Gone With The Wind Essay

Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 book Gone with the Wind is an American classic. This epic tale is the war and peace of Southern culture. In the 1939 film produced by David O. Selznick, America’s nostalgia for the Old South is filled. It tells the tragic story of peaceful affluence destroyed by the ravages of war and the destitution and desolation of its aftermath. Set in Atlanta, Georgia during the time of the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era, Scarlett O’Hara struggles to survive and prosper. O’Hara, the film’s protagonist, fights her internal battles, while fighting her external battles. There have been many tales of the Old South in the years since the Civil War, but Margaret Mitchell's tale is the one that is most deeply embedded in American

Although gilded by romance and tribulations, this film has influenced how southern culture is viewed. In Karen L. Cox’s article titled “Gone with the Wind as Southern History”, Margaret Mitchell claimed to be quite embarrassed at some of the film’s repercussions. Mitchell discusses the film saying, “Southerners could write the truth about the antebellum South, but everyone would go on believing in the Hollywood version.” This exploits the idea that films in today’s media-driven country heavily influence the way we think. Some critics refute the film as being one-hundred percent historically correct, while others say the majority is correct, therefore shaping the view of the southern culture during this time period. Mitchell stands behind her film saying, “People believe what they like to believe, and the mythical Old South has too strong a hold on their imaginations to be altered by the mere reading of [my] book.” As the most influential medium of popular culture in the first half of the twentieth century, movies shaped what people learned about history. And during the 1930s, movies set in the Old South were very popular. Yet, African Americans fought back. This film was reviled for its racism. They argued that the film not only damaged their race, but it also damaged the fight over civil