Always and Forever a Classic

Rating: Null/10 (13 April 2004)

A powerful and moving adaptation of one of the greatest American novels ever written. While it must be said that the story is only fully appreciated if one has read the book, the movie does an excellent job of developing the major characters and plot points. Unfortunately, however, many of the main complaints people have about the movie are actually due to omissions from the book. For example, the classic complaint that Scarlett is selfish, especially in regard to having more children. In the book, you see a heavy scene between her and Ashley where he practically throws himself at her and tells her that she should never have married Rhett, and can't even stand the thought of Rhett touching her. This immediately precedes Scarlett telling Rhett she doesn't want more kids.
As far as historical complaints, remember that history is written by the victors. No one is advocating slavery in this movie...it is a reality of that time period. Ashley even says that he would have freed his slaves if the war hadn't freed them first. Also, the carpetbaggers are not portrayed as evil because they are encouraging blacks to vote, but because they took advantage of destitute people whose lives were decimated by war, and of freed slaves who put their trust in them. The vast majority of southerners were not wealthy and did not own slaves, or if they did, perhaps one or two...not the hundreds that plantation owners had. The carpetbaggers came down and grabbed up property at foreclosure auctions and left thousands of families with nothing. The carpetbaggers largely used the freed blacks to exert their own influence on the Reconstruction government in the south. They didn't see blacks as their equals any more than the southerners who once owned them. They just wanted to use them as pawns against the South. The movie shows the irony of the carpetbaggers' words versus the reality of their actions. They promised "40 Acres and a Mule" to buy their votes, but never delivered on that promise. They were used, and then hung out to dry when Reconstruction was over and white southerners reclaimed control of their state governments.
All in all, a critique of a movie should not be a critique of the historical period in which it took place. That is like saying Gladiator is a bad movie because it advocates Romans putting slaves to death in the arena. It does no such thing...it just depicts a reality of the time. Gone With the Wind is a classic for reasons having nothing to do with anyone's views on race relations.