A Film Analysis of Gone with the Wind, Directed by Victor Fleming, George Cukor and Sam Wood
The movie Gone with the Wind captures America at its best during the Civil War and Reconstruction. The movie's focus centered itself around Scarlett O'Hara, a woman who is used to living a rather privileged lifestyle and her change throughout the movie as different problems come to play. These problems range from the Civil War, to the aftermath of said war, rising taxes, the loss of a couple of husbands, all the while chasing after a man who does not wish to court her. Scarlett can be seen as a symbol of what the South was like before and after the war.
In the beginning of the movie Scarlett lived in the lap of luxury. She was one of the more sought after "belles" in the South, her family had money and owned land. Scarlett's main focus was getting the man of her dreams. Her life was pretty much set, but she wouldn't be complete without her dear Ashley, and that caused her to do and say a few things that she later admitted she was going down for. Even after the war, her focus did not shift. After the war Scarlett and the others no longer had the luxury of a plentiful land full of field workers and people waiting on them hand and foot. Everyone had to scrap together as much as they had to get by. The once dainty belles of the South had to start working the fields to keep food in their stomachs. They had to learn to protect their own as well. After the war getting robbed seemed to have become the norm if you did not have any means of protecting yourself.
As another result of the war Scarlett started doing whatever she could to keep Tara. She went so far as to ruin an arranged set up between one of her sisters and a suitor. Scarlett became very money hungry, not wanting to spend another second hungry and in rags. She even turned a "gentleman" caller named Rhette Butler for money to help her pay the tax on her land. When that failed she broke the arrangement and began to do something frowned upon, running her own business.
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Scarlett is exhibiting behaviors of what the South did to continue to function after the war and during reconstruction. Many business owners like mills and farm land owners started using convicts as a way to save and generate money. Scarlett made it clear that the war was over and not to ask for credit. The South was all for making as much money as possible after the war because it left them in complete devastation. The movie did a great job at portraying the Civil War and the Reconstruction. The South was ill prepared and cocky, and that lead to their inevitable defeat. The wake of death and hunger across the South was a reality after the war, and the movie captured it perfectly with the dead bodies being laid across the ground, Scarlett eating a radish straight out of the dirt, ect.
The criticism of Hattie McDaniel's role as Mammy in the movie was completely illegitimate. This seems to be a problem whenever a movie comes about that involves slavery. Mammy portrayed the mannerisms and behavior of a slave during that point in history. I can't even imagine what the critics mean by black characteristics, being submissive perhaps? Slaves were taught to be submissive, but she was assertive when she had to because she knew what was best for her masters. People will always criticize when it comes down to movies like this, complaining about Mammy's role is just looking for something to be upset with. She did an amazing job in her role and was awarded properly.
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A Film Analysis of Gone with the Wind, Directed by Victor Fleming, George Cukor and Sam Wood. (2023, May 03). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/a-film-analysis-of-gone-with-the-wind-directed-by-victor-fleming-george-cukor-and-sam-wood/
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