Should we Still be Watching 'Gone with the Wind?' Part 1
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- Опубліковано 25 вер 2024
- 'Gone with the Wind' is considered an unmitigated masterpiece by millions of film-fans all over the world. But a lot of people also say it's racist. In this video series, we're going to take a look at the history of the Confederacy, and how the film presents the Confederacy to its audience, in order to try and come up with an answer to the question: should we still be watching 'Gone with the Wind?'
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The fact that Scarlet moves from the plantation system to the prison system is *very* interesting.
Scarlett=America!
And I say that as a lover of Gone With the Wind...
Look up convict lease
@@angelajohnsonkeys4199 ah so my inspiration for #AuntieAntebellum is spot on.... crinoline and slave ancestry to boot
This actually what happened across the south. When Slavery was outlawed the South instead shifted to convict labor. An southern states in turn began a campaign to fill southern prisons with black people. Through black codes, and longer prison sentences. And this practice of convict leasing continued until 1928 when it was replaced with the chain gang system which was only marginally better. In some ways Slavery continues into this very day. In Alabama prisoners can be compelled to work even if they do not want to and are not paid for the labor they perform. A practice that is perfectly constitutional because slavery can be used as a punishment for a crime under the 13th amendment.
And the fact that the original author didn’t intend that as a critique is honestly baffling. Like, damn, that’s some self-aware-wolves kinda nonsense.
Much to Clark Gable's credit he almost did not attend the premiere in Atlanta because Hattie McDaniel was barred from attending and made his feelings well known.Also there was an incident concerning some portable restrooms on set in California.Someone apparently got Into the spirit of the movie and posted "white " and "colored" on the restrooms.Gable,upon being notifies by one of the Black actors threatened to walk off the production unless the signs were removed and everyone had equal access to all facilities.Problem solved.
He probably felt inclined to, considering that he himself was of mixed ancestry and part Black. I'm glad he spoke up.
Is that really true.Gable was part Black?@@purexample
The white/colored nonsense was common until the 60s, so, even if the signs were just to be some kind of ironic humor, they would have been bound to cause some consternation.
@@docsmithdc Yes, indeed. Swiss and German on his paternal side, African and Native American maternally.
@@purexample Amazing.None of the documentaries about him ver mentioned that.I remember Carol Channing confessing that her grandmother was AA.Also I always thought that Ava Gardner was "mixed".Could you point me to your sources?
Also the fear of a slave uprising clearly shows that in general the slaves were *not* content with their situation lol
Plantation paranoia is a very intresting topic to study.
Considering how things went in places like Haiti, it's an understandable fear, but only proves how justified that threat is by continuing to double down.
This was the main cause the prounionist Southerners lived in majority low % slave populated areas. East Tenneessee, West Virginia, Ozark region in Arkansas, Jones county in Mississippi, Winston county in Alabama and other areas in North Carolina, Georgia and Texas.
@@jordanjoestar-turniptruckAre you seriously demonizing the Haitians for fighting back against a sadistic oppressive regime
@@dyiorragray2019 no? Did you finish reading the full sentence before you decided to throw around accusations?
Good lord, the “not pictured: a disinterested man” part killed me 😂
Same 💀
Honestly I always saw the movie's interpretation of the war as being caused by hubris. The Southerners are so confidant that they'll win because they THINK they are just so much better, but actually aren't. Early in the movie you even get Rhett telling these southern gentlemen that the South doesn't stand a chance and they refuse to listen to him. The movie seems much more of a "Greek tragedy" where its characters are brought low by their own actions. The south loses cause they aren't as good and noble as they thought. While Scarlet and Ashley's actions keep them both from happiness.
I really shouldn't be discussing "Gone With The Wind" at all, but I think you understand the movie better than most. I'm blown away by how people think this is primarily about romance, and genuinely want a relationship like Rhett and Vivian's. You'd be surprised how many people fall for it.
@@FabalociousDee why shouldn't you discuss it?
@@skateordie002 Because of the slavery aspect of it. Obviously, it's a conflict of interest given my background, even if a Black actress did pave the way in that role.
Rebecca please elaborate on how GWTW is about hubris.
It's bizarre how much people romanticize relationships that are obviously abusive. Rhett and Vivian are far from being the worst example, too. You might see loads of people pointing out, accurately I might add, that couples should aspire to be not like Joker and Harley but Gomez and Morticia, or how Fifty Shades of Grey would be an episode of Law & Order if the guy weren't rich, but it's also a fact that that movie and the book made a LOT of money, so maybe the critics are actually in the minority.
Having mixed Black, White, and Native ancestry, it's always kind of unsettling imagining what some of my ancestors could have done to some of my other ancestors.
having the same background, yes. we are the results of it.
same.
yeah... similar story here
I'm mixed but my white ancestors just hopped the border from Quebec after the civil war
& maybe they didn't: ours were All Abolitionists & did not murder others out of Greed nor Bigotry from Satan; The Trail of Tears Monument in Madison, Alabama tells the insidiously diabolical Greed very well & will make you cry as well like i and also Mark Twain & countless Others in both places (+ at Wounded Knee, et al) did at The Dying Lion.... .
A big problem was the idea of "I'd love to free my slaves, buuuuut let's not do it until after I'm dead." Pushing the responsibility to the next generation. Or those little promises of freeing a personal slave after death, only to have the children refuse to do so.
There are basically saying, "I'll free my slaves over my dead body."
Ashley couldn't very well have freed his father's property until his father died and he inherited them. Also, there were strict laws governing the transfer of ownership and manumission of slaves in many parts of the South.
@@Hiraghm He could have moved North and freed them there. Problem is, he could not free them and enjoy the standard of living he enjoyed by depending on their labour.
There was a case where a man not only freed his slave but left all his property to her. His children tried to nullify this. An all white male, southern jury found in her favor. Her lawyer didn't argue that she had the right to inherit under the will. He successfully argued that the deceased had every right to leave his property to whomever he wanted, even his former property.
@@Arhimith U S Grant freed his own slave. It went down like a lead balloon with his wife’s father in law. As Ta Nehisi Coates pointed out, Grant was poor as hell and a slave was worth the price of a house. Except, of course, an enslaved person was a person, and that makes them priceless and not to be bought or sold. This does NOT make Grant into a saint. It’s just that while the law made it just a little harder, it could be done.
I swear one day I will use “frankly my dear I don’t give a damn” in a real life situation.
How pedestrian
I dream with it
I always do, and I feel like Rhett Butler whenever I say it.
As God is my witness, I will say that!
@@ImCarolB Why not ? You've been practising it in the mirror since the day you were born..
"Our heritage obliterated their heritage". Man that hit me. Wow.
I used the heritage to destroy the heritage- Thanos
That's for damned sure.
Yeah. I felt that hard 💔
Just don't forget that, this is not the essence of your heritage. Praise the good things, and distance yourself from the bad. Use your heritage as a positive force of community and tradition.
@@emperoraugustus670 Exceptional words... if things stopped right there. This nation as a whole then set other obstacles in place to screw over freed slaves.
The question shouldn’t be “should we watch it” but rather “should we glorify it”
@Jacques Guerrier well the Old testament could be said to but the New Testament doesn't because everyone is chosen. It's multi-cultural.
It doesn't glorify racism. It's a story about a sociopathic rich woman. Everyone always knew that. It's melodrama. Black people are free and they go there ways singing songs. It isn''t a racist movie.
Delphinium Flower but the Jews are/were a marginalised group throughout history and were treated horrifically bad by other groups at the time...
@Delphinium Flower actually the Bible has a lot of self reflection. You could make an argument that the Jews are the villains of the Bible, written by the jewish people! It is not a supremacist text! You obviously haven't read it. Read Lamentations and tell me what you say is correct!
I see no problem with glorifying it for what it is...a well done movie.
The way you carefully lined up your premises at the start, i.e. "If you can't summarize your opponent's position well enough for them to say, 'Yes that's what I believe', then you shouldn't be debating" was GOLD, man. Thankyouthankyouthankyou for setting this up as logical discussion. All I hear people do now on the internet is scream at each other and tell each other about feelings. I like your whole video, but this framework was a breath of fresh air .
:-)
BS! I'm not American. American civil war WAS treason against UK by British subjects BUT it tells me nothing about whether the American civil war was ethical or morally just. Killing disabled children was LEGAL in Nazi Germany that is neither ethical or morally just. LEGAL is NOT EQUAL TO ETHICAL! Slavery was legal - apply the same justification throughout. If slavery being legal doesn't justify it, then cessation being legal or illegal cannot justify it or make it unjustifiable - it is only justifiable if you have a human right to self determination and if you don't then the American civil War is unethical too. That's called universalism.
@@shonagraham2752 i'm sorry, i think you have your wars mixed up & are about a century out of date. Unless i've got it wrong, the war of independence in 1776 is the one you mean.
