# Gone With The Wind after 75 years - still watchable? Still relevant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560 "2014-09-25T21:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/41 "2014-09-26T13:56:52Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve come across it multiple times on television, recently. “Don’t know what I’m talking about?” Really? I certainly don’t know what YOU are talking about. That’s a trait we share. And please, enlighten me as to where this classic can be seen? ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/42 "2014-09-26T14:01:08Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I demand to know what you are talking about because it makes no sense. In particular, what are you seeing in the ‘sexist portrayals’? There aren’t any in my view. Scarlett O’Hara is one of the strongest and most iconic women in all of literature or movie history. Even the minor females like Mammy, Prissy and others have their own distinct personalities with strengths as well as weaknesses. None of them are portrayed as anything less than the embodiment of people that have really existed. > > Please explain why you think it is a sexist or racist work because I truly do not understand those criticisms. I have the sneaking suspicion that the people making these types of claims have never actually seen the movie or even read the book because these types of complaints are off the wall from my viewpoint. > > This is the Cafe Society on the SDMB. I think people can do better with their arguments than curl up in a ball in the corner and yell ‘South -bad!!!’ repeatedly. What is the intelligent argument here? The novel was written by a woman who refused to attend a class in college because there was a Black female student in it, so calling her work racist isn’t a stretch. Also, a novel and a film which celebrate slavery is offensive, unless of course, you can’t be offended by human bondage. It was an ugly film that’s been placed on the collective back burner. I’m actually surprised that anybody on here is discussing it. What’s next…a review of The Ritz Brothers classics? Perhaps a debate about how the Bowery Boys were an accurate depiction of New York City in the mid-20th century. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/43 "2014-09-26T15:00:40Z")
[Roger Ebert](http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-gone-with-the-wind-1939) gives it 4 stars in his review from 1998. I’ve seen GWTW three or four times in its entirety and I notice something new each time. Is it still relevant today? More relevant than most movies its age I think. It certainly had a strong cultural impact. People still visit the [Old Mill](http://www.arkansas.com/attractions/detail.aspx?id=17601) in North Little Rock, Arkansas in part because it’s thought to be the only structure that appeared in GWTW that’s still standing. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/44 "2014-09-26T15:22:20Z")
The novel is extremely historical accurate. Mitchell got all the details right. I liked the film and can still watch it today. It’s a work of fiction, reflection the mores of the day. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/45 "2014-09-26T16:28:27Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > And please, enlighten me as to where this classic can be seen? > **[Turner Classic Movies - TCM.com](https://www.tcm.com/search/?type=schedule&text=gone%2Bwith%2Bthe%2Bwind)** > > Turner Classic Movies presents the greatest classic films of all time from one of the largest film libraries in the world. Find extensive video, photos, articles, forums, and archival content from some of the best movies ever made only at TCM.com. PLAYING ON TCM: 29-SEP-14 10:00 PM Cast: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland. Dir: Victor Fleming. Details: Epic | 233 mins. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/46 "2014-09-26T16:38:37Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > I look at the "South-as-good-guys’’ tone as a science fiction story. Well Das Boot is one of my favorite movies. A movie that treats the people from losing side of history as people can be very good. GWTW have beautiful cinematography, editing, costumes and some great acting all in service of a mediocre script. (IMHO) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/47 "2014-09-26T17:14:05Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Please explain why you think it is a sexist or racist work because I truly do not understand those criticisms. I have the sneaking suspicion that the people making these types of claims have never actually seen the movie or even read the book because these types of complaints are off the wall from my viewpoint. Sexist: Rhett rapes Scarlett, and it makes her happy. Racist: with the enormous exception of Mammy, every black character is stupid and/or servile. (Servility may be historically accurate, as CalMeacham points out.) Prissy isn’t playing the fool; she is a fool. I’ve read the book and seen the movie a dozen times, and I like it and will probably watch it on Monday. