved January 16 2021.</ref>
  
 
== Plot ==
 
== Plot ==
 
The story begins at the O’Hara family cotton plantation Tara, in Georgia, as the Civil War approaches. Scarlett O’Hara’s husband dies while serving in the Confederate Army, leaving her a widow and their baby without a father. Melanie, Scarlett’s sister-in-law and the wife of Ashley Wilkes (the neighbor Scarlett actually loves), convinces Scarlett to grieve her dead husband at the Atlanta home of Melanie’s aunt, Pittypat. The arrival of Union forces traps Scarlett in Atlanta, where she becomes acquainted with Rhett Butler. As Sherman’s army burns Atlanta to the ground, Scarlett convinces Rhett to save them by stealing a horse and carriage that will take her and her child back to Tara. Although many neighboring plantations have been destroyed altogether during the war, Tara has not escaped the war’s ravages, either, leaving Scarlett ill-equipped to pay the higher taxes imposed upon the plantation by the victorious Union forces. Returning to Atlanta to try to raise the money she needs, Scarlett is reunited with Rhett, whose attraction to her continues, but he is unable to help her financially. Desperate for money, Scarlett tricks her sister’s fiance, Atlanta businessman Frank Kennedy, into marrying her instead. Insisting on pursuing her business deals instead of staying home to raise their children, Scarlett finds herself accosted in a dangerous part of Atlanta. Frank and Ashley seek to avenge her, but Frank dies in the attempt and it takes Rhett’s timely intervention to save the day. Widowed again, but still in love with Ashley, Scarlett marries Rhett and they have a daughter. But after their daughter’s death—and Scarlett’s attempts to recreate pre-war southern society around her, with Rhett’s money—she realizes it’s not Ashley but Rhett she loves.
 
The story begins at the O’Hara family cotton plantation Tara, in Georgia, as the Civil War approaches. Scarlett O’Hara’s husband dies while serving in the Confederate Army, leaving her a widow and their baby without a father. Melanie, Scarlett’s sister-in-law and the wife of Ashley Wilkes (the neighbor Scarlett actually loves), convinces Scarlett to grieve her dead husband at the Atlanta home of Melanie’s aunt, Pittypat. The arrival of Union forces traps Scarlett in Atlanta, where she becomes acquainted with Rhett Butler. As Sherman’s army burns Atlanta to the ground, Scarlett convinces Rhett to save them by stealing a horse and carriage that will take her and her child back to Tara. Although many neighboring plantations have been destroyed altogether during the war, Tara has not escaped the war’s ravages, either, leaving Scarlett ill-equipped to pay the higher taxes imposed upon the plantation by the victorious Union forces. Returning to Atlanta to try to raise the money she needs, Scarlett is reunited with Rhett, whose attraction to her continues, but he is unable to help her financially. Desperate for money, Scarlett tricks her sister’s fiance, Atlanta businessman Frank Kennedy, into marrying her instead. Insisting on pursuing her business deals instead of staying home to raise their children, Scarlett finds herself accosted in a dangerous part of Atlanta. Frank and Ashley seek to avenge her, but Frank dies in the attempt and it takes Rhett’s timely intervention to save the day. Widowed again, but still in love with Ashley, Scarlett marries Rhett and they have a daughter. But after their daughter’s death—and Scarlett’s attempts to recreate pre-war southern society around her, with Rhett’s money—she realizes it’s not Ashley but Rhett she loves.
By then, however, it’s far too late. Rhett’s love for her has died. <Ref>https://www.thoughtco.com/gone-with-the-wind-book-summary-739924</ref>
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By then, however, it’s far too late. Rhett’s love for her has died. <Ref>Lombardi, Esther. [https://www.thoughtco.com/gone-with-the-wind-book-summary-739924 Plot and Main Characters of Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind"]. ThoughtCo. 8 January 2020. Retrieved January 16 2021.</ref>
  
 
== Controversy ==
 
== Controversy ==
Critics have harshly critizise the film for portraying slaves as happy and content while being loyal to their owners, thus obscuring the brutal conditions in which enslaved people lived, and for painting black people as naive and simple-minded. The film is also attacked for perpetuating Lost Cause myths propounded by white supremacists. <ref>https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-gone-with-the-wind-is-in-controversy-6454618-again/</ref>
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Critics have harshly critizise the film for portraying slaves as happy and content while being loyal to their owners, thus obscuring the brutal conditions in which enslaved people lived, and for painting black people as naive and simple-minded. The film is also attacked for perpetuating Lost Cause myths propounded by white supremacists. <ref>[https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-gone-with-the-wind-is-in-controversy-6454618-again/ Explained: Why the Hollywood classic ‘Gone with the Wind’ is in controversy, again]. The Indian Express. 19 June 2020. Retrieved January 16 2021.</ref>
 
Mammy, who was played by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattie_McDaniel Hattie McDaniel] sees the white people who give her employment as good, while other black people are “bad” and referred to using racial slurs.  
 
Mammy, who was played by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattie_McDaniel Hattie McDaniel] sees the white people who give her employment as good, while other black people are “bad” and referred to using racial slurs.  
  
