Gone With the Wind

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

African Americans in Hollywood didn't get main stream roles, they were casted as extras and rarely given leading roles.  Instead of casting black actors, they would hire white actors and paint them in Blackface.  The roles that the black actors did get were never serious. For example, Bojangles, who was a dancing character in the Shirley Temple  films.  Gone with the Wind was a epic Civil War drama, about a southern belle on a plantation and her love affairs.  Gone With the Wind is considered to be one of the most beloved popular films of all time. Gone With the Wind won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Vivien Leigh), and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Oscar).

2)  Find a related article and summarize the content.  

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/25/351437425/when-it-comes-to-gone-with-the-wind-do-kids-today-give-a-damn

I loved this article so much because as a child, i seen Gone With the Wind multiple times. My mother is a lover of old classic movies which was the result of me seeing the movie so many times. Everyone who watches movies and has a love for them knows how special this particular film is to American Film and African American.  Gone with The Wind is a timeless classic. This article explains how children of this generation lack the knowledge of the significance of this film. The writer quotes, " hen I asked 13 students in a Georgetown University film class if they'd seen it, most either hadn't seen the film or had seen only parts of it. These students are serious about movies. But a lot of them sided with Mike Minahan, 20, who said when it comes to Gone with the Wind — frankly, he doesn't give a damn."  The movie made sense then, it surrounded, slavery, food, security, and love; these are all themes that our generation has trouble comprehending. 

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.  

Gone With the Wind is the famous and controversial American novel by American writer, Margaret Mitchell. The novel took 10 years to write. Like the classic, Romeo and Juliet, Mitchell creates a story about two star crossed lovers. The themes are also similar, the story is about catastrophies and how strong they are to go through them. I believe this is the greatest love to ever be told, because it is realistic. It is a struggle between selfishness and prosperity , morals and aristocracy, war and destruction, mercenaries and old maids. Still, they are honest characters. They are believable and independent from one another, equally dislikeable, but each in his or her own way. 

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, 

 Scarlett O'Hara is a headstrong sixteen-year-old and the daughter of wealthy Georgia plantation-owner Gerald O'Hara, is sick of hearing talk about going to war with the North. Hearing the news of Ashley’s engagement to Melanie, Scarlett O’Hara tricks Charles Hamilton into marrying her. This classic film narrates the love between Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler during the American civil war. It's the history of a selfish woman who doesn't want to admit her feelings about the man she loves, and finally loses him.