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/48 "2014-09-26T17:34:43Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > it’s really more of a Reconstruction novel. And I wonder if that actually is relevant. It came out in 1936, and I wonder if part of the reason that the book was so popular (Pulitzer, best seller for two years), is that it was the story of a woman who lost everything and then was trying to survive and get her life back. I wonder if a lot of people saw the Reconstruction South as portrayed in the novel as sort of a mirror of the Depression, and that it was relevant for that reason. An interesting point. It is certainly one of my favorite films. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/49 "2014-09-26T17:38:14Z")
I’m a film buff - a film major in college even - but I avoided seeing GWTW until a few years ago. I didn’t think I’d like it, but I knew it was a major hole in my film watching experience. From a filmmaking and artistic perspective, it was fantastic. Sprawling and epic in scope, great performances, amazing cinematography and art design. It really deserves all the accolades it receives. Story and character wise, it managed to be annoying and boring at the same time. Mostly annoying, because I wanted to slap Scarlett hard every time she opened her mouth. Of course the racial and gender roles are terribly dated, but I would never fault a film for being of its time. I had to pause the film after about three and a half hours to go to bed, planning to watch the rest the next day – but I never mustered up the enthusiasm to go back to it. God, I hated Scarlett. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/50 "2014-09-26T18:01:32Z")
By a (not-so) amazing coincidence, NPR ran a story yesterday on these very same lines. > **[When It Comes To 'Gone With The Wind,' Do Kids Today Give A Damn?](https://www.npr.org/2014/09/25/351437425/when-it-comes-to-gone-with-the-wind-do-kids-today-give-a-damn)** > > Many young people haven't seen the 1939 film that their parents and grandparents considered a classic. NPR's Neda Ulaby explores whether the story of Rhett and Scarlett withstands the test of time. It’s hard to define “relevance” when discussing old movies. The themes of unrequited love and overcoming hardship are timeless, so of course they’re relevant. Racial and gender attitudes have changed, so we cringe at things that audiences wouldn’t bat an eye at 75 years ago. That doesn’t make the film irrelevant. Acting and directing styles come and go, so old movies look odd to modern audiences. But I don’t think anyone disputes that GWTW is a great technical achievement. ETA: this is one of those movies that I’ve seen the beginning 10x as often as the end. I tend to wander away when Rhett and Scarlett get married; it’s just dull (and terribly sad) after that. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/51 "2014-09-26T18:43:03Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > “Don’t know what I’m talking about?” > Really? > I certainly don’t know what YOU are talking about. > That’s a trait we share. > > And please, enlighten me as to where this classic can be seen? Already answered, if you’d bother to read the thread. It’s on this Monday night, as a matter of fact. You’re uninformed, and don’t know what you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/52 "2014-09-26T19:30:48Z")
I still think it’s one of those movies someone should see at least once due to it massive popularity, influence, and importance in film history. However, after that, you don’t have to think it’s the greatest movie ever made or even see it again. The only time I’ve seen all of it iis when it was first shown on network television back in 1976. Removed from the big screen and shrank down to the standard dimensions of a 70s-model television, I found it to be an overblown soap opera with mostly unlikeable lead characters. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/53 "2014-09-26T19:49:31Z")
Longer reply later, but I’m guessing the reality of life as a mafia don was a bit less sophisticated and sympathetic than Don Vito Corleone. Most dons were brutal thugs, and even assuming Vito himself isn’t that bad a guy he oversees an empire that takes fortunes from poor neighborhoods by manipulating unions, encourages gambling, gets paid protection, etc., his “most trusted friend” is a baby murdering monster, and he has an innocent horse decapitated to intimidate its owner for the benefit of a spoiled godson. Do the same people who believe GWTW is without merit (other than technical) or relevance feel that THE GODFATHER is an irrelevant and meritless movie because it glorifies urban crime and excuses criminal overlords? ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/54 "2014-09-26T20:20:43Z")