As for the rest of what you say, sorry, i lost the plot. Not sure what your point is or what you're questioning. Got confused with all the legal, ethical, moral labels.
@@animerlon I know it was the war of independence where British subject subjects committed treason against the British state. Just as it was the civil was that southern states supposedly committed treason. You've just never heard it being called treason or been exposed to the fact that 50% of those British subjects living in the American colonies believed it was treason. Ethics and morals they're universal apply them the same way. If the civil war is an act of treason the War of Independence most definitely is!
@@shonagraham2752 Just to clarify, the civil war may have been treasonous but not against Britain. They were no longer a British colony. As for the moral/ethical question, if freeing slaves is not an ethical thing to do, i don't know what is.
This suddenly got alot more relevant
I know rite? I’m sharing this vid wherever applicable.
@@JohnnyV83 That'll solve racism.
@@u1rtc7t5f64t157856v8 Strawman vanquished!!!
Kudos!!!
i've always tried to get people to take note scarlett who is so irredeemably worthless pulls up a parsnip and can't even wash or cook it, just eats it dirt and all and makes a pledge to lie cheat steal and kill, and as the background music swells everyone claps. its quite a moment.
*a lot
Being a young Black woman who grew up in Plantation and lived there for the majority of my life... whew I knew exactly what you were talking about when you mentioned Davie. But I loved this video!! I can tell how much work you put into it and appreciate how eloquently you spoke about the issues Black people were dealing with back then, and have to deal with today. Can’t wait for part two 💙
Wait, you grew up on a plantation?
Starman DX IN Plantation, the city in Florida he mentioned. Proud graduate of South Plantation High School 🤦🏾♀️
cccherry22 Growing up in Florida may be worse
This is such a powerful comment
Same
Just for the record, Sweden abolished slavery in 1335. However, it was still legal to own slaves outside the country, in colonies (of which Sweden had almost none for any length of time). In 1845 that "loop hole" was covered as well.
What colonies in 1335 ? And you expect me to believe they had colonies in 1845! Fort Kristina and the ports in Western Africa and the Caribbean were gone almost 200 years by then .
I didn't say they had colonies in 1335, that's when the first law of abolishing slavery ("träldom") was passed. It's true that most colonies were gone by 1845, but they still had Saint-Barthélemy (until 1878). I don't know if slavery was still practiced there in 1845, it's possible that it was just a formality to cover that loop hole at that point.
I have a problem with definition of the slave because since Poland never had any colonies it never had any black slaves. It did however treated peasants as nobles property and their rights was non existent (killing a peasant by a noble is was not punishable anyhow). But it was all white people so right now almost anyone can trace their lineage both to peasant (due to church books) and to noble ancestors (due to the same church books they literally kept track of everyone). So did it had a slavery or not?
@Yvonne Juju well I was just referring to the responsibility for ancestors crimes. I had my genetics check and all my ancestors was from here and I was born here so the only thing that they might do was in here. So should we fell responsible? Because I understand that Americans had it "fresh" but we are not Americans and that's exactly why I have this problem. Calling people "peasants" actually never ended. In Poland it mean a person who live in a village and in context can be offensive but doesn't have to be. If you mean did I met a person who doesn't have right to live I must remembered you that we were in a middle of two world wars so yes I absolutely met many but not from being peasants. So again. Did we had a slavery and should we repent for it?
@Yvonne Juju I never been in America and don't intend to go there. That's the point
It can still be enjoyed as a great fictionalized period film as long as the viewer knows it is a romanticized and whitewashed version of the South.
George Barrett good point
Jeremy Jones how embarrassing for you that you don’t realize that “whitewashing” has multiple meanings, one of which is sanitizing and glossing over problems of something, esp. in regards to history. It’s always good to think critically and figure out if you’re missing something before you call someone an idiot.
@Jeremy Jones I was going to say Gone with the Wind should be in the category as Birth of a Nation- I only made it through Gone With the Wind through the burning of Atlanta myself before I turned it off- but now I want to know what this "other" definition of whitewashing is. Whitewashing refers to painting a thin veneer over a problematic topic or its original definition of applying the whitewash itself as a coating. There really people dumb enough to call "whitewashing" changing any point of view to one that's centered around whites?
I mean, that should be Whiteface, right?
If only to watch Rhett Butler. Makes the whole thing worth it. My goodness.
@Jeremy Jones perhaps in a plantation like Scarlett's with a mistress like Ellen to oversee good conduct, it is possible that slaves were not abused and Mitchell seems to confine her descriptions to Tara, not daring to speak for the whole South. But dedicating part of the book to inhumane cruelty practiced by white people would have been appreciated. What I didn't like about GWTW was that Mitchell implicitly tried to whitewash the Klu Klux Klan.
Feels like most of the people in the comments didn't actually watch the video and are replying to the title. Y'all are missing out.
Same thing happened when I posted the videos on Facebook, even after I tried to clarify - No, WATCH these videos, don't just answer the question. Some even thought I was referring to the film by using the term video. I know ... I should have been more clear.
They really missed out! He spit nothing but facts!!
I was on another post debating slavery- which I thought would never happen. I assumed that everyone living in 21st Century was opposed to 19th Century US slavery- but I guess not.
@@rattiegirl5 Considering slavery is still alive and well today, just under different terms, a lot of people are fine with it. Hell that are not only fine with it, but support it. Look at how people talk about prisoners. Even some so called left wing people support it.
@@kovi6203 exactly
"People supported a system of government that prioritized their comfort and status over everyone else." Bingo. Then, and now.
Americans really are very selfish people, generally speaking. They're nice to others until they have to be inconvenienced in some way. Only helping out others when it's not too difficult for them to do so.
I loved this movie and will always be my favorite no matter what. Just because they had slavery we all know dla ery was mean and unjust it is a beautiful.movie
Oh I tell you what a bunch of idiots .of course we should watch it it was a masterpiece. it was a movie about the civil war.vyou punk . Don't tell me what to do. If you don't want to watch it don't.
Gone with the wind was the best.
Yes the winners are always right.
Please, more videos challenging ubiquitous film consensus like this, please. Can't wait for part 2.
@BLAIR M Schirmer ? Wtf are you talking about?
@@MrChernandez123 He thinks he's making a general comment, he doesn't know it's a reply to yours. :/
@@shariwelch8760 Still, wtf is he talking about?
@@MrChernandez123 He's answering the title of the video, which is the question "Should still be watching Gone With the Wind."
@@shariwelch8760 Heh, that's not what I was asking. Haha. I was talking about the fear of turning into a racist and avoiding violent movies being the main point brought up or even correlating to one another.
You know that there is something VERY wrong with someone, when they say that each state should be allowed to decide for itself whether or not it should be legal to own a human being.
There is something very wrong not understanding that a legacy of such systems is complicated. The assumption that massive bloodshed was required to stop this is baseless, but the assumption that it could be stopped quickly is just as naive. Again, more americans died in the civil war than in world war 2, if anything, the war extended the process of healing as if created a massive wound, it was nothing more than war for empire by an imperial presidency. Slavery would have run its course regardless, because it is economically inefficient, as made clear by the economic disparity between the south and north. Cheap labor is never cheap, something the left hasn't learned to this day.
Shouldn't it be up to each human to decide if s/he should be allowed to be owned? Why should you or any legislator decide what I do with my own body?
What are you talking about. Are you unaware that states are independent of each other or that northern states also allowed slavery at that time?
@@omgwtfbbqstfu you do know that slavery still exists in the world, right? And bringing economics into the argument are pointless because economics is not a science? Any science needs to be able to predict things, like hydrogen and oxygen mixing to make water. When has economics ever reliably predicted a recession in the us?
@@JanBruunAndersen when did slaves ever decide if they can be owned? Make sense .
2:53: Mammie's facial expression: "Is she for real?"
the woman was too stunned to speak
This film and novel are a masterpiece, a classic. We should keep watching it, it just shows how much society has changed and gone through. We cant erase history, but we can learn from it.
I love this movie AND agree with all of the criticism of it. I just think you have to be willing to talk about it and be critical.
You could say it's gone with the wind
The film should be studied objectively for its craftsmanship, especially the performance of Vivien Leigh.
Everyone seems to forget about what I view as a "rapey" scene... Just because she ended up enjoying it, it doesn't mean it's ok to force yourself on a woman.
I’m gonna talk the HELL out of that scene before I’m done with this video series....
not sure he's forgotten as much as he's explicitly told you there is going to be a part 2 talking about the film itself.
Yes! The rapey scene is important. I hope he covers it in part 2.
Just like in Revenge of the Nerds
@@user-qv2qf1jk5o That's right! That's another great example of rape in a movie being treated like it's okay and society largely accepting it.
One of my friends told a story of when he was in his twenties. He heard someone yell at him "MURDERER!"
