| − | There are a lot of accurate points of this movie from the multiple clothing styles of the different eras to the attitudes of pre-war and post-war Southerners. It is clear during the winter of 1863/64 that things had turned for the worse in the war. While Ashley is home they talk about the last chicken and the last bit of wine and the shortage of fabric, also Ashley explains that the South is on the retreat and he believes they have no hope for victory, which was true after Gettysburg. The men before the war are completely unpractical and have too much "arrogance" as Rhett says. Young, eager Charles Hamilton thinks that the war will be over in a couple of weeks. By the wars end, the film does an excellent job at showing the loss. Not just the poverty and the carpetbaggers and the burning of plantation homes, but that "nearly every home in the county" lost sons and fathers. The men who come back, like Ashley, are forever damaged and weakened mentally, if not also physically, by post-traumatic stress, which was understandable when most were homeless and without income. From the perspective of white planter Southerners, the viewpoints and attitudes and beliefs aren't totally inaccurate, most white people in the South in 1939 still saw felt the tragic loss of a grand and noble civilization that was now "gone with the wind," never mind what former slaves or their children really felt of thought about the time and the war. And no American film to this point had shown the gritty, destructive side of war as seen from the home front like GWTW had. The shortage of medical supplies and the sheer numbers of the injured and dying that Scarlet encounters at in the hospital. --Jackie Reed | + | There are a lot of accurate points of this movie from the '''multiple clothing styles of the different eras''' to the attitudes of pre-war and post-war Southerners. It is clear during the '''winter of 1863/64 that things had turned for the worse in the war'''. While Ashley is home they talk about the last chicken and the last bit of wine and the shortage of fabric, also Ashley explains that the South is on the retreat and he believes they have no hope for victory, which was true after Gettysburg. The men before the war are completely unpractical and have too much "arrogance" as Rhett says. Young, eager Charles Hamilton thinks that the war will be over in a couple of weeks. '''By the wars end, the film does an excellent job at showing the loss'''. Not just the poverty and the carpetbaggers and the burning of plantation homes, but that "nearly every home in the county" lost sons and fathers. '''The men who come back, like Ashley, are forever damaged and weakened mentally, if not also physically,''' by post-traumatic stress, which was understandable when most were homeless and without income. From the perspective of white planter Southerners, the viewpoints and attitudes and beliefs aren't totally inaccurate, most white people in the South in 1939 still saw felt the tragic loss of a grand and noble civilization that was now "gone with the wind," never mind what former slaves or their children really felt of thought about the time and the war. And no American film to this point had shown the gritty, destructive side of war as seen from the home front like GWTW had. The shortage of medical supplies and the sheer numbers of the injured and dying that Scarlet encounters at in the hospital. --Jackie Reed |
| | As Jackie said, there were a lot of things that the movie did get right, such as one scene where Rhett tells Scarlett that she has to date him because "there is no one else around older than 16 and younger than 60 to show [her] a good time." As we discussed in class, most of the men in the South during the Civil War between those ages were off fighting, and many of them died, posing a problem for the women back at home. ~Katherine Stinson~ | | As Jackie said, there were a lot of things that the movie did get right, such as one scene where Rhett tells Scarlett that she has to date him because "there is no one else around older than 16 and younger than 60 to show [her] a good time." As we discussed in class, most of the men in the South during the Civil War between those ages were off fighting, and many of them died, posing a problem for the women back at home. ~Katherine Stinson~ |
| − | The movie does a good job at portraying history to many degrees. Certain scenes really put the viewer into historical perspective, such as the scene that shows the Yankees offering currently freed blacks 40 acres and a mule. The scene in which Ashley explains to Scarlett that using forced prison labor was less ethical than using “darkies” because any forced labor was a moral wrong goes to show that white slave owners who held slaves may have saw themselves as not practicing any form of forced labor. Even Ashley states that there was a major difference between the treatment of chained prisoners and his slaves, as he boasts he treated his slaves much better. James Drury | + | The movie does a good job at portraying history to many degrees. '''Certain scenes really put the viewer into historical perspective, such as the scene that shows the Yankees offering currently freed blacks 40 acres and a mule'''. The scene in which Ashley explains to Scarlett that using forced prison labor was less ethical than using “darkies” because any forced labor was a moral wrong goes to show that white slave owners who held slaves may have saw themselves as not practicing any form of forced labor. Even Ashley states that there was a major difference between the treatment of chained prisoners and his slaves, as he boasts he treated his slaves much better. James Drury |