I think it's strange (sometime sad, sometimes fascinating) to watch social and cultural changes effect material like GWTW and make it either passé or alter it into something else entirely. I have mixed feelings, because from a nostalgia perspective I remember how much of an impact GWTW made on our society. I don't think anybody took it as history lesson, they viewed it as a sweeping romance of the Old South. But it was far easier for them to dismiss or ignore the idealized world of Scarlett at the beginning of the story. This was a tale of unrequited love on a massive scale. And people embraced it (mostly white people).
But as the years went on, it became harder to ignore the historical setting and its misstep and disservice. Scarlett's love story and tale of survival became secondary to the illusion depicted of the South.
I also remember, growing up, that almost none of my African American friends had seen the film. This was supposedly a time when "everybody" had seen and loved the movie. It turns out, they more likely were referring to "every white body." My black friends weren't angry about it. They didn't trash it or hate it.
It just didn't interest them. There wasn't enough "good" in it for them to bother (I'm speaking primarily of Hattie's performance).
Over the years, this disinterest has spread. It's not that people hate the movie or even are angry about it. They just view it as an irrelevant fairy tale, probably because they see that it wasn't meant to hurt or challenge anybody's opinion of Slavery or the South. It just misrepresented it.
So over time, this movie (which is still a part of pop culture, even though it has diminished in my own lifetime) has lost much of its impact and relevance. Today, I know many white people who haven't seen it and have no interest in it. I imagine that will only increase in time.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Updated On: 3/6/14 at 07:12 AM