And when he turned to see who it was. He saw an elderly Jewish woman with numbers on her wrist.
And he remembered people sometimes said he looked like his uncle. A man who stayed in Germany while the rest of the family emigrated, joined the Nazies and got stationed at a concentration camp.
My friend didn't take it personally. Nor did he try any of the bs that southern apologists try (ie. "He was just fighting for his heritage), he just said he couldn't imagine what she went through and wished her the best.
We don't choose who we share blood with. But we lose any high ground blindly defending the blood on their hands.
Well said.
Huh? Was the woman mentally decrepit enough to think that some young guy was the same person who was stationed at her death camp decades ago?
Or was she implying that he is guiltily for their suffering just because he has the same genes as his uncle?
@@richpryor9650 If you had gone through one of the worst things any human being could possibly endure (i.e. having your loved ones taken from you in mass genocide)
And in your waning years encounter someone that closely resembles one of your tormentors. I'd say it's a knee jerk response as understandable as a former soldiers PTSD being set off by loud noises.
I hope you understand you just essentially resorted to blaming a holocaust victim, when the whole point was the friend I mentioned knew right away it had nothing to do with his own actions and didn't take it personally.
@@Thommy2n Blaming the victim? What?? Dude, I'm just drunk and trying to figure out what made her yell at him? Jeez... I'm just asking for clarification because My grandma would come to our house once and a while and pet the dog and say "You've been a good boy Rudy?" even though Rudy has been dead for 12 years and this was a new dog that we adopted 4 years ago. That was the same breed and looked kinda of like him, but in her aging mind she thought it was him.
So was this a case of a traumatic flash back triggered by familiar face (that may have been caused by dementia) or guilt by association because she thought he was the son of the monster who helped butcher her people?
So please don't get sour with me because your stories have poor exposition.
Alan M. Is this a knee jerk reaction cause your southern feelings were hurt, you’re not a bad person just change your ways instead of being a blind sheep of hatred
Little Women as the "Anti-Gone With the Wind" is a brilliant juxtaposition.
Love little women!
@@minorka2 remake is trash tho lol
@@Quaronna why is it trash? /gen
@@Quaronna it´s not really a remake, tho.
@@naomisathyendra6973 exactly, it's a separate adaptation
"one of the most cowardly things ordinary people do is shut their eyes to facts." C.S. Lewis
Thank you for opening our eyes a little more!
What an ironic quote.
@ So are you imagining that is Paige's position?
@ Just shut up and wait for part 2
@ you're assuming I'm refusing to watch it? I think a movie has more to be learned from than what the intended or unintended message might be. How can we learn without recognising the past?
Which facts is always the question, more americans died in that war than WW2, a would exacerbated by an uncontrolled end to slavery, people judge from the comforts of their homes based on a cartoon understanding of history. If anyone thinks this film is a cleaned up version of history, its nothing compared to the simplistic historical narrative peddled by those who feel a need to judge it so harshly.
If no one watched this movie any more we wouldn't be having the historical conversation you wish to have about it.
Continue to watch the movie and appreciate it for its spectacular production values which were WAY ahead of its time, while keeping a critical eye on stereotypes and attitudes that we've largely grown beyond. Learn from the past; don't banish it.
_"stereotypes and attitudes we've largely grown beyond"_
have we though?
@@oof-rr5nf Yes, I think so. That's why I say keep a "critical" eye and "largely" grown beyond, because it's my opinion that we are in a much better place as a culture than we were when this film was made (1939) and a far better society than we were during our Civil War. Not perfect, but, I think, undeniably way better than 100 years ago.
Racism in some form will likely ALWAYS exist - just like we will always have rapists and murderers and the like. Some people can always go very bad. But it is my view - and it's your right to disagree - that we have largely grown beyond it. But since racism will likely always exist in some form or another one has to stay vigilant and call it out when we still see it. But I do not hold the view that racism is uniquely American (bias towards the "other" is a common HUMAN flaw, to be sure), or that our culture is defined by only that. It is part of our history, as it is part of the history of mankind. But I hold to the view that our culture can continue to evolve for the better; I think it has already and will hopefully will continue to.
@@jgsgreenroom552 I'm not sure what you're trying to say. What issues do you actually have with what he says in the video? Does he say "ban the film"?
@@AEFic Reading into how the end of this video was going I'm fairly certain that's where his logic is going. Got the stink of white guilt or else to it to me.
@@frost3330 So you got defensive about a critical look at the Confederacy? You decided where the author was going because he said slavery is bad and that's what the civil war was about?
Holy crap. It's so nice to stumble upon someone who's shamelessly intelligent and eloquent.
Not to mention self-righteous!
Agreed
I know, right? I just discovered this channel, and I'm really glad I did. He's smart and insightful, and he's not afraid to come right out and say things. He's bound to piss off a lot of racist idiots.
@@jimj9729 Sounds like most of the video was addressing you directly. I hope your hurt feelings recover
@discoskull I used to think that self-righteousness was suppose to be virtuous, but it turns out that self-righteousness is dogmatism. Don't presume that James Anderson was against the video, he may very well be mistaken in what the term "self-righteous" means.
I never saw it as a movie about "oh no they lost their slaves", but rather a story of a girl (she is 16 yo when the movie starts) who lost everything through war and walks through hell and comes out of it stronger and wiser.
its about change and survival. She had everything, lost everything, gained everything back and took it for granted, and lost it all again when she finally realized what really mattered.
As an Irish person who holds an external perspective, the American Civil War and how it's treated today is fucking weird.
We had our own Civil War, just under 100 years ago. While not exactly the CAUSE of divisions, it certainly was a high point of scars that exist to this day (just look at Northern Ireland and the Troubles). Hell, two of our major political parties came into being as a result of being on the two opposing sides, and are still separate today despite being essentially the same in terms of politics.
The point I'm making is: nobody glorifies our Civil War. It's a dark time in our country's history, and people recognise the continued issues that emerged from the ideologies of those two opposing sides. People can still disagree on "who was right", but that disagreement is not really held as a point of pride or identity.
Of course there are distinctions between the Irish Civil War and the American Civil War. Slavery was not an element for example. But I feel that would simplify where people stand on the matter!
I dunno, it's just fucking weird. Why would you be proud of when your people killed their fellow countrypeople?
To give some insight as an American....
I agree that glorifying a civil war is at best questionable. The American Civil War was a dark time in our nation’s history, and more Americans were killed in and because of it than in the War for Independence, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War combined. Even after the war, brutal violence was still common in the American South for reasons directly related to it. So yeah, it’s strange to glorify such a period of our history.
Having said that.....
What I personally really take pride in where the Civil War is concerned is the cause of the Union. That might sound strange, given that this video says (correctly) that the North went to war with the Confederacy to preserve the Union, and not to end slavery, but while that’s true, I have two responses to that:
1. That keeping the country intact is in itself a worthy goal.
2. That while ending slavery wasn’t a Union war aim at the BEGINNING of the war, it sure as heck was a Union war aim by the END of the war; honestly you could even say it was a Union war aim by the middle of it (though that part is debatable).
There are a few reasons behind that second point. One was that it didn’t take long to realize that freeing slaves in Confederate states would hurt the Confederate economy and make it harder for them to fight back. Another was because it was pretty obvious at the time that slavery was the cause of secession, which I think made it hard to separate the two even in the minds of many Union supporters who cared only about preserving the Union. And finally, escaped and/or liberated slaves would sometimes follow Union troops wherever they went, causing many Union soldiers (most of whom had never seen slavery up close, or at least not to any great extent) to witness its evils first hand, so that emancipation was added to their list of motives. And largely because of the Union efforts and the Union victory, chattel slavery was made forever illegal in the United States!
So for myself, I would say that I don’t really take pride in the Civil War itself, but rather in the cause of the Union during the war. I hope that sheds some insight into what you were asking.
@@Stardweller1 that does resonate with me to a certain extent. Again, an element like slavery which is pretty black-and-white (if you'll pardon the pun) makes a certain amount of sense here. You can take pride in "your side" of the war fighting to defeat that, no matter how directly or indirectly.
In terms of maintaining the Union, I guess? Like, I can respect that my ancestors fought for their values I suppose, but I'm not necessarily proud of that time where they couldn't agree so they ended up killing each other instead. Political disagreements both before and after the event were resolved without violence, and questions of sovereignty are less clear cut in terms of morality. I don't know if I would stand by going to war for such a thing, so I don't think I could be proud of others for doing the same.
Not that I think it's wrong to take pride in something like that, I don't but I can recognise how an individual might. I'm certain some Irish people do. But it's certainly not as culturally relevant in Irish culture as the American Civil War seems to be for the states. Which is the part that baffles me.
