ENG 201: Southern Literature

ENG 201: Southern Literature Lesson 9: Film Dates: October 20 and 24, 2003 Objectives By the end of this lesson, you should be able to do the following: Describe the life and literary contributions of Margaret Mitchell. Interpret themes and other literary features the film Gone with the Wind. Define or identify relevant terms, names, dates, and quotations. Assignment View Gone with the Wind. Activities Think Fast: Respond to the questions I assign you in classes. These questions generally will cover objective information, such as names, dates, and terms. Presentation: Film (Professor Canada) Cooperative Learning: Discuss one of the “Questions for Discussion” with the other members of your group. Discussion: During this time, we will discuss the insights and questions that have emerged during our “Think Fast” exercise, my presentation, and cooperative learning. Conferences: During these one-on-one conferences, I will review some of your writing, orally quiz you on lesson objectives, and field your questions. Think Again: Write your own response to one of the “Questions for Discussion.” Identifications Make sure you know the meaning and significance of each of the following: Rhett Butler cinematography epic Clark Gable Gone with the Wind Vivian Leigh Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949) Scarlett O’Hara Resource The Greatest Films: Gone with the Wind features some information on the history of the film. Updated October 17, 2003 © Mark Canada, 2003 mark.canada@uncp.edu

Introduction In this lesson, we will use our powers of literary analysis to interpret one of the most famous films ever made, Gone with the Wind. Notes Background The romanticized vision of the Old South as a place of beauty, leisure, and refinement is one of the most pervasive myths of Southern literature and culture. Thanks in large part to the inexpensive labor provided through slavery, planters of cotton and other crops from Texas to Virginia did enjoy enormous wealth and live lives of relative leisure in spectacular mansions. Meanwhile, however, their slaves suffered inhumane living conditions, along with intellectual oppression and emotional turmoil. Not all white Southerners, furthermore, were living in mansions or dining on fine food. The romantic Old South, then, did have some truth behind it, but only for the very well-to-do. Even for many of these wealthy or landed Southerners, the life of leisure and refinement came to an end with the Civil War, which put an end to slavery, decimated the Southern economy, and left the South in shambles. The myth of the Old South lived on, however, as myths will do, in the minds of many Southerners and in their literature. Some of this literature, such as Thomas Nelson Page’s short story “Marse Chan,” celebrated and perpetuated the myth, while other words exposed and criticized it. Decades after the end of the war, the myth of the glorious Old South was still alive in the world that surrounded a girl named Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949). Born in Atlanta, Mitchell heard discussions of the Civil War and Reconstruction when she was growing up. As a young woman, she took a break from her job writing for the Atlanta Journal to nurse a rheumatic ankle and started writing a novel. Although she said she was writing it for fun, an editor saw its potential, and the book was published by Macmillan in 1936. Gone with the Wind became a sensation, selling 1.7 million copies within a year of its publication. That total has grown to more than 28 million. The book also attracted the attention of Hollywood. Producer David Selznick, one of the most important figures in the history of American filmmaking, bought the rights, and a film adaptation came out in 1939. The movie version, starring Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara and Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, was equally successful, becoming one of the best-known films ever made. Nearly 4 hours long, it is one of the best examples of a movie epic. Like their counterparts in poetry, film epics are usually long and generally feature larger-than-life characters engaging in monumental struggles stretching over long periods of time. One of the few movies filmed in color at that time, Gone with the Wind features some spectacular cinematography, the art of conveying meaning and creating effects through use of lighting, camera angles, and more. Questions for Discussion 1. Old South: In what ways does the film Gone with the Wind capture the myth of the Old South. Do you think Margaret Mitchell and the filmmakers were sympathetic with this myth? Explain. 2. Cinematography: Analyze some elements of cinematography in the film Gone with the Wind. Explain how these elements convey meaning or create effects. 3. Acting: Identify some gestures, facial expressions, or tones of voice through which Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, or other actors suggest meaning in their acting. Conclusion In our next lesson, we will examine some important poetry published by a group of Southern writers called the Agrarians in the early part of the twentieth century.