Gone With the Wind Historical Accuracy, Essay Example

In the movie Gone with the Wind, released in 1939, the culture of the South is presented as a graceful, elegant society that becomes romanticized and tragic, because of the defeat of the Confederate states during the Civil War.  It is historically accurate in many ways, but chooses to present the issue of race in a more complex, questionable manner.  This paper will explore different aspects of the movie pertaining to whether its portrayal of that portion of U.S. history, and the issues it raises regarding race, are true to the actual events and people that it portrays.

In Gone with the Wind, there is the implication that northern capitalism was the factor that caused the defeat of plantation life in the South.  The movie blames abolitionists for starting the Civil War because they were determined to do away with slavery as an institution.  In fact, the Civil War was fought in order to prevent the United States from breaking apart into two separate countries.  Had the South not seceded, it is unclear whether the War would have been fought at all, and this was not addressed in the film.  Instead, the film portrays the root cause of the War as deriving from the issue of slavery as well as northern capitalism.

The issue of race in Gone with the Wind is also presented in a way that seems both true to history in some senses, but inaccurate in others.  For example, the word “nigger” was widely used in those days, and thankfully is verboten in modern society, but in the movie, this word does not appear at all.  It is completely understandable that the producers of the film would not want to alienate or antagonize a significant portion of the movie-going audience by using such a vile word; nevertheless, in both the North and South, that word was widely used to refer to African Americans.  One could debate endlessly about whether or not making this change for the film was the correct thing to do: balancing political correctness with historical accuracy in this case is complex, to say the least.

As a result, however, the issue of race is not directly addressed in this movie when in fact, it was a central issue at that time and indeed, continues to be an issue in the United States.  The black characters in Gone with the Wind are portrayed as content with life on the plantation, loyal and dedicated to their masters and their families, and are also presented in a somewhat clownish fashion.  There’s no mention at all of any slaves who tried to escape their situations, who ran away to join the Union armies, and who struggled mightily to begin the process of achieving equal rights.  This aspect of the movie creates an artificial atmosphere since obviously the population of black slaves was not happy with their situations, and even though after the War many of them stayed on the plantations, it was because they were completely unable to manage financially as well as socially since they had never experienced freedom in this country.

A major black character in the film is Mammy, who is presented as somewhat of a buffoon, but who is also a person that Scarlett O Hara turns to for advice, support, and comfort.  This latter aspect seems indeed to be a common role for the slaves that worked in the plantation homes.  The film also presents Prissy, a young woman who is portrayed as silly and hysterical when confronted with being right there when Melanie is about to give birth.  Although she had portrayed herself as being full of knowledge regarding childbirth, when Melanie goes into labor prematurely, Prissy’s famous wail,” But Miss Scarlett, I don’t know nothin’ bout birthin’babies” is a part of the movie that is clearly ridiculing her.

Regarding the portrayal of the Civil War, with its enormous casualties on both sides, the movie is apparently an accurate depiction of wartime.  One of the more memorable scenes is in Atlanta occurs when there are countless bodies of dead, wounded, and moaning soldiers lying on the ground, screaming for help amidst a complete lack of medical help and equipment.  In that scene, one man is heard yelling in agony as his leg as being amputated without anesthesia.  That depiction is historically accurate as well, since the longer the war dragged on, the more sparse supplies became and on the battlefield and in town, doctor were forced to manage with whatever they had on hand.

In addition to the issue of racial relations, Gone with the Wind also touches on the issue of women’s rights and feminism; when Scarlett’s first husband dies, it is considered quite scandalous that she begins taking charge of his business.  The idea of a female working in a position of authority, and being a boss over men, was extremely controversial and unheard of for those times.

The message of the movie is a depiction of the old South as a place of romantic and elegant life which ended because it was attacked by northerners who were only interested in money.  It was also a testament to the importance of land as being the only thing that one can count on, as when Scarlett returns home to Tara after all that she has gone through, and she bends down and grabs a bunch of soil, which is unchanged, and weeps, “As God is my witness, I’ll never go hungry again.”

Because the issue of race is not really examined in a truthful or accurate way, its portrayal in the movie is interesting but isn’t actually relevant to modern life where the struggles regarding race in the United States are continuing.  Most recently, the topic has emerged again regarding the issue of illegal immigration.  The movie’s perspective is that of a Southerner who truly longs for the days when life was beautiful and uncomplicated.

Gone with the Wind is an epic movie that was unique for its time, and still holds up with modern audiences because it is after all a romantic story with a fascinating heroine, and with the horrors of the Civil War and racism only addressed as background issues.

References

Leff, L. (1999, December). “Gone with the Wind” and Hollywood’s racial politics. The Atlantic Monthly, digital edition, 284(6), Retrieved from www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/99dec/9912leff.htm

Monahan, K. (2009). Gone with the Wind: reconstructing the reconstruction. Retrieved from http://mkmonahan.com/articles/GWTW.htm

Westvold, R. (2001). The Civil War and popular fiction. Retrieved from http://www.ruthnestvold.com/CivilWar.htm