@@Scanny524 I do think I understand where you're coming from. One factor in secession leading to violence was the fact that the Confederacy attacked first; after they attacked a Union military base, it pretty much became impossible for the secession issue to be solved without violence. But as for why the Civil War is so culturally important, the impact on slavery vs. freedom is obvious, but I think another reason is that had the war gone differently, our country would be a lot smaller and a lot less united.
I'm posting a link here to a video about the war by author John Green. I like this video, because it provides a lot of great insight to the war, and also because he explains the cultural and political impact much more eloquently than I think I could. I hope you enjoy it.
ua-cam.com/video/GzTrKccmj_I/v-deo.html
Tommy Sands, like Stephen Biko, Lives Forever & A Day & Please Visit Gettysburg as it truly is Hallowed Ground: &, Abraham Lincoln's Assassin was not just an Actor as sanitized for us School Children & never corrected to the fact when older that John Wilkes Booth was KKK...
Because For The Greater Good: my paternal Grandfather's Mother's Father was one of an only Five (5) % of Survivors of the hideously notorious Andersonville POW Camp of the Confederates near Savannah, Georgia; AND, Slavery was a Sin Before God & Still is in The Sudan, in Lybia from He'll itself + island Prisons in Australia, more = Man's inhumanity to Man & Some Things Are Worth Fighting & Killing & Dying for: John & Frank Berkstressor Fighting For the Pennsylvania infantry Regiment Against Slavery & all of its Evil took the correct Course in Life
I'd never heard of private prisons before, it's completely insane to me that this is a thing.
Also, I like how organized this video is, it makes really easy to understand even as someone that doesn't know much American history. Can't wait for part 2!
What's worse, even most of the youth correctional facilities in the U.S. are privatised...
I live in a small town out in the sticks. We have THREE prisons. I'm kinda shocked that there are Americans out there that don't know about privatized prisons. But I can understand it if you are not exposed. 1/3rd of the town's population works at one of these prisons and so, you get insight in rules and regulations and the general shit that goes on. My Father, Aunt, Grandmother and Great Aunt worked in these prisons. My Aunt left after 5 years. and my Great Aunt, Grandmother and Father raced to retirement,.. the stories they told me. I will NEVER work there. I would rather flip burgers.
@@Melissa-wx4lu A third? That sounds like a dangerous bouble building up, when so many people in a community depend on a business that is, by definition, meant to fluctuate in how many people it "attends".
That can lead to a lot of abuse by authority figures interested in pressing people into prison just to keep the place full and the jobs open. That sounds... dangerous, if I am to be honest.
@@edisonmichael6345 You're pretty much right on the money.
No pun intended of course.
While the morals have aged, the cinematography certainly hasn't. With the help of digital restoration and high definition, it could almost pass as a film that was made in the 50s or 60s. My God what a gorgeous aesthetic. 😍
Yes this is my single favorite thing about the film and the only reason I rewatch it for enjoyment! The end of the first half where Scarlett is standing with her silhouette against the sunset is just breathtaking 😍
Because it's a period film, it never really ages.
This is to say, that if they remade this today, it would have to look very much the same.
@@stevie68a Or dull it down to make it more PC
I feel like the book makes It clearer that the war was a lost cause from the start and the people who defended It were stupid, i mean, Rhett is always joking about the "noble south" he had me dying of laughter with his sarcasm. I may be wrong, i am not american and did not study the war in depth.
The movie definitely romanticizes the confederate south more than the book
I just rewatched it yesterday and I think it’s definitely a movie everyone should watch. Love the new intro and the panel discussion added on HBO max. I did get the fact that the entire time they were making the south look stupid for continuing their old traditions and trying to make it seem like before, especially Rhetts commentate throughout.
@@cloegemmel7177 severly ... that's why Victor Fleming, the director, got made director of propaganda during World War II
@@cloegemmel7177 That was kind of the whole point, which is why this movie should be a requirement for everybody to watch.
That's okay. Most Americans haven't studied it either.
Great video! I thought this was a simple movie review but it was a history lesson and a real ethical discussion too. Appreciate the hard work put into it
I gotta admit, this video didn't go where I thought it would go. But I like where it went. I feel educated.
Feeling educated isn't necessarily being educated. That sounds more like propaganda to me.
Question every narrative.
Most of all the ones by smooth talkers like that young man who give the appearance of knowing everything because of the force of their charisma, and their absolute certainty that they are wise and that therefore you shouldn’t examine what they have said and their motives for saying it.
Question anyone who believes themself to be a perfect judge of all people who came before us.
His WOKE narcissism is breathtaking to behold. He acts as if he’s God’s gift to the world and that human civilization never existed until he was born.
None of us have the right to erase history and culture because it’s often unpleasant. It’s been unpleasant since the very first time a man killed another man. If I believe I have the right to throw in the trash everything prior to my lifetime I find challenging and unpleasant and not up to my standards, then by that logic my own descendants must find me and my generation bereft of any beauty and hopelessly falling short of their wokeness.
Vanity is a tree that tears out its own roots in the fatal desire to fly like an eagle. We do not honor the living by tearing out our roots. We honor the dead, the living, and those yet to be born by continuing to grow and deepen in our wisdom and humility and gratitude to all who made it possible for us to be here now.
@@stephennicholas1590 You seem to be the narcissist here with your unnecessary essay.
@@stephennicholas1590 Woke narcissism? So, you're telling the world that you think giving a summary of a movie with context, presenting one's background with and stance on a topic, and refuting common Confederate talking points with actual evidence is woke narcissism? I'm not sure what you thought would have been appropriate then.
Also, you're making absurd exaggerations. If he actually saw the world as not existing prior to his birth, he wouldn't be talking about this at all, especially not with any amount of reasoning or articulation. He would have swept this under the rug with the typical talking points that all of these things happened "in the past" and we should move on from them. He gave an informed opinion and cited sources. Anyone who wants to agree or disagree can go and look them up themselves.
With that being said, slavery and the confederacy are forever intertwined with the US. They are a part of our history, but that doesn't mean they have to be exalted. I can guarantee you that most of the people who watch Gone With the Wind don't do so as a way of informing themselves of our country's history. They don't care, and neither (it seems) does the movie. This movie doesn't try to contextualize slavery or history anyway. It goes so far to color the Confederate narrative and sweep the darker parts under the rug that it could be argued to be Confederate propaganda. The is a certain duality that must exist when analyzing history that people simply refuse to use in relation to this film.
In actuality, I don't really care who watches Gone With the Wind and who doesn't, as long as they don't see it as any sort of accurate representation of the antebellum/postbellum South. If they can watch it, acknowledge whatever artistry may be present, and, simultaneously, clearly identify all the ways in which it is deeply problematic, then who am I to stop them from enjoying the movie? After all, I have a great love for Oklahoma!, and it's deeply flawed. I think the true issue is that people who enjoy this movie also tend to be people who refuse to see the Civil War from anything but the Confederate perspective. If that's the case, then this movie cannot continue to be uplifted as some type of glorious standard.
20:40 "The root cause of the confederacy was that people supported a system of government that prioritized their comfort and status over everyone else."
This! This right here!
somethinguncreative If a person doesn't like it, then don't watch it. It's that simple. However, being FORCED to read Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn in EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY SCHOOL SYSTEM; is ABSOLUTELY WRONG! ESPECIALLY to certain segments of the class. NO ONE wants to hear blacks being called nigger in school, in a school classroom, especially when you know that some ignorant pupils ARE getting a thrill from it. EVEN SOME IN THE CLOSET RACIST TEACHERS. YES! THEY INDEED DO EXIST! So stop with the subliminal disguised faux teaching tool. There ARE OTHER CLASSICS that can be read! Stop being idiots because that simply is what's taking place.
Um, that explanation basically describes support for every government ever.
Summary of world history-
a lot of evil comes from classes of people desiring comfort. Large classes of people desiring comfort can only be accomodated with slavery and imperialism.
@@aaronsilver-pell411 Or just allowing entrepreneurship the room it needs to grow and thrive.
“... announce it so I can denounce it.”
You, sir, are a gem.
This was the first American film which won Hattie McDaniel an Oscar. The very first Black American actress. Her performance is outstanding and a highlight of the film for me. I love her character.
Did she win a second Oscar?
Mamie is probably the only likable character in the film.
Yes the film was racist duh but she was the only character calling Scarlett out on her nonsense
Her character is an insult to African Americans.
Mamie came from black face cartoons and minstrel shows🤧 . To me her character is the most offensive part of this film. If you take a AA humanities class, her character would be one of the first examples of the dehumanization and stereotyping of black females.
I have seen it many, many times and I will see it again. So, for me personally, yes. It is a story told with a historical backdrop. It is a masterpiece.
And Now Icy try watching this video to the end once then.
