The 1939 film Gone with the Wind is often considered an American classic - its epic scope and sweeping romance granted the film ten Academy Awards, also being nominated for Best Original Score. Despite being a representation of a historical setting, the film itself seems to romanticize the South in a way that real history reveals it does not warrant; the privilege that Scarlett receives as a rich white woman, and the ways in which she uses it (and how she is ultimately undermined by a powerful, masculine man) are not given the criticism this topic may deserve. I think the film should have made sure to have a more realistic portrayal of life in the South, by showing the realities of plantation life, and having a more sympathetic portrayal of blacks in the film.
There are quite a few things I do like about the movie. As a film itself, it holds up very well, and the performances and sets are all very wondrous to look at. There is lots of humor and intrigue in the story, and the romance between Scarlett and Rhett Butler is at least bolstered by good performances. However, I think a lot of what I dislike about it is the overly positive view of the South that the film has, as it is very romanticized and glosses over some of the uglier parts of the attitudes and political conditions that led to the Civil War.
The character of Scarlett O'Hara is the most important one in the film, as the movie follows her story; as a result, it also follows her outlook. Her life on a plantation, because she is the master, is presented very glamorously; the plantation itself is gorgeous, with the beautiful cinematography of the film capturing the deep reds and verdant greens that make up the Tara plantation. The house itself is palatial, with high ceilings, fine china, and long stairwells, showing just how opulent her life really is. She lives without much trouble; her only real problems at the beginning of the film (and, to some extent, the entirety of the film) are romantic in nature. All she really concerns herself with are the romantic entanglements she finds herself in, and the maintenance of the status quo - given the beauty of Tara as a paradise, it is difficult to blame her in the context of the film.
The music is one way that, admittedly, the film ties itself closely to its Civil War-era roots. The music for Gone with the Wind does not begin and end with Max Steiner's orchestral score - one of the most interesting parts of the movie is the fact that so many traditional American songs were used as well, primarily from the nineteenth century. Much of the music stems from the Civil War era, but there were many other examples of preexisting music before that. "The Bridal March" is used whenever Scarlett and Rhett's marriage is brought up. Christmas dinner at Aunt Patty's is accompanied by "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and the Negro spiritual "Go Down Moses" is used during the scene when slaves are sent to dig trenches for the Confederate Army in Atlanta. These songs and others are not 'diegetic' - not coming from someone playing or singing them in the movie itself - but instead are part of the score. The ultimate purpose of this is to place the audience in the aristocratic, yet folksy atmosphere of the Confederate South in which the film is set; hearing these songs, which are contemporary to the period, the audience believes more intently that they are experiencing 19th century Georgia.
The Civil War is presented as this evil specter of conflict that will consume everything around it, including Tara; Scarlett manages to survive it, saying that "tomorrow is another day," but this implies that they must survive despite the Civil War, not because of it. It is not an issue for Scarlett that the forces that made the Civil War happen (slavery, etc.) still exist, but she just resents that it happens in the first place. It takes away everything she cares about - Ashley, Rhett, Tara - and leaves seemingly nothing for her (that she feels she deserves, anyway). I felt that this portrayed Scarlett as the victim, which she is to an extent; however, it can be difficult to see someone merely have to let go of their white privilege in the face of forces that are attempting to free slaves and restore the Union.
This is not to say that the filmmakers completely sugarcoated the evilness of the war, or the inherent wrongness of slavery; there is a lot to the horrors of war depicted in the film that shows the realities of the Civil War. We see the war hospital, complete with amputations and wounded people, more wounded crowded in train stations, battles with the danger of civilians being hurt, and people falling into poverty because of the war; all of these things help to illustrate just how ugly things got for the South, and America as a whole, during the war.
However, there are quite a few things the film oversimplifies and glamorizes. First off, the plantations are far nicer and more glamorous than were the norm. While there were many nice plantation houses in America, they were never as opulent as Tara; this, I assume, is mostly due to the love of spectacle and extravagance that Hollywood films loved at this time. In this grand location, the plantation house seems more like a castle, which furthers the idea that Southern hospitality and chivalry were being maintained here, making Scarlett and the other characters far more heroic and romantic than they perhaps deserved to be. This is what the film presents plantation living as; constant fretting about in palatial estates, acting as the upper crust while the actual dirt and work and slaves were something to keep a great distance from. In fact, slave owners were far more middle class than this film would lead us to believe, and they were not all rich land barons and baronesses. In Gone with the Wind, plantation owners are akin to royalty, and we are meant to marvel at the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.
