In high school in Alabama roughly 50 years ago, I regularly heard female classmates rave about the film “Gone With The Wind.” They especially loved the lead female character, Scarlett O’Hara. I got the impression that some of these classmates didn’t just love Scarlett, they wanted to be Scarlett. A theater in nearby Birmingham, Alabama, showed the movie from time to time, and some of these classmates saw it multiple times.
I wasn’t sure what to think. I wasn’t excited about seeing the movie, and the subject didn’t come up with my high school girlfriends (I had more than one, not at the same time). I somehow graduated from high school without seeing “Gone With The Wind.” Frankly, I didn’t give a damn.
Sometime in the mid-1970s, “Gone With The Wind” was advertised to be broadcast on network television, and I decided to watch it on my 12” black and white tv. I didn’t know that much about the film, I knew it involved the Civil War, Scarlett O’Hara, and Rhett Butler. That’s not much to go on.
Anyway, the nearly four-hour movie was broadcast over two nights, and I watched it all. My reaction was sort of negative. I didn’t like Scarlett O’Hara. I don’t have a problem with strong women, there are many strong women in my family whom I adore. Scarlett was spoiled and annoying. She survived, good for her. I already knew who won the Civil War. Rhett deserved better. There was racism. The end.
I made the mistake of telling some friends I didn’t like “Gone With The Wind.” The scars eventually healed.
I told my much smarter sister that I liked Melanie in the film better than I liked Scarlett. Sis was outraged and lectured me that Scarlett was incredible while Melanie was just too sweet and kind. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to know someone sweet and kind.
My wife, who is also much smarter than me, and actually read the book, loves “Gone With The Wind,” and doesn’t like Melanie either, she thinks she was too weak. Whatever.
I eventually saw this movie again on a large-screen television, and the cinematography is well-done on several scenes. I sort of missed that on the 12” black and white tv. The problem with watching on a high-quality television is that it’s even easier to see the beatch nature of Scarlett O’Hara.
I’m writing this in the summer of 2020. Lately, “Gone With The Wind” has been in the news due to racism in the film. Suddenly the movie is uncool. Maybe I was ahead of my time all of these years.
I haven’t seen “Gone With The Wind” in several years. It’s available on HBO now. I am an HBO subscriber, and I own an even higher-quality television than I had the last time I saw it. Maybe I’ll give it another chance one of these days. It could happen. Besides, if my sister and wife like the film, perhaps I should re-evaluate my position here. Maybe I’ve grown as a person with time. Yeah, right.