I always viewed this film more as a tragedy of scarlet missing the point and chasing wind instead embracing those actually cared about her
You feel sorry for her because the war changed her, but she stayed a wench all the way through. 😊She may have finally grown up when Melanie died, but she goes right back to plotting & planning when Rhett leaves. Just a tough no nonsense babe. If she hadn’t been so hard-headed. :D
First time viewer of this channel. Absolutely loved it when you said “if you can’t summarize your opponent’s position in a way that they say ‘yes, this is what I believe’ you are in no position to debate them” ❤️
What are you talking about
Not relevant but Wow he's attractive
he's got that cute crooked mouth thing going on
And he was a very cute little boy.
Ugh, yes! My guy is cute, is a feminist and calls out privilege.
Humaira Ahmed “the humanly perfect man doesn’t exi-“
Relevant
I love this movie very much. It talks about love, tragedy and sacrifice and in the end it is you yourself you can depend on when everything you have will be gone with the wind.
I never saw the "love" theme of the movie. To me it was always a movie about a bitch that was pissed because she lost her slaves, i see no love between scarlet and rhett
@@jaebedo1599 The only love in the movie is the love Scarlett has for herself, which is the key to her survival.
I can't wait to hear what you have to say about the film. I tend to think that Gone With The Wind is worth still watching. But then, I do think it's important to examine thing when you watch them, to deconstruct the viewpoint being presented. That's part of what makes watching movies fun for me. Lol, that's probably why I'm part of your viewership.
If anyone wants to be a filmmaker, I actually think it’s required to watch this film. The filmmaking craft on display is brilliant and masterful work.
There’s something to be learned purely from that point of view.
f you're interested, someone made a long video in which in analyzed the
movie, it's on youtube, it's not in english but it's subtitled.
@@TheGeorgeD13 to be honest i strongly disagree with this statement.
Omg. He said "human truck nuts." That was both hilarious and accurate. Lol.
I don't know the far reaches of my ancestry. However, I do know my biological father is a white supremacist. A good reason his own two boys walked away from him.
Same here man. I feel that pain.
@@Parapon3ra Do I look like a dog?
"You're not a rebel. You're a coward." Boom.
Boom WHAT ?? You think you are so smart.
@@cjordan1161 you good bruh?
@@mayaglasgow7640 he's not, racists never are
@@gracehaven5459 true
Are you fucking kidding me??? CSA soldiers literally marched 1 mile through an open field into lines of enemies and cannon fire. Not respecting the people that died under that flag is abhorrent and disgusting
Well done! This might come across more in the book than in the movie, but Margaret Mitchell was really clear that it was a story about survival. Who makes it through something and why... the interpersonal dynamics are the heart of it and not the backdrop. Scarlett is the ultimate survivor. Rhett's up there but breaks in the end. Ashley only makes it through because of Scarlett and I never know where to place Melanie.
Mitchell writes over and parts that talk of the South as a dying institution. Rhett objects to the war for most of the book as pointless.
By no means is it an anti-war or anti-Confederate book/movie but I think it would be hard pressed to say it it glorified it either.
Scarlett is also one of the best, most complex, female anti-heros of all time.
I despise meth but love Walter White. You can despise the confederacy and still love this movie.
If only there was a prominent community in the Civil-War Era South that survived a horrendous centuries-long atrocity and, through individual and communal strength, made it to the other side? What if there were a bevy of written and spoken accounts of bravery, resilience, and dynamic "interpersonal relationships" belonging to this community at the time? Too bad the only people whose stories matter are white plantation owners facing the horror of...not owning people.
The movie aged better than the book. Its hard to focus on Scarlett's story with multiple passages describing the black characters as "simple and child-like". Not to mention Frank Kennedy's demise was explicitly from participating KKK activity. Seeing things from Scarlett's POV, the raid is veiled at best described by the saintly Melanie herself as a "necessity to protect women". These leave a bad taste in my mouth.
On the other hand Mitchell does go into the hypocrisy of the Old Guard characters and the "Lost Cause" narrative. None of the characters who supported the Confederate cause wholeheartedly wind up incredibly happy. Scarlett and Rhett are social pariahs.
It is an interesting book/movie to examine objectively. It provokes thought and conversation, which is what good media should do. I recommend looking into the "official" sequel Rhett Butler's People, though.
@@treblemaker21 Was Rhett Butlers sequel the book that goes back to his childhood and explains why he has such a terrible relationship with his father? I also read a prequel that gave the history of Mammy where she was married to craftsman a skilled woodworker in Savannah and went into the backstory of who Scarletts mother really loved which wasn't Scarletts dad. I loved the book and the movie. I love classic films and a lot of them have offensive things in them but I still think there is value there. If you do not remember the mistakes of the past we are doomed to repeat them.
@@4matic582 I believe it was! I always wanted to read the Wind Done Gone but could never get my hands on it.
Callie S Yep except.... the film is about Scarlett O’Hara as a character, not about slavery and that’s okay? It has nothing to do with the plantation owner’s stories mattering more. If someone writes a story about the struggles of German conscripts during WW2, does their story (and struggle) matter more than the stories of the Holocaust victims? Absolutely not. They are both just individual stories lol. I understand having an issue with the glorification of the old south (though I’d argue it offers insight because that is the way the southern aristocrats viewed the south - ignoring the problems around them) I get the point you’re trying to make. Do racist plantation owners suck? Yeah. Despite the fact that they ignored the suffering of slaves, was the civil war (and the burning of Atlanta) still a horrifying experience for them? Yeah. Am I saying you should feel sorry for them? No. All I’m saying is that the story and characters built around it are interesting. Did Scarlett really even care about the destruction caused by the civil war? No, but that’s the whole point of her character. Anyways, tldr: it’s not that deep, dude...
The film was an adaptation of a fictional story that was based in a time where many people in the south had slaves. People need to be man and woman enough to realize that owning slaves was wrong and highly unethical, but it is a part of history and that should never be forgotten. Just enjoy the film for what it is. We cannot change what happened the past by canceling things.
This
good point
finally, someone with a brain
I mean the video is asking the question within the context of ppl praising it as the best film of all time, everything you have said is a given.
The problem isn't in showing the existance of slavery, it's in paiting the South as the moral and good side of the war, and not condemning slavery.
What I like about Scarlett is that she thought outside of the box. True, she wasn't perfect but while the others were mourning their lost status she was figuring out a way to go on
I wrote a paper in college when they made us watch it on Scarlett’s strength, despite her questionable honor....she had a singular focus. But as I’ve aged, while I still can appreciate her determination, I agree more with Rhett, she was throwing happiness away and focusing on something that would never make her happy.
If you ever read the follow up book (but by a different author), Scarlett does become more mature, humbled, etc.
Anne B I could read the follow up book. Didn’t want to. I preferred to just leave it as it was at the end of the movie. The last few lines say it all!
She will get him back. I was satisfied enough with that.
Which follow up book did you read? There were 2
Kris Rhood I didn’t realize there were two. I read Scarlett, and then there was a mini series on it.
Undoubtedly your most accomplished, thoroughly researched, personal and socially relevant video essay to date. Impeccably put together as well. I honestly cannot wait for part 2, but will patiently do so out of respect for the craft that goes into them. Oh, and the hair is looking incredible, so long may the low testosterone continue!
Should we Still be Watching 'Gone with the Wind?'
Yes.
With an eye for context and subtext. Every movie should be watched with these things in mind, but especially movies from generations ago.
Gone With the Wind is already one of my favorite films of all time, though I enjoy critical discussion about it because it's not an easy film to love, and then you went and acknowledged the masterpiece that is Little Women 1994 in the same video, truly hashtag blessed thank you for your service
But it was a film that was massively loved by the population at large. That is something that should be addressed as it was already decided that "Birth of a Nation", an earlier beloved American epic, did not pass the test of history after a "certain time". But since Gone with Wind is in color and has sound, it celebrates the life of the South so vividly! See, it wasn't all bad...
And that's the problem. There are things I'll mention in part 2 but I think it's more important to stress where slavery isn't mentioned there where it is. It's a four movie and one line can easily be skipped over.
June 2020 and your analysis vids on this movie are very - prescient.
You don’t understand how much I appreciate this video.
Honestly this gives me faith that there are still people that understand the social, economic, and ultimately societal products of slavery, racism, and confederate apologetics. That you care and have taken the time to educate yourself is so ostensibly is so refreshing.
Thank you for trying to spread truth and intellect.
Serge, this is your Magnum Opus. My classes cried when I showed them this video. Thank you for your courage, wisdom, and eloquence.
We missed you, unproblematic kween!!
unrelated but i really just need to drop by and acknowledge how much i love your username
@@markooms2923 I second this
Maybe the question isn’t “should we watch it,” but “how should we watch it.”
This is really interesting. As a non-American, I find it hard to understand the whole confederate apologists point of view, so this video was shedding quite a lot of light on that subject for me. I find it great into how much detail you go to explain and then counter the most common claims. And I can't wait for the second part that examines the movie more deeply.
