When Gone with the Wind was released in 1939, it became one of the top-grossing movies of all time. The movie, based on the 1936 Margaret Mitchell novel of the same name, centered on life in the antebellum South from the Civil War to Reconstruction. The major players in the movie included Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara, Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, Olivia de Havilland as Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes and Hattie McDaniel as Mammy.
The release of this movie is one of the milestones in the film industry. It is one of the first movies shot entirely in Technicolor and one of the first epics after sound. It has also seen as one of the most controversial films of its time. Although the movie is a masterpiece in movie making, Gone with the Wind has also been criticized for its portrayal of women and African Americans.
The major issue raised about the movie is its depiction of slaves. Many feel that the movie glamorizes many stereotypes, including the happy, fat slave and the simpleton. Mammy is the caretaker of the family, the nurturer of the O’Hara girls. Instead of seeing her life as miserable, she seems happy to work hard for the girls, especially the spoiled Scarlett. She even has an air of superiority over the slaves that work in the fields. What people who criticize her role fail to recognize is her strength and how she doesn’t take any of Scarlett’s nonsense.
However, some concerns about race in the movie are valid. While Mammy portrays a character of strength and common sense, the other memorable African-American character does seem to fit the negative profile of the simpleton. Prissy, played by Butterfly McQueen, is a young slave girl that accompanies Scarlett to Atlanta. The scenes that are the focus of critics are the ones when Atlanta is about to be burned to the ground, and Melanie is ready to give birth. Prissy lies to Scarlett and the doctor, saying she has delivered babies. In a pivotal scene, she blurts out, “Lawzy, we got to have a doctor. I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ babies.” Scarlett then slaps her.
While the way slaves are stereotyped in the movie have been received the brunt of the criticism, even the way Scarlett is portrayed is judged. Many people see her as a strong character who doesn’t let the poverty destroy her spirits. However, the fact that she hopelessly pines over a man she can’t have turns some people off. Even her relationship with Rhett, who she often matches wits with, is seen as placing women in a subjective position. The scene where a drunken Rhett Butler carries Scarlett up the stairs is often described as rape. However, the next morning, Scarlett is singing after a night of implied passion.
Classic movies, such as Gone with the Wind, will always receive criticism when studied through the eyes of our changing world. Many of the claims are valid; however, we cannot fully understand what message the movie makers were trying to make in 1939.
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