The Southern attitude toward the Civil War is part of the romanticized world of the film; this is especially true with the treatment of the character of Mammy, Scarlett's wise, overweight servant woman. The film toys with the idea of her being a strong black character, through her obvious influence in Scarlett's life, and her own outspokenness; however, this merely serves to perpetuate stereotypes of the loud-mouthed, overly charismatic and overweight black woman who is "sassy." The fact that Mammy herself seems to be fine with the arrangement of being a slave to Scarlett O'Hara, if only for the fact that she is innately invested in Scarlett's well-being. This relationship seems one-sided, as Mammy sides with Scarlett even after her plantation has been burned to the ground; the film implies that slaves and servants like Mammy are the ideal, as they will stay with you even when they have a chance to escape.
The phenomenon of slavery is not shown to be a villainous restriction of the rights of an entire set group of people, but an amicable understanding between whites and blacks, who understand "their place" in society. Except for Mammy and a few select others, black people are neither seen nor heard in this movie, making the slavery issue something that is merely glossed over. The Southerners in this film are depicted as romantic heroes, fighting against the cold pragmatism and barbarism of the dreaded Yankees. Slaves are depicted not as indentured servants, but as trusted, loyal members of the family, glossing over the ugly reason why they are there in the first place. Union soldiers rape and pillage the south, according to the film; Scarlett's killing of Union soldier early in the second half is shown to be justified, as they are able to take his money and maintain the plantation. This is seen not as murder, but as a heroic act; therefore, the film takes a decidedly pro-South stance.
The portrayal of Scarlett O'Hara as a strong female character is, admittedly, one of the finer points of the film. Here, we learn that Southern women were just as capable as men (and often just as responsible) when it came to the maintenance of plantations and family homes. The fact that Scarlett does do some of the hard physical labor herself goes a long way toward rehabilitating her character and bridging the gap between her and her servants. Here, the movie manages to show the role of women to take care of the home and even defend it while the men are away, showing a surprisingly feminist portrayal of a woman who will do anything to "never go hungry again!" However, this is somewhat undermined by her constant pining for Ashley, and the implication that all she needs is someone to be callous to her in order to win her approval.
In my opinion, they could have done one of two things to make the film a bit less objectionable; first, they could have de-glamorized the South to make it fit its more realistic nature - opulence of that kind was not normal in the South, and the slave-master relationship was a bit more contentious. Alternatively, they could have maintained that level of glamour and changed the message a bit; instead of glamorizing the South on the surface, it could have been a condemnation of those kinds of attitudes through satire. For example, Scarlett's actions, while well-intentioned, should not have been rewarded with romance; by showing her refusal to see the truth of her situation, it could have presented a stark contrast between what people thought the South was like and what it really was.
In many ways, I think this is the America a lot of people talk about when they think about "what America used to be," especially in reference to their anxiety and fear of the changing times in America. Here, in Gone with the Wind, conflict is simple, there is a clear love story, and the fight against Northern Oppression is righteous. Slaves are mostly peaceful, docile people who do not necessarily mind being enslaved as long as their master is nice to them, and white people can enjoy their privilege without any of the guilt associated with it. Life was simpler back then, at least as Gone with the Wind portrays it, and so often people wax nostalgic about a time that may have never really existed - they just believe it did because of the idealized images seen in movies like this.
In conclusion, despite the endlessly entertaining and invigorating nature of the film as entertainment, it still glosses over many historical footnotes and events to an extent that it misrepresents them. Slavery is something that the slaves tacitly accept, plantation life is glamorous and wonderful, and the Union is this encroaching specter of doom that represents pure evil in the face of beautiful, pastoral Georgia. These things are what should change about the film if it were to be more historically accurate; despite this, as a piece of Southern fantasy it is a treat to watch.
Works Cited
Fleming, Victor (dir.) Gone with the Wind. Perf. Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard.
MGM, 1940. Film.