Same here, I'm Australian and this was an incredibly informative outline of it from go-to-woe. I really enjoy all his videos, but there's just not enough new ones :(
An answer to your question its a tool to keep black people from gaining their full civil rights.
@@vilmaalvarez4712 That ... is a very shoddy answer to a question I didn't ask. People aren't as cut and dry as that, which makes it hard to understand someone else's point of view. I liked this video because it shed light on the reasoning behing confederate apologist stances. It's because they are factually incorrect and make little sense that I didn't understand it before. Now I get the thinking, wrong as it might be, that's behind it.
@Georgia Coats Thank you for the recommendation, I found it as an audio book and will listen to it on my daily my commute :)
Lots of his "history" is inaccurate.
People automatically saying “hell yes! We should still be watching it!! It’s a perfect film” are literally just missing the point of the whole video. Let’s stop romanticizing flawed movies despite of their technical achievements. Ignoring the problematic aspects of Gone with the wind is a disservice to the movie and art in general. It’s shallow, it’s surface level fanaticism. Historical context, as well as the sociopolitical views of the author, are essential parts of film and art analysis.
TLDR:Your fave is problematic let’s deal with it and understand why
GWTW is based on a very popular Romantic historical novel at a time when literate people took novels and novelists much more seriously than they do today. The "movies" were considered cheap popular entertainment for the masses which one witnessed while eating Jujubes and popcorn. By its very nature every commercial movie based on a novel, play or short story is" "flawed". The last people who thought they were making great art or a profound socio-economic-political statement were Miss Mitchell herself and everyone involved in the movie GWTW. They were there to make a buck (hopefully many bucks) in the context of the popular culture of late Depression era America. That's why they call it "show business" and not "show art".
Frank I don’t disagree with any of that.
Being problematic doesnt mean that it is flawed. Frankly my dear, the writing in this movie is alot better than the writing for alot of modern non problematic movies
mel on all art is flawed, period
The movie leaves a lot out that’s present in the book.
GWTW isn’t a story about defending slavery. It is a story about a woman who is raised Catholic and for various reasons, proceeds to make a series of escalating decisions that become more and more immoral and unethical.
The movie doesn’t have time to delve into Scarlett’s inner journey or spiritual decline, but the book does.
Slavery and Confederacy is merely the setting where the story plays out.
It's a 4 hr fucking movie. How did they leave shit out?
Wait what!?
@@sabbathjackal Have you seen/read the book though? Its a tombstone you could use to accidentally smash someone's head in with.
This paperback novel might actually stop a .22 caliber bullet. The movie left out MOST of the book, and only focused on the setting.
The Abortion haha yes, but it’s a book with over a thousand pages
It is a masterpiece of film making. Just about every scene is meticulous in detail, with much of the dialogue still sparkles 80 years later. The casting is perfection.
It's more of a soap opera than a historical document, which is why it's so entertaining.
The Civil War is only a backdrop, because it does not have a single battle scene.
The producers were gentle regarding the treatment of slaves, when the reality was very harsh in real life.
Hattie McDaniel steals every scene she's in, and she's the conscience of the house.
The woman who wrote the novel said the theme was survival.
Anyway, a must see film.
The authors name is Margaret Mitchell. The book is even better!
Never seen it. Never will.
@Dolli18. Too bad. You're missing out. Your loss.
@@frauleinmona He is a loser.
I totally agree in this being more of a soap opera than documentary on the history of the Civil War. It wasn't meant to be completely accurate. But gosh, is this movie entertaining. I absolutely adore this movie, and this story is very reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice. It is a masterpiece of filmmaking, even down to the very period correct costuming. I don't care what the current film critics say about it, it's a wonderful film that wasn't meant to be anything more than entertainment.
It might be interesting to mention that the book was way more apologetic than the movie is.
As the book starts out explaining how good the O'Hara's treat their slaves, explaining that their slaves would view them self aloof of slaves of other people.
The fact that the movie downplays that attitude and only has it remain with Ashley - who is characterized as being to weak to actually mean what he said to Scarlett - I took as the movie trying to tell the story from a Southern perspective, while portraying them as actively or casually racists.
Isn't it as well within the first party scenes, when Scarlett accidentally eaves drops on Rhett discussion the war-time approach with other Southerners, that the war effort from the South is painted as immature, stupid and futile from the start?
the book never explained how good they treated their slaves. it just showed slavery as normal part of life for a very wealthy southern family. the ones they had good relations with were less than a handful house slaves but it is assumed they have hundreds of slaves that were managed by the overseer, who we later learn is a total asshole.
I think it is explained that her mother does offer medical help to poorer farmers and slaves alike. Which is the reason why she's absent in the first scene (I think). Well, and quickly thereafter she dies.
Save from the proclamation it isn't really highlighted how the O'Haras handle their slaves and Scarlett is being portrayed as not respecting "Mammy" or "Prissy" even a little bit.
For me, there's an even bigger issue with GWTW. It shows and Glorifies the KKK. The "Honorable" Ashley is shown as a Heroic warrior founder of the KKK.
And the KKK was absolutely current when the Movie was released!
@@michaelodonnell824 I don't think it glorifies, but points out their origin and how it's founded on entitlement and desperation. This is how far they (the wealthy Southerners) are going to hold on to their old way of life because they can't bare change.
It's horrible, don't get me wrong. But, I like the way it doesn't shy away from that horribleness. Ashely is a great example. On the outside he is a beautiful man and at the beginning you think, "well he's nice and he does good things).
Then this happens and you realize, "oh. He's ISN'T good at all".
The movie doesn't hammer home the message but I think trusts you to know what is good and what isn't within the film. We today KNOW this isn't right or justified or morally good.
But, it's how far they are willing to go because they can't except change. It shows how shortsighted and stubborn and just plain desperate they are to hold onto a past that NEEDS to move on and away into a new and better world.
It's just pitiful really. And you look at those people, shake your head, and call them out for what they are: Too bigoted to move on and delusional for trying to stay in the past.
@@midgetwthahacksaw
Sorry but I don't agree with you.
Ashley is the Contrast character to the amorality of both Rhet and Scarlett. Someone who believes as you and I do might see it as you suggest. However, from my memory of the movie, there's no anti-KKK comments within the text. Also, when this movie was made and released, the KKK was alive and well and Lynching people. They were the dominant political force in the South and less than a decade previously, they'd been dominant well away from the South, including in large parts of California.
Further, the novel was pro-KKK.
I’m glad you brought up the “lost cause narrative” ; it's pseudo-historical ideology that covers up the real history of the civil war. I was raised as a lost-causer and I grew up in Montana of all places! It just shows you how destructive bad history is as it keeps getting taught through generations. I finally started to ask myself “If the war was about states rights, states rights to do what exactly?
Same, I was born and raised in Minnesota, tho my mother's half of the family are all from Texas, but they never cared about the War.
I fully believed in the Lost Cause, and anyone who said otherwise was a "butt hurt, lefty, soyboy, trying to rewrite history", and some people do that, for sure... but when it comes to the Lost Cause, they usually aren't... in the end it was Atun-shei films, here in UA-cam who fully convinced me the war was about slavery, and the Confederacy were the bad guys, mainly during his review of "Gods & Generals" when he read a speech by the Confederate Vice President, where even HE states, that "the Confederate States were founded apon exactly the OPPOSITE ideals of the United States", which were also in his own words "the equality of races"... any nation expressly founded apon the opposite of the equality of races... fighting against a nation that IS... is CLEARLY the bad guy!
Ask a southerner who understands history. To do what? LOL! Slavery, much like communism, produces lazy, horrible workers. They were not doing well with slaves.
@@dilloncrowe1018 It had to do with taxes and a million other things.
@@RunninUpThatHillh no, not really... taxes weren't really a thing back then, so the government made it's money off of import tariffs, of which a full 60% came from New York City Ports alone, followed only distantly by Boston in 2nd, and even more distantly by New Orleans in 3rd.
States rights to decide their goernance for themselves. Truth is - slavery in the US would dissapear anyway with the arrival of the factory movement (that is incompatable with slavery) with much less victums and better prepared infrastructure for the freed slaves... Instead lots of folks died and slaves were freed without ANY infrastructure in place (the slaves were no longer slaves... but they couldn't find jobs and mostly ended-up turning into gangsters - since there were no other options for them)... but at least the independence was over and Washington gained power over all the states... which it abuses to this day.
Oh! I learned a lot today! As we didn't really cover much american history in german school!I will definitely use the 'they did it in my name' argument in the next 'but we didn't kill any jews' discussion for sure! Strange how we have the same discussion about different atrocities everywhere.
This is a very interesting history lesson video masquerading as a gone with the wind fan video and I love it!
Bliss Clair if you want to learn history, read a book. Don’t listen to white apologetic soy boy
@Jessica Channing
I have eyes. And ears. I’m capable of doing both. And I don’t see the harm in that.
