In 1936, the secretary of the NAACP wrote to the director of Gone With the Wind expressing suggesting that he would hire someone to check “possible errors” of fact when creating the movie. However, as written in a New York Times article about Gone With the Wind, “Selznick initially floated the name of one potential African-American adviser, but ultimately hired two whites, including a journalist friend of Mitchell’s, tasked with keeping the Southern speech authentic (a matter of great concern to some white fans of the novel who wrote to Selznick) and avoiding missteps on details like the appropriateness of Scarlett’s headgear at an evening party." In our class Wiki page and in class discussion, we have heavily discussed the horrible inaccuracies regarding the portrayal of slaves in the movie, but respected the lengths that they took to make other aspects historically accurate. However, on the Wiki page in response to the question as to whether this film would work as a good secondary source, not a single person said yes. Though the filmmakers did a great job replicating the attire of the era and sections such as the destruction of the Battle of Atlanta, overall the historical inaccuracies bog down any extra lengths that the filmmakers took. Picky details are not enough to allow a modern audience to overlook the deviations from reality. As said by fellow classmate Sarah Moore, "Compared to the ways in which we know enslaved people were treated and punished by their captors, to the real causes of the Civil War, Gone With the Wind fails to put any real historical weight onto the tables." While the movie serves as a relic of its time, it does not stand on solid historical ground.

Citation: Schuessler, Jennifer. “The Long Battle Over ‘Gone With the Wind.’” New York Times, June 15, 2020. Accessed October 9, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/movies/gone-with-the-wind-battle.html

Within the script of Gone With the Wind, the dialogue of the black characters is disgustingly exaggerated, which is exemplified here, as Prissy’s dialogue is filled with stereotypical text, which is painfully obvious when compared with the white characters. This was definitely done on purpose by the filmmakers, likely to make the black characters seem uneducated and unintelligent. The use of dialect as a weapon against African Americans is very harsh and upsetting, as back in the 1860s, many African Americans were unable to obtain an education. This helps perpetuate the narrative that the book and movie go for, and one that we had discussed in class. In class, we discussed the idea of paternalism, which describes the view that the relationship between masters and slaves was a mutually beneficial relationship. Enslaved people would give their work and loyalty in return for their masters providing food and protection. This view was also discussed in George Fitzhugh’s “The Blessings of Slavery.” In this writing, he stated that Black people are the “happiest” and “freest” people in the world and that the women do “little hard work” and that a hatred to slavery was actually a hatred to Black people. While this is of course not the truth, it was the way that masters and mistresses truly viewed slavery, and is a narrative that this film continues to perpetuate. This choice is definitely telling of the time period it was made because it catered to a generally racist and segregated society. The African American cast members could not even attend the Southern premiere of the movie, so it is very believable that the movie itself would depict an unfavorable view of the characters. Citations: McClurken, Jeffrey (lecture, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA, 9/27/22) Fitzhugh, George. “The Blessings of Slavery.” 1857.

While Dr. Meade states that he needs every pair of hands, it is unlikely that it would be her hands doing the work at the time, rather serving instead as a companion for the wounded soldiers. Women were not involved in changing men’s bandages or other medical responsibilities because it would be completely inappropriate for a woman to touch a man that she is not married to. They would instead provide company for them, doing things such as reading to soldiers and write letters for soldiers. So, if Scarlett was to be assisting during this, it would likely be comforting the dying soldiers. McClurken, Jeffrey (lecture, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA, 9/27/22)

While many in a modern age find Scarlett unlikable, she served as a role model to women during the time this movie was made. Scarlett symbolizes the old and the new, and survival through harsh circumstances. She is determined to survive, and determined to help those who are important to her, even if it means giving up her pretty life and picking cotton, running her plantation, creating a successful business, and even killing someone who was a threat to her home and family. This is the way that many women of both the 1860s and the 1930s had to operate, leaving behind their ideas of gender roles and norms for the sake of necessity. In this particular case, because Dr. Meade, a man, is unable to help her due to the war, Scarlett steps up and serves as a "general", taking command of the home.

First of all, it goes without saying that the phrasing of "the black face" is pretty horrifying. Racism seeps even in what is not said in the film; it's not just "Scarlett loses her temper completely and slaps Prissy's face." Prissy is dehumanized and physically hurt. Many people within the class found issue with the slap for good reason; it's hard for modern audiences to connect and root for a heroine who is physically hurting one of her slaves. Gone With the Wind not only promotes hurtful stereotypes of African Americans, but it glosses over the issue of slavery, making the enslaved characters appear to be happy to be working, showing them as loyal, loving members of the family. While it glosses over slavery for much of the film, this act of violence shows how the threat of violence was both acceptable and utilized when people did not get their way. This is one of the few moments in the film that actually depict an unpleasant moment between the O'Haras and the Black characters.