 
Besides that, during the reconstruction era, as many slaves were freed and joined society for the first time, there was a lot of concern regarding how this would affect the south as white people knew it. These concerns are raised throughout Gone with the Wind, with one scene – which shows McDaniel’s Mammy fending off a leering freeman – suggesting that emancipated slaves were immoral and a threat to women of all racial backgrounds.
 
Besides that, during the reconstruction era, as many slaves were freed and joined society for the first time, there was a lot of concern regarding how this would affect the south as white people knew it. These concerns are raised throughout Gone with the Wind, with one scene – which shows McDaniel’s Mammy fending off a leering freeman – suggesting that emancipated slaves were immoral and a threat to women of all racial backgrounds.
In the same scene, a government official can be heard in the background offering bribes to the freemen. This implies that emancipated slaves were politically and personally naive and too easily manipulated to properly integrate into a Reconstruction era society. <ref>https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/gone-wind-racist-hbo-max-trump-scarlett-o-hara-a9558531.html</ref>
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In the same scene, a government official can be heard in the background offering bribes to the freemen. This implies that emancipated slaves were politically and personally naive and too easily manipulated to properly integrate into a Reconstruction era society. <ref>Lewis, Isobel [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/gone-wind-racist-hbo-max-trump-scarlett-o-hara-a9558531.html Gone with the Wind: Why has the film been accused of racism and will it return to HBO Max?]. Independent. 10 June 2020. Retrieved January 16 2021.</ref>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
 
{{reflist}}
 
[[Category:Black Racism in Drama Movies]]
 
[[Category:Black Racism in Drama Movies]]

Revision as of 14:12, 2 February 2021

Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American drama film adapted from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell. The film was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner. It follows her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton, and her subsequent marriage to Rhett Butler. [1]

Plot

The story begins at the O’Hara family cotton plantation Tara, in Georgia, as the Civil War approaches. Scarlett O’Hara’s husband dies while serving in the Confederate Army, leaving her a widow and their baby without a father. Melanie, Scarlett’s sister-in-law and the wife of Ashley Wilkes (the neighbor Scarlett actually loves), convinces Scarlett to grieve her dead husband at the Atlanta home of Melanie’s aunt, Pittypat. The arrival of Union forces traps Scarlett in Atlanta, where she becomes acquainted with Rhett Butler. As Sherman’s army burns Atlanta to the ground, Scarlett convinces Rhett to save them by stealing a horse and carriage that will take her and her child back to Tara. Although many neighboring plantations have been destroyed altogether during the war, Tara has not escaped the war’s ravages, either, leaving Scarlett ill-equipped to pay the higher taxes imposed upon the plantation by the victorious Union forces. Returning to Atlanta to try to raise the money she needs, Scarlett is reunited with Rhett, whose attraction to her continues, but he is unable to help her financially. Desperate for money, Scarlett tricks her sister’s fiance, Atlanta businessman Frank Kennedy, into marrying her instead. Insisting on pursuing her business deals instead of staying home to raise their children, Scarlett finds herself accosted in a dangerous part of Atlanta. Frank and Ashley seek to avenge her, but Frank dies in the attempt and it takes Rhett’s timely intervention to save the day. Widowed again, but still in love with Ashley, Scarlett marries Rhett and they have a daughter. But after their daughter’s death—and Scarlett’s attempts to recreate pre-war southern society around her, with Rhett’s money—she realizes it’s not Ashley but Rhett she loves. By then, however, it’s far too late. Rhett’s love for her has died. [2]

Controversy

Critics have harshly critizise the film for portraying slaves as happy and content while being loyal to their owners, thus obscuring the brutal conditions in which enslaved people lived, and for painting black people as naive and simple-minded. The film is also attacked for perpetuating Lost Cause myths propounded by white supremacists. [3] Mammy, who was played by Hattie McDaniel sees the white people who give her employment as good, while other black people are “bad” and referred to using racial slurs.

Besides that, during the reconstruction era, as many slaves were freed and joined society for the first time, there was a lot of concern regarding how this would affect the south as white people knew it. These concerns are raised throughout Gone with the Wind, with one scene – which shows McDaniel’s Mammy fending off a leering freeman – suggesting that emancipated slaves were immoral and a threat to women of all racial backgrounds. In the same scene, a government official can be heard in the background offering bribes to the freemen. This implies that emancipated slaves were politically and personally naive and too easily manipulated to properly integrate into a Reconstruction era society. [4]

References

  1. Gone with the Wind (film). Wikipedia. Retrieved January 16 2021.
  2. Lombardi, Esther. Plot and Main Characters of Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind". ThoughtCo. 8 January 2020. Retrieved January 16 2021.
  3. Explained: Why the Hollywood classic ‘Gone with the Wind’ is in controversy, again. The Indian Express. 19 June 2020. Retrieved January 16 2021.
  4. Lewis, Isobel Gone with the Wind: Why has the film been accused of racism and will it return to HBO Max?. Independent. 10 June 2020. Retrieved January 16 2021.