1. Gone With the Wind was introduced to the American audience when Hollywood was attempting to introduce positive race relations. Hattie McDaniel starred as Mammy in this film. She was a phenomenal actress providing comic relief at times during while giving support to the family during the war. Vivian Leigh, a British actress, played Scarlett O’Hara and was a good example of a screwball comedic character. Scarlett was a strong female who longed for love with a married man. In spite of the relationship she wished she had, Scarlett won the affection of many men and even got married. These marriages were under false pretenses and, with the death of both of her husbands, we could see how little she really cared for them. Scarlett was a business owner, later in the film, which showed her ability to “be like the men.” Her business was successful, but not without help from a few men. The wedding of her third marriage was to Rhett Butler, played by Clark Gable, a character that longed for Scarlett, but played hard to get. They bore a child together, whom Butler loved very much. Even with this marriage, Scarlett could not hide her undying love for the married man and, at the death of his wife; Rhett Butler realized that she would always love another man. Butler left Scarlett with the famous line, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” With a $3.9 million estimated budget, a lot of effort went in to making this movie. This can be seen through the tremendous cast, sought out through intense searches, and the quality of film. It was one of the first films shot in Technicolor and was over three hours long.
2. Hattie McDaniel was born into a family of entertainers. In her early life she sang at her church and performed various skits. After dropping out of high school she “trained with her fathers minstrel troupe full time.” Ten years later she gained a spot in George Morrison’s orchestra. Throughout her life she performed on stages and in radio stations and she was the “first African-American to sing on the radio.” Her siblings pushed McDaniel to move to LA in order to progress in her career as an entertainer and she scored various roles in minor movies. In 1935, Hattie McDaniel starred in Little Colonel along side America’s beloved Shirley Temple and she caught the eye of many Hollywood directors. In 1939, she landed the role as Mammy in Gone With the Wind. McDaniel’s amazing performance in this role earned her an Academy Award, the first one won by an African- American. She experienced great controversy over her continuous roles as a servant in films. The greatest criticism came from the NAACP. According to TCM.com, McDaniel responded with, “I’d rather play a maid on film than be forced to work as one in real life.” Biography.com stated that the NAACP president during that time, Walter White, “urged movie studios to start creating roles that portrayed blacks as capable of achieving far more than cooking and cleaning for white people.” TCM.com also reported at when Hattie McDaniel died from breast cancer she was denied her first choice burial place at Hollywood Memorial Park due to segregation issues during that time. She was, however, the first African-American to be buried at Roxdale Cemetery, her second choice for her burial location.
3. Hattie McDaniel achieved so much in her life as the first African- American to sing on the radio and win an Academy Award. She was truly an empowered female, breaking through the barriers placed on her as an African- American. Her performance in Gone With the Wind deserved the Academy Award she won and this was seen by her fellow cast-mates. Through the in-class discussion of this film, I learned that Clark Gable initially refused to attend the award ceremony because McDaniel was not allowed to attend. All of America was not ready to accept that such amazing acting could come from someone seen as an underdog in society. This film was introduced, as mentioned before, during a time where Hollywood was trying to create a more positive light surrounding race relations. In this film, McDaniel’s character was portrayed as very closed to the white family she served. I did not notice any negativity toward Mammy from the O’Hara’s or other families involved in this film. The director, Victor Fleming did a good job incorporating Hollywood’s new ideals on African-Americans. Tim Dirks, writer and editor for filmsite.org listed scenes that were eliminated from the original script due to their racism.
4. Overall, this film encompasses many of the new ideals introduced in Hollywood. Gone With the Wind has strong female characters, as well as supportive African-American roles. The length of the film is intimidating, but the intermission helped keep my focus. In my class we split this film into two class sessions. The cast was selected through an intense search for the perfect actors and actresses to play the roles, understandably so with such a high budget. This search did not go to waste as this movie ranked number four in the American Film Institutes top 100 and it is the highest grossing film of all time. I enjoyed this film more than I thought I would and I am glad it was introduced to me. Through in-class discussions and online research I have been able to accurately place this film in a very important role in American filmmaking.
List of websites used in research:
• http://www.filmsite.org/gone.html
• http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/126855%7C67802/Hattie-McDaniel/
• http://www.biography.com/people/hattie-mcdaniel-38433
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