Gone With the Wind

 I took a class a few years ago called Multiculturalism and Social Justice in the American Musical Theater, and though it is not a musical, that's where I first heard of the infamous "Gone With the Wind." It is a staple of American art and a critically acclaimed classic that is known and deeply respected by anyone who considers themselves a movie buff or critic. The fact that I heard about this movie in a class about a topic not even remotely related to it demonstrates how important this film was to the country's cultural consciousness.

Within the first 20 minutes of the movie you can see that the setting is a very romanticized version of the South. There's a shot of Scarlet, the heroine, played by Viven Leigh, standing with her father looking off into the sunset after he shows her and the audience a glimpse of his worldview with the following quote: "Land is the only thing that amounts to anything, for 'tis the only thing in this world that lasts." This scene is accompanied by an absolutely beautiful orchestral arrangement that made even me swoon a little! The score and scenery of this film does a masterful job at developing the idea of the South being an open expanse of land full of wonder and beauty. Whether this was true to history or not is an entirely different conversation.

Reinforcing this romantic idea of the South is the character of Mammy, played by Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel, and her treatment both of the O'Hara family and by the O'Hara family. She is a domineering figure in the house, constantly scolding the O'Hara daughters for behaving unladylike or like "po' white trash." She seems to command respect among the daughters though, as she has been a motherlike figure present throughout their whole lives. She is the defining image of a hard-working woman and is the glue that keeps the family together throughout the movie. Though I love her character in the film, I believe her portrayal could have given the white audience a rose-tinted view of slavery. One devoid of brutality, and one that instead treats slaves as if they were a part of the family. That being said, the darker undertones of slavery slip through the cracks at some points in the film. Normally, Mammy's the one telling Scarlett what to do and giving her advice, but when she warns her about Ashley's return from the war being a bad thing, Scarlett orders her to pack her bags like Mrs. O'Hara told her to, resulting in an uncharacteristically quiet and taken aback Mammy, a subtle reminder of the social hierarchy at this time. Another illustration is in Scarlett's treatment of Prissy, another female slave working in the O'Hara estate. In order to make her work faster she threatens to sell her further South, threatens to whip the hide off of her, and she smacks her when she finds out she doesn't know how to deliver a baby. 

The film uses many devices to develop this romantic idea of the Civil War South, maybe to make for more effective storytelling, maybe to mask inconvenient truths, or maybe some of both. Regardless of the reason, I still find the film to be a magnificent and extremely entertaining window into this country's past. From both an artistic standpoint and a historical standpoint.