@@jessicachanning2447 cant believe you made me read the words "soy boy" again, it has been MONTHS since i heard it last. how dare you, give me five dollars for being rude. pay up ✋🏽
what's it to ya!?
You give me $5 biiiitch
The extent of my Gone With the Wind knowledge comes from the part of the book version of The Outsiders where Ponyboy and Johnny are reading it.
Yup
Six-year-old Coldcrash in Confederate
*record scratch, freeze frame*
Yeah, that’s me. I bet you’re wondering how I managed to get myself in this situation
a few month ago we were talking about gone with the wind in one of my seminars. i just really wish this series would have already been a thing, because, man, this is brilliant and probably sums up the entire discussion we had over the course of many many lessons!
looking forward the following episodes! :)
Thank you so much!!!
Finally, too long between videos another thought compelling review, keep up the good work.
The last two months were kinda crazy for me. Shouldn’t be NEARLY so long before the next post arrives.
As a fellow Southerner, I can't wait for part 2. You hit every point the Revisionists like to throw out at you regarding the Civil War. It's all so funny to watch them admit the war was fought over the right to own slaves.
Margaret Mitchell wrote characters with blood in their veins. Scarlett had gumption and the book sold us on that quality as the driving force of survival. Scarlett intuitively knew the depth of her own greed and I believe she sought out Ashley to tame her wild Irish soul as her father had with her elegant, French mother. To her mind Ashley brought dignity and redemption. Her refusal to accept that loss was the same blinding force that got her through the war and reconstruction. The tenderhearted Christian, Melanie, understood that Scarlett's gumption was necessary and she forgave her everything because they needed her and she trusted Ashley's honor. Melanie spent her moral capital defending Scarlett because she had enough self awareness and security to understand and appreciate Scarlett's value. It is a great story. The book takes it to another level.
I love Gone with the Wind. I am also black.
Prove it
You might want to look up 'Stockholm Syndrome'...
I love it because it's entertaining. I mean, I love dragging Scarlett
@@bma1193 how in the world would I do that?
@@liloleist5133 maybe you should. I haven't been kidnapped.
The confederacy was not for states rights they were for quite the opposite. The South insisted that the North enforce slavery. The states rights mythology only occurred far after the war. The North wanted the right for states to decide whether or not to enforce slavery.
The North tried to get the right to opt-out of enforcing slavery. if Dred Scott Decision in 1857 this would allow the Northern states to be genuinely free from Federal regulations on slavery. That did not happen Dred Scot decision nationalized southern views on race and slavery. It also declared that the black man had not rights as citizenship whatsoever. Also the Fugitive Slave Act nationalized the enforcement of runaway slaves. It required local law enforcement to round up and capture fugitive slaves without a court ruling.
If you look at the confederate constitution it is not in favor of states rights has more national power. Specifically individual states do not have the right to be slave or free.
Even after the Civill War the south did not believe in states rights. After reconstruction, they tried to reinstitute slavery with the Jim Crow laws which lead to the great migration of African Americans north. So to prevent African Americans from moving north they had to nationalize the Jim Crow laws. They needed Plessy vs. Ferguson so that Jim Crow applied nationally.
Also during the New Deal which was written by Southerners it enforced Jim Crow in to every facet of American life. Unions only allowed whites and therefore the best jobs where whites only. Ford motor company hired more African Americans than any other employer in Detriot but after the UAW took control African American workers were prevented from apply and the ones were phased out. FHA home loans enforced segregation and created ghettos. The same people who were for every federal program under the sun from school lunches were also staunch segregationists. Its a complete myth that the South was for states rights.
www.npr.org/2017/05/17/528822128/the-color-of-law-details-how-u-s-housing-policies-created-segregation
Very true. The confederacy was not a "land of the free"; even for whites. Those 80% non-slave owning rebel soldiers were unknowingly fighting to oppress everyone who was not in the wealthy plantation class, themselves included.
Interesting perspective. Learned something. Thanks.
@@crgrier I’m late to the comments, but whites no matter their economic status were not enslaved by law and denied person hood by merit of race alone. Don’t change the subject.
Boy I'm glad I ran into this video. This particular program is full of information, history, and good video back up. Serge, thank for your time and energy, you're doing a great job.
Well, this ended up being relevant!
I've never even watched Gone With The Wind, but UA-cam kept recommending this video so I decided to watch it anyway. So glad I did!! I really enjoyed it!! And I love that you quote Little Women :D
On to part 2!!
this reminds me of kyle kallgren's video about how the glorification of birth of a nation is based on the lie that the technological advancements of the film were somehow "created" (rather than popularized) by it and that somehow justifies playing it in every film class ever. the fact is, films like birth of a nation and gone with the wind didn't "create" the filmmaking techniques we praise them for. in fact, often more marginalized creators, be they women, people of color, or both (i.e. frances marion, oscar micheaux) did, or at least also had a part in popularizing them. the reason we watch birth of a nation and gone with the wind is because they were the first "blockbusters", and so many people saw it *because* it reinforced prevailing ideas about race. media impacts reality impacts media. and personally, as big of a movie nerd as i am, i can't stomach the idea of ever watching this movie after seeing it in the opening of blackkklansman.
i'm a first generation american on my dad's side, second on my mother's. so i don't know if any of my ancestors owned slaves or were complicit in slavery. i do know, however, as a half-italian, that my ancestors benefitted from the marginalization of black and brown people by resorting to glorifying christopher columbus to avoid their own oppression and be considered "real americans." so while i don't have a problem with an "italian pride day" because of that historical ethnic oppression, i do not want it named after a genocidal monster just because he was also italian.
Too much guilt on display here. Columbus deserves every compliment ever given him. Even the behavior of the Spaniards needs to be understood in the context of the Reconquista that began in the 11th century and ended only in 1492 with the final defeat over the Muslims who had conquered most of the Peninsula in the 8th centurry and had subjugated and exploited its Christian and Jewish peoples.Our textbooks tend to glorify Muslim Spain, but it was a slave empire, too. In the course of the long war to expel the “Moors” the Spanish and Portuguese became some of the best sailors and soldiers in Europe, well suited for the conquest of the New World. But though they drove out the Moors and even established colonies in both Africa, they still faced the power of the Ottoman Turks, the greatest military power in Europe, which dominated most of the Mediterranean and threaten to conquer all Europe.
@@JRobbySh this is literally the stupidest reply i have ever seen. your tl;dr should be: i don't understand history, i just listen to racists tell me their version of history.
"The year of our Lord 1994", had me rolling
That film fucked me up bro, especially when Scarlett became as delusional as her father in the end. "Tara" the only thing echoing in her mind. I also hated her obsession with Ashley Wilkes, I feel if he had died in the war her life would have been much better and she could live out her days with Rhett.
I won't lie about it: I was following you partly because you're cute - and I liked your take on movies. But now I got an amazing lecture on US-American history and politics.
I was ready to download the movie, and then the slavery part started... Wow. Just wow.
i literally hit subscribe when i realized he's both cute and has a great take on films
Same I subscribed because I thought he was cute. But also because he’s woke af
maybe you shouldnt live in the u.s. because slavery existed in the u.s.
@@cerebrumexcrement get a clue dude, no one is saying that.
Download and enjoy the movie, it is an excellent piece of work. Keep in mind the story is about the rise and fall of one
woman and does not cover the millions of other views held of the Civil War and post Civil War era.
When you started talking about my ancestors loss of heritage...I felt peace at hearing it so well acknowledged.
I'm of Southern Heritage on my mother's side. Some of our ancestors owned slaves. Several fought in the Civil War. Sadly, my grandparents, although great people in some ways, were still in a generation who were brainwashed to be bigoted. That spell was broken with my mother and her brothers in the 1960's. They refused to perpetuate their ancestor's racism.
I'm happy to see this video. I agree with all of it. However, I also have been a fan of "Gone With the Wind", for its Feminist content, back when I was very young. But there is no denying the racist aspect of the film. It is certainly a subject which should be discussed.
Has it occurred to you that you could be brainwashed? Your ancestors' thinking wasn't taught by an institution; it was merely the same tribalism exhibited by all living beings since the dawn of life, the same universal tribalism that is responsible for the existence of nations like China and France, the different native American tribes, the habitats of animals, where they flock with their own kind. Yours and your parents' thinking was taught by a government-run institution that runs counter to nature itself. If you look up feminism and anti-racism as concepts, they have their origins in communist ideology, with the end goal of doing away with nations altogether. The word racist itself was invented by a communist, as a way to slander any person who doesn't agree with undermining national or group sovereignty in favour of globalism.
