“Gone with the Wind” is a 1939 American film which was directed by Victor Fleming. It was adapted from Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel of the same. It tells the story of the Civil War and its aftermath from a white Southern viewpoint. The film takes on the portrayal of masters and slaves and their actions following the Civil War. Professor DJ Reynolds wrote that "The white women are elegant, their menfolk noble or at least dashing. And, in the background, the black slaves are mostly dutiful and content, clearly incapable of an independent existence". The film takes on the role of showcasing the South during the era of segregation, in which white Southerners are portrayed as defending traditional values and the issue of slavery is largely ignored. The way in which the film portrays black people and slaves could be said to reinforce the stereotypes and allow for the reinforcement of racism.
Mammy, who was the house servant for the O’Hara family was shown to be stern, wise, strong and devoted to her family. Although this character played the part of a slave, the way in which she was portrayed was not of the stereotypical image of the black slave, more as a person who is able to stand her ground and be there for others. However, the way in which other characters who took on the roles as slaves, shows how stereotypes were used in early eras. Prissy who was also a house servant, was shown to be lazy and dim-witted, which followed on by her high pitch voice, allowed a stereotyped image to be portrayed.
“Gone with the Wind” was likened to “Birth of a Nation” due its portrayal of white people trying to sustain their roles within society, whilst putting into perspective how black people had no freedom and were not given any choice. Whilst researching this film, I came across many websites which talked about the film being racist. One website stated that the book, which preceded the film almost legitmises the Ku Klux Klan and provides a very warped view of African Americans. Whilst the protagonist Miss Scarlett is travelling via carriage and horse across a bridge towards Shantytown, two men approach. “It was a big ragged white man and a squat black negro with shoulders and chest like a gorilla”, this quote comes from the book which was written by Margaret Mitchell, and illustrates the image of the two men. The way in which the white man has been portrayed allows for the imagination of the man looking all tattered and torn, however due to the way in which the black man has been portrayed it allows us to see that even among slaves of different races; the black ones are mostly discriminated. The black negro is portrayed as being a man with shoulders and chest like a gorilla, however when watching the film, this was not the image that was given across, both men were shown to have similar body builds, and although the black man had quite a bit of hair on his chest, it was certainly nothing close to that of a gorilla.
The book goes on further to show how racist, black people were towards their own race. Sam who is a black field foreman within the O’Hara household runs to Miss Scarlett’s defense after she is attacked by the two men. After fighting them off, and running after Miss Scarlett to see if she is okay, he says “Ah hope Ah done kill dat black baboon”, referring to the black man. By Sam referring to the man as a baboon, it is putting into perspective how much of a racist book and possibly film “Gone with the Wind” is. This in turn shows how racism can become engrained in society, how it can become acceptable and almost unconscious to the human mind, as anyone can be shown to do it even if it is against their own race.
“It must be said at this point that the slaves in “Gone with the Wind” never complain once about their fate and are as devoted to “Miss Scarlett” as poodles are to their master”. This quote puts into perspective how the issue of slavery was largely ignored. In turn, it connotes how little of a freedom black slaves had back in the early eras of the 20th century. It also shows how black people almost accept the roles and portrayals of which they are given within films.
...The Birth of a Nation...
“The Birth of a Nation” which is a 1915 silent film and directed by D.W Griffith also show how difficult it was for black people to have freedom and be represented in the right way, if being represented at all. It was originally titled “The Clansman” when it first premiered, however it was re-titled to its current name to show the birth of the USA. The film, in its earliest previews provoked a great controversy as it was shown to be promoting white supremacy and positively portraying the Ku Klux Klan as heroes.
Whilst researching this film, I came across a lot of useful information which could help me make sense of how and why black people were once again subjected to slave work. However, the thing of which I found most intriguing about this film is the character Gus. Gus is a black former slave who became educated and gained a title of recognition for himself. It wasn’t the fact that a slave had gained an education for himself of which I found most intriguing, it was the fact that Gus wasn’t even played by a black man. The character Gus was played by white actor Walter Long who was in blackface in order to take on the role. Blackface is theatrical makeup used by white people to play black people. Due to the fact that this character was in fact played by a white man, this to me connotes how difficult it possibly was for black people to star alongside white people. For example, if there was an actual black man on set, who was going to be playing the role of Gus, they may have themselves been subjected to racial and crude remarks. This in turn also shows how black people were not entirely represented within films from that era, especially ones which exploited them.
As the film appeared to show a positive image of the Ku Klux Klan, this led to it provoking even more controversy, as the film led to riots breaking out among black and white people. One state, St. Louis refused to allow the film to be played. The film’s portrayal and imagery of the various characters was a catalyst for gangs of whites to attack blacks. It was at the forefront of more controversy after it was shown in Indiana. Following its screening, a white man murdered a black teenager. The subject matter of race riots breaking out shows how much of a negative impact this film had on society.
However, the film also portrays positive images of black people. Although played by a white man, the character Gus puts into perspective the emergence of the “new Negro”. The "new Negro" was a concept of the second half of the 19th century, after the Civil War, when African-Americans were hoping to represent themselves in new, progressive ways, even in culture. Up until this point, black people may have been seen as dumb, dim-witted, and unintelligent, a stereotype which was further put into perspective in the film “Gone with the Wind”. With the emergence of the “new Negro” there was a move from the old Negro which was the stereotypical image of the plantation slave worker, to the now refined, educated, and sophisticated image cast upon black people. The concept of this is put into perspective within this film, due to the fact that the character Gus had gained an education for himself.
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Both of these films put into perspective the position of black people within society, as they both showcase scenes where black people are subjected to doing slave work under the control of white people, who are their masters which in terms of theory puts into perspective that during those periods of time, people lived in a hegemonic society where one social group had control over the over.
When comparing either of these films to my contemporary one, both will be able to put into perspective how much society has changed as there is now more freedom for black people as well as other ethnic minority groups to do what they want due to the fact that they are no longer being controlled by another race. Representing the multi-cultural society within “Kidulthood” shows how things have changed from what is shown within “Gone with the Wind” and “The Birth of a Nation” as black people now have more of a right to do what they want.
In terms of whether these historical texts are similar to the contemporary one, it shows that we still live in a hegemonic society where black people are still shown to be less equal than white people due to the fact that “Kidulthood” represents black teenagers in ways which reinforce the hegemonic values of society and puts into perspective that although we live in a multi-cultural society, we are still somewhat not all that multi-cultural as stereotypes have been used in order to represent ethnic groups in a particular way.
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