Still relevant to what? The Civil War? I’m not trying to be a smart-ass, but what frame of reference are you looking at? It came out in 1939 which according to some cinema scholars was the Golden Year of Movies. I’ve seen it 12 times on the big screen, countless times on TCM and have worn through 3 copies of the novel. So I guess I like it. I don’t look at it as a history of the U.S. at that particular time. It’s not a factual movie. It’s a movie about woman and her life. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/55 "2014-09-26T21:04:08Z")
For those interested, the memoir entitled _ **Life in Dixie During the War** _, by **Mary A.H. Gay** , provides a look at life in the vicinity of Atlanta during the Civil War. Read it and you can better judge the accuracy of Margaret Mitchell’s depiction of the era. It is out of copyright and available as a free book through Kindle and elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/56 "2014-09-27T00:27:40Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Longer reply later, but I’m guessing the reality of life as a mafia don was a bit less sophisticated and sympathetic than Don Vito Corleone. Most dons were brutal thugs, and even assuming Vito himself isn’t that bad a guy he oversees an empire that takes fortunes from poor neighborhoods by manipulating unions, encourages gambling, gets paid protection, etc., his “most trusted friend” is a baby murdering monster, and he has an innocent horse decapitated to intimidate its owner for the benefit of a spoiled godson. > > Do the same people who believe GWTW is without merit (other than technical) or relevance feel that THE GODFATHER is an irrelevant and meritless movie because it glorifies urban crime and excuses criminal overlords? Funny you should ask. I hate the glorification of mobsters. I hate that so many people enjoy TV shows about mobsters, like they are some modern folk heroes. They murder people to get what they want. They’re thugs, people! I wish they’d all die in a fire. But, The Godfather is a film that grabs my attention. I get hooked watching it. It’s a great story about horrible people. I consider both of them to still have merit as films. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/57 "2014-09-27T01:04:40Z")
I guess if you’re looking at it in purely historical terms it comes up lacking. I also think a case can be made for racism. With the exception of the marital rape scene, I don’t really see the sexism. In fact, the female characters generally are smarter and stronger than the male characters. In fact, most of the major characters are fairly compex and well-rounded. As a piece of cinema, it’s gorgeous. The cinematography is particularly stunning. There are so many shots that are so beautifully framed and lighted. I like to watch it just because it’s so pretty. In the end, it’s a soap opera and it succeeds on that level mainly because the main character is fairly complex. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/58 "2014-09-27T01:26:28Z")
Why do we give a damn about whether or not someone likes a film? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/59 "2014-09-27T03:53:59Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Longer reply later, but I’m guessing the reality of life as a mafia don was a bit less sophisticated and sympathetic than Don Vito Corleone. Most dons were brutal thugs, and even assuming Vito himself isn’t that bad a guy he oversees an empire that takes fortunes from poor neighborhoods by manipulating unions, encourages gambling, gets paid protection, etc., his “most trusted friend” is a baby murdering monster, and he has an innocent horse decapitated to intimidate its owner for the benefit of a spoiled godson. > > Do the same people who believe GWTW is without merit (other than technical) or relevance feel that THE GODFATHER is an irrelevant and meritless movie because it glorifies urban crime and excuses criminal overlords? Well, in a word, yes. Or as **Just Asking Questions** put it better, it is (or may be) a good movie about horrible people. I can’t say because I have avoided seeing any of the Godfather films or the other popular mafia/gangster films for the reasons that \*\*JAQ \*\*states. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560/60 "2014-09-27T12:56:57Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Well, in a word, yes. > > Or as **Just Asking Questions** put it better, it is (or may be) a good movie about horrible people. I can’t say because I have avoided seeing any of the Godfather films or the other popular mafia/gangster films for the reasons that \*\*JAQ \*\*states. How about [Petrified Forest](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028096/). Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? Treasure of the Sierra Madre? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gone-with-the-wind-after-75-years-still-watchable-still-relevant/699560.md?page=4)