I think people confuse slavery as being something that was good for white people. Most white people didn't benefit by the elites having free labour at their disposal. I really don't think your grandparents were brainwashed. I think they were normal, given that most life, even among current living humans, doesn't believe that everything is equal and the same. Nothing could be more blatantly untrue. To believe that is willful blindness for the sake of feeling or looking righteous, especially since you have the internet to research your own beliefs. Consider this; you don't make someone feel bad about their country, race, and ancestors because you're trying to be their friend. You do that when you're trying to take them down.
@@HavingAGreenDay
1 ."The end goal of doing away with nations altogether". Really? Awesome! All of the stupid wars in the world were fought over some idiotic, childish ranting over "mine! mine! mine!" Screw that, give me peace. You'd think someone who watched "GWTW" would of figured that one out.
2. "Most people didn't benefit by the elites having free labour". Really? Because my grandparents certainly benefited from paying their Jim Crow oppressed "help" almost nothing. Most white people in the South after the war and before the 1960's had African American help who were routinely brutalized and oppressed. Yeah, even people who didn't have much money back then had black help, treated them like lesser beings, and payed they almost nothing in a form of "new slavery". I know, I saw it as a child.
3. I grew up WAAAAYYYY before the internet, sweetie. I remember Bobby Kennedy getting shot, the moon landing, Vietnam, and the Civil Rights movement from when they FIRST happened and weren't some video or rerun.
Let me tell you something, your little notions, which I'm sure are totally from the internet and not actual experience, are BULLSHIT. I went against my own family long ago, in the 1970's and went to school with black kids. Then I had several black bosses, co-workers, friends, fellow students, and the occasional DATE with black men. Guess what? They are people just like you and me who had to put up with a whole lot of the kind of crap you are trying to sell me. Don't justify your ignorance and bigotry to me, I've heard it all before.
Nope. I'm not "trying to be your friend". Why would I want to? I'm a white woman who judges a person by the content of their character. You obviously are not.
@@HavingAGreenDay You poor soul. Turning a critical eye to your self, your people, your country, makes you improve as a person, a people and a country. Maybe some introspect that doesn't make you feel good, but you brave it for the sake of your own and your nation's development and besides, what happened to Facts Don't Care About Your Feelings?
"The history we know of"
"History is written by the victors," this quote is attributed to Winston Churchill but the actual origins is unknown. This makes one think about history in general and how many stories have gone untold and forgotten throughout time. It begs the question, Why is history only written by the winners? The simple truth is what we all know as the dark side of humanity. Of course the winners would want their story to be told in such a fashion that they are painted as the hero. No one wants to be perceived as the villain and so it makes one wonder about the full story..!
If I'm proud of my heritage, I'll fly the Texan flag at the same height as the American flag, take photos with bluebonnets, and remember both the Alamo and Goliad.
There's no need for a private citizen to glorify the Civil War. Instead, we should reflect on what was and grow from it.
There's a small town in Texas called Sulphur Springs. About a year ago, they remodeled the courthouse. Under the newer paneling, they found the old sign for "Colored Seating." It's still on the wall, with a plaque under it, showing that, yes, they were racist. No, they aren't glorifying it. They're owning up to it, so that this stain on their history can't be covered up.
That's actually pretty cool in a history sense. That it's keep as a piece of history explaining segregation in the South and put on display as an educational tool.
Well done by that courthouse. It's a brace thing indeed. They could have thrown it away and no one would have been the wiser. Instead, it owned up to the past. That's commendable.
Of course we should still watch it! It's one of my favorite movies. And Vivien Leigh shines throughout!
This is one of the best break-downs of the civil war I've seen on UA-cam. Thank you! You have a new subscriber and avid follower. I even watched the entirety of a minute ad for this video. You deserve the revenue!
As a Brazilian i find this to be very interesting. Mainly because, here, in my the countryside of my state, we have 2 cities there were found by exilied confederes soldiers in the middle of the 19 century. They are: Americana and Santa Barbara D'Oeste, today their descends are very proud of their north American Roots and, i am not kidding, in santa Barbara D'oeste they often do confedered celebrations. Many of the women whow have participed in these celebrations use dresses inspired bt the one the Gone with The Wind's protagonist uses in the film. And of course, they use, with no shame whatsoever, the confederes flag. Intriguing, no?
Disgusting.
Interesting! Never knew that before!
The mere fact that you mentioned how hard it is for us Africans American to trace our heritage caused me to tear up. To know nothing of your family’s past has been a constant depression of mines. 😞
Omfg me too even though I have United kingdom and Spanish and American
Jeremy Jones are you sure? I mean the mere fact that you decided to come and make that statement on my post proves that simple and jealous minded people like yourself have had the power to rewrite history🤷🏽♀️ to show people of color in a negative way.
Love your videos and your voice. It seems people who’s voice have an unique quality attract a lot of followers. Plus your knowledge base is freaking impressive. I can watch these all day. Keep up the good work.
Congratulations! I literally forgot I was watching a video about Gone with the Wind.
And I didn’t care. You have made the most fascinating explorations of the subject I have seen.
Thank you for acknowledging Haiti 😭 I know it’s important to the history you’re talking about, it’s just that you don’t see people note us often.
him: “this is me.. posing in confederate battle dress”
me: “and I ouup-“
My great-great grandfather fought for the Confederacy and my father’s family settled in Alabama almost two hundred years ago. I am not proud of much of my family history, but I love Southern eccentricity, the food, and the wonderful contribution in culture from back Alabamians. My grandmother lived most of her life near West End, Birmingham and would never tolerate any racism and loved her neighbors, black and white. I feel that Gone With the Wind is essential viewing if anyone wants to understand the myths of the Old South, as well as the incredible acting achievements of the African American actors, who shouldn’t be hidden from memory. I recommend the wonderful book The Mind of the South by W.J. Cash as a companion piece to viewers of the film. Cash points out that the Old South did not produce any great art, poetry, or literature, except Edgar Allen Poe, a Southern writer who was rejected by the Southern Establishment.
ua-cam.com/video/qDF-zFJkc7U/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/qDF-zFJkc7U/v-deo.html
The other videos will show you the majestic buildings that your ancestors did in a controlled demolition called war. The movie actually shows this in the fleeing from Atlanta scene
I'm going to watch this a much as I want. Nobody is going to tell me what I can or can't watch.
Lisa Craft Spot on.
Scarlet’s slaves were too appreciative for her family’s patronage. In real life, they may have been long gone as soon as they were legally free. In a way, I feel this story tended to make an excuse for the slaveholders where no excuse is for it
and go where? Mamie practically raised Scarlett and was loved and respected by both she and Rhett, and got to live in a lovely house. Get real snowflake.
@@paulinegallagher7821 LOL @ “got to live in a lovely House” girl, bye. They went anywhere but back to that “lovely house” where they likely to have been r*ped, beatened, or becoming strange fruit. No thanks.
@@paulinegallagher7821that’s like a Jew in a concentration camp being appreciative of a nazi for giving her a loaf of bread. “Loved and respected”, you really think these bastards respected black people back then…..
Where they gonna go? They don’t have money or land, they were also raised that way a have emotional bonds to Scarlett. They were house, no plantation.
@@lucasb9285 that’s a good point. They were sticking with what they knew and the concept of Just packing up and leaving was completely new for them. In the movie, we get the picture of owners who could be kind but considered themselves reasonable in their dealings with the slaves but the reality was much worse and that’s what gets me.
I completely forgot this was supposed to be a Gone with the Wind video until the end
I feel like I'm back in university with a kick ass professor. Great content & analysis.
The question you should be asking is "Has 'Gone with the Wind' aged well?" or "What should we think of 'Gone with the Wind?'" When you ask whether or not people should be watching a movie, you're venturing into some murky territory.
Howard McTroy There is nothing wrong with asking the question “should we or shouldn’t we”.
@@Karrokick Problem is once you start lecturing people about what they should or shouldn't do... people chafe.
emerybayblues Cool but no one has told anyone what they should or shouldn’t do. He asked a question. Then in the video goes through all aspects of the film that can be considered problematic, and the history, and references. He doesn’t even answer whether he feels the film should or shouldn’t be watched until the 2nd video of his series. So, people are getting chafed because they want to and not bc anyone has actually told them what to do or not. Assuming a non-biased “should or shouldn’t” question is incendiary is bc you’re mad at the response to the question before you’ve even heard it.
Everyone should watch this movie
Lol
Censorship.
So I haven't watched part 2 and I'm not sure if this is mentioned, but if you're wondering where confederate apologists get their rhetoric from, it can be in part attributed to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, or UdC. Definitely something to do some research on if you're interested.
I have. They are responsible for a lot of the modern-day statues and the rewriting of southern history.
Fun fact the actor who played Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard)was a serving British officer KIA on a UK-Lisbon flight IN 1943
A fine actor, but years too old for the role. My favorite role for him was Henry Higgins in the wonderful “Pygmalion” with Wendy Hiller as Eliza.
I loved him in Pygmalion, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and The Petrified Forest. One of my favorite old Hollywood actors.