Gone with Wind Movie Blog (Part 1)
The Gone with the Wind movie is a classic film that was released in 1939 but is still watched today. Hence, that's why I am blogging about it!
The movie was made as a tribute to the best-selling novel written by Margaret Mitchell in 1936. The movie won eight Academy Awards and two Honorary Awards. The movie opens up with the famous theme song which sets the stage. The first scene is the slaves working in a cotton field. This tells you the era takes place in the South, Georgia to be exact. The timing is right before the American Civil War in April 1861 This is right before the outbreak of the Amercian Civil War between the Confederate South and the Unionist "Yankees" from the North.
One of the main characters is Scarlett O'Hara. She is a very spoiled and strong-willed girl. She is the daughter of the owner of the plantation, Tara. Scarlett is in love with a man named Ashley Wilkes. She learns that he intends to marry his cousin, Melanie Hamilton. She is so upset, that at a party, at the Wilkes' home (Twelve Oaks), Scarlett is determined to win Ashley over by confessing her love for him and to marry her instead of Melanie. Ashley declines her advances. Little does she know there is a man, Rhett Butler, who she saw earlier at the party, hiding in the study and has heard the whole conversation!
Out of spite, anger but not love, Scarlett decides to marry Melanie's brother, Charles. The war breaks out and most of the men enlist to fight against the South. Scarlett learns that her husband Charles, has died of pneumonia and the measles. She now must mourn her husband according to customary rules of mourning. She agrees to go to Atlanta with Melanie to a charity fundraiser for the soldiers and runs into Rhett Butler again. He is a successful Blockade runner. Since she doesn't really want to mourn, Rhett comes up with a bid to dance with any woman and he picks Scarlett. She is thrilled just to get out of mourning for a bit and have a great time. Both Scarlett and Rhett have very similar personalities and play off one another throughout the movie.
Ashley comes back for Christmas break and asks Scarlett to watch after his wife since she is now pregnant. Scarlett still in love with Ashley does it for him. As Atlanta is under attack and being evacuated, Scarlett and the servant Prissy must deliver Melanie's baby on their own. When Scarlett feels Prissy is not working fast enough to help her, she slaps her across the face. This proves the social hierarchy going on in this era. She has Prissy find Rhett and asks him to take the three of them back to her Tara home. As they flee through the burning city, and are somewhat out of danger, Rhett feels bad he is not fighting in the war and hands Scarlett the reigns to finish the trip without him. He confesses his love for her and knows she can do it because she is strong.
When she finally makes it home, she sees her house still standing but learns her mother has died and her father is depressed. She is happy to see her house servants still there, Mammy and Pork, but they do not know how to farm. They are in need of food, especially for the baby. Since the barn has burned down, she must find food. The closing scene, she finds a carrot and is determined to survive. Scarlett shouts up to the sky: "As God is my witness, as God is my witness, they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again."
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