Gone with the Wind Movie Assignment (due Thursday, May 2)

Even though Gone with the Wind is, above all else, a love story, it has much to say about the Southern experience during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Through its representation of a certain perspective, the movie (and the novel that served as its inspiration) has done a great deal to influence American perceptions of the greatest conflict in our history.

As you watch Gone with the Wind, I would like you to think about the following three issues:

• First, what does the movie get wrong? In what ways does it represent events, ideas, situations, relationships, and developments inaccurately? In what ways are the experiences of the characters atypical?
• Second, what does the movie get right?
• Finally, why have many—if not most—Americans accepted this portrayal of the Southern experience as accurate?

You do not have to write an essay. I would simply like a detailed list answering all three questions. As you compile this list, do not simply write "slaves" or "slaves mistreated"—I would like somewhat more detail than that.

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Copyrighted by Hugh Dubrulle, 2002
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