There is no doubt that Gone With The Wind is a classic - first colour film to win Best Film in 1939, first black actor to win best supporting actress, winning 10 of the 13 nominated Academy Awards, filmed when racial segregation was alive and well, about a point in history where transition went from one world, gentile and proper and elegant to a world of change and growth, of equality and poverty and loss, where in a matter of days, the world of refinement was gone with the wind.
I had a chance to see this classic on the big screen a bit ago and am very glad I did. It is a classic, in every sense of the word, but what I found intriguing were the characters and how much they are like people I know today.
As I work my way into the thoughts I had while watching this film, don't ever get me wrong - there is something about this movie that is magnificent. Whether the sets or the costumes, the visuals and cinematography (characters in black relief against the fires of Atlanta), the opulent wealth pushed up against the abject poverty once the Union Army plundered the land they won. From a filming/technical point of view, I could look at stills of this film forever. I thought I'd have trouble staying awake but no - just over 4 hrs on the edge of my seat. And, yes - it needs to be seen on the big screen. I am captivated by every moment of that film - curious to the historical context, wanting to learn more about the novel it came from and the challenges it took bringing it to the big screen in that day.
But what stood out for me is something that may or may not be intentional, because it was like someone was shining a light on an aspect in the movie that is almost being repeated today. I'm wondering if this is how people where then, or perhaps more apt: what motivated Margaret Mitchell to create her 4 main characters thusly - how 'real' were they at that time because there seems to be something very 'real' about them today.
Let's see if I can explain ...
There are two couples: Scarlett O'Hara (played by Vivian Leigh) and Rhett Butler (played by Clark Gable) and their 'reflection', Ashley Wilkes (played by Leslie Howard) and Melanie Hamilton (played by Olivia de Havilland). You can find ample discussion of various themes online - themes of survival in a time of change, overcoming adversity, gender strength and growth, transformation of the Southern culture, importance of land, female intelligence, even perseverance, among a multitude of others. But what I want to reflect briefly on are the two couples, the characters they have individually as well as together as couples, and reflect on similarities I am seeing in our world today. A link? by chance? who knows ... but I do see a similarity.
This is a story about a woman who wants to live in a lovely world where she is the centre of everyone's attention. Problems looming on the horizon, she refuses to acknowledge and can't be bothered with preparing for them. In her world, she loves the idea of love and is so caught up in her fantasy that when the man of her dreams (Ashley) announces his engagement to another, she can't believe it ... and spends the rest of the movie convinced that he will return to her. In her world, it is all about her; even when things go bad ... it's still all about her. Ironically, the one most suited for her, Rhett Butler, is the same ... it's all about him. From the first time he sees her, he knows he will have her, he knows what she needs, she is his equal because their priorities are the same - themselves. Even their last famous iconic lines reflect this self obsession on each of their parts: "Oh, Rhett, what will I do?" ... "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." She doesn't care about anyone but herself and what she will do now ... and he doesn't care about her at all because he is done. What could have been an amazing relationship if they had given to each other becomes a catastrophe when it's all about me.
In the reflection, we see what some say is a older way of life, but I think there is something in there about human character that illuminates a beauty that is possible when the character is not so self-absorbed and puts themselves forth for others in a genuine, selfless, giving way. Yes, both Melanie and Leslie are examples of the past - He bravely goes off to fight the battle for his home land, she stays and cares for all around her; beautiful shots of their love for each other as they part; his soldiers speak so highly of him, people speak so highly of her. All these things are never shown for either Rhett or Scarlett - as the battle rages on, Rhett spends time with prostitutes and Scarlett doing what she needs to do to keep a roof (Tara) over her head. These are our 'heroes' and 'heroines' in this movie - people who are so self-absorbed that you can almost hear the familiar mantra: "Make me happy or leave my life because I have no need of you!"
There is so much in the story, but if you look at ever instance, it boils down to this view on life- this hedonistic, self-centred view that my needs need to be met first. Even when she walks through (incredible scene!) the soldier 'graveyard' of dead and almost dead soldiers, going on for miles, she is almost not affected because she is going there for her needs. There is no way she can deliver Melanie's baby and the doctor must leave here to do that. How she even had the audacity to ask is beyond me, but she did. And yes, she went back and delivered the baby ... but I don't think the scene she saw barely affected her, where as to us, it was meant for a powerful gut punch at the cost of this battle and its losses.
Here's the thing, and I'm not quite sure how to say it: we still live in that world. We still live in a world where there are wars and battles (maybe not on our land ... yet) and our lives show not one iota of wanting to help them but rather why am I not happy. We still live in a world where we like the idea of love but those who hunker down and work through their problems with each other are few and far between. Relationships should be about giving, not about what you should be getting ... and sadly, the 'getting' is most important to many. What can I get? What can s/he give me? where is my happiness? Neither Ashley nor Melanie are perfect, but there is a sense that they are meant for each other and that the feelings they have for each other, right to the end, are the 'real deal'. Ashley will be forever a broken man when Melanie dies because she is gone. When Rhett leaves, will Scarlett forever be a broken woman because he is gone? I don't get that same feeling. I get a feeling of anger, of revenge, of "I'll get you back!" ... as if you are an object taken from me and all I have to do is capture you again.
An incredible film ... take any one character and follow them through and you have an amazing story. Take any one character and hold him/her up to the window of our world, and what do you see? or even more of a challenge, though certainly possible, hold them up to a mirror and can you see yourself in them? Who are you most like? Which relationship is most like yours? Here is a story, from 1935 (or so) that begs for a sequel ... and there have been some done. But none by the woman who first wrote Gone With The Wind. In Margaret Mitchell's mind, "They got what they deserved", and there's no need to continue. I like that. We don't always need a sequel or a part 2 to show us 'what next' because sometimes wrestling with that last moment of what is can teach us more than any sequel can. I might be late to the show, but Rhett and Scarlett will long stay with me ... and not for positive reasons, but for good ones.
