Gone with the Wind (1939)

GONE WITH THE WIND

Relate class discussion/text to screening:

     In class, the discussion prior to the screening was based on the background of the film and on African-Americans in cinema. In mainstream Hollywood, African-Americans were generally given menial roles as domestic, genial help or as singers or dancers. This could apply to Hattie McDaniel, "Mammy", who was a servant to the O'Hara family. McDaniel's role was particularly large for an African-American in mainstream Hollywood and her character as "Mammy" contributed much to the film, and the O'Hara family. Aside from McDaniel's role, Gone with the Wind also challenged the Production Code with Rhett Butler's (Clark Gable) famous line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn". The Production Code made an exception in order for "damn" to be used in this film as well as future film to come.

Related article:
     Rotten Tomatoes, a popular film and television review website, gives Gone with the Wind a critic review of 8.6/10 and an audience rating of 3.9/5. Also, the critics came to an general agreement that, "Filmed and presented on a scale not seen in modern productions, Gone with the Wind is, if not the definitive Hollywood film, then certainly near the top of the list". Rotten Tomatoes also provides the summary of the film, the cast, audience and critic reviews, and many other resources on the film. (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gone_with_the_wind/)

Apply the article to the film:
     The analysis from Rotten Tomatoes on Gone with the Wind relates to the film because, besides being solely about the film, it provides the critics reviews and how the audience viewed the film. There were various types of ratings including both good and bad reviews. There were some viewers who raved about the film but did not enjoy it's length, making it hard to sit through. Some critics were not in favor of the film and found it boring while other critics found it astonishing and adored the film. 

Critical analysis:

     Overall, having never previously viewing the film, I found it enjoyable yet, at times, I was able to understand why some critics were bored with it. Also, I am a fan of Clark Gable and have enjoyed the films that he has starred in and enjoy his wit and acting style. The film, being set in the late 1800's, can still be related to and viewers can relate to Scarlett O'Hara's stubbornness and her own relationship issues. The film can be put into modern retrospect regardless of the time period the film was made and portrayed in. For being almost 4 hours in length, Gone with the Wind is a classic technicolor film that deserves the high rating and box office standings it possesses. 

Checklist for plagiarism:

1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 



2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 



4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 



5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 



6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 



7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 



8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.