Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
For one thing, I was surprised at how disturbing the war scenes were. The weeping of the soldiers' families and the amputation scene were heartbreaking. Today's movies show a lot more gore but they also tend to glorify war and gloss over the emotional pain it causes.
Secondly, even though Scarlett is easy to empathize for, did anyone else realize how selfish and narcissistic she is? She's a borderline sociopath yet people are supposed to think of her as a hero. I suppose in a way her devotion to Tara is admirable but this is a woman who whipped her horses, betrayed and secretly hates her best friend Melanie, married two men just for money, shot a looter without feeling even a little bit disturbed and is a racist slave owner. I like her as a character but wouldn't like her at all if she was a real person. I did feel sad for her when Tara was burned down and her parents died but in a way didn't they sort of deserve it for owning slaves and being arrogant elitists?
I thought Clark Gable was dislikable rather than charming too.
For one thing, I was surprised at how disturbing the war scenes were. The weeping of the soldiers' families and the amputation scene were heartbreaking. Today's movies show a lot more gore but they also tend to glorify war and gloss over the emotional pain it causes.
Secondly, even though Scarlett is easy to empathize for, did anyone else realize how selfish and narcissistic she is? She's a borderline sociopath yet people are supposed to think of her as a hero. I suppose in a way her devotion to Tara is admirable but this is a woman who whipped her horses, betrayed and secretly hates her best friend Melanie, married two men just for money, shot a looter without feeling even a little bit disturbed and is a racist slave owner. I like her as a character but wouldn't like her at all if she was a real person. I did feel sad for her when Tara was burned down and her parents died but in a way didn't they sort of deserve it for owning slaves and being arrogant elitists?
I thought Clark Gable was dislikable rather than charming too.
Scarlett is not easy to empathize for, she is a terrible girl and was from the start of the movie.
She shot the looter because he was a looter, he was on her property, the insinuation in the scene was that he was going to attack her, and he was a yankee soldier.
Melanie was not her best friend, she had no real friends.
Everyone whipped their horses then, the entire movie is based on Scarlet and what she chose to do so she would "never be hungry again" (the one scene in the movie while at Tara after she returned), and she really wasn't a racist slave owner. After she got attacked on the bridge and "Big Jim" helped her she made sure he had enough money to get away from the area so he would not be captured and killed.
No one deserves anything like that to happen and in that era it was not extraordinary that people on plantations had slaves and one should not try to rewrite history.
Perhaps they were elitists but they did have money, status and power.
Rhett Butler played by Clark Gable was the perfect character for Scarlet O'Hara to be with no matter what the circumstance of their relationship or lack of.
She started out as a spoiled, immature, entitled brat and matured more and more throughout the movie with the circumstances of the way her life was going.
To a point she was still had the entitled mindset however, she did work for everything she had even though her getting married for money was less than admirable.
Anyone who read the book or saw the movie and didn't notice how selfish and narcissistic Scarlett is would have to be dumb as a sack of rocks. Clearly, the book doesn't have a 21st Century viewpoint.
if scarlett wasn't flawed the story wouldn't be the same. Vivien leigh did a stellar job. as a poster mentioned this movie /book does not have a 21st century view. the other old movie that will make you cringe from 1950's mentality of a woman being subservient and knowing her place, is the john wayne, maureen o'hara movie "a quiet man"
Dare I hope you had the opportunity of seeing it in a crowded movie theater with a big screen?
Funny you should mention that about Scarlett. I always took it at face value, even when I read the book eventually. I guess I never had anything prodding me to really give it any thought, but then when I read a bit of criticism about it - yes, you're exactly right. Well, maybe not exactly right. I'll agree that of course she's selfish. On the other hand, it seems silly to fault her for owning slaves in ante-bellum South, and even sillier for making a fuss over her whipping a horse. By the way, about the looter, even Melanie thinks she did the correct thing.
Rhett, however, I think is pretty great. He's pretty clear-thinking, pretty honest in voicing his thoughts, and has respect and compassion as well.
Dare I hope you had the opportunity of seeing it in a crowded movie theater with a big screen?
Funny you should mention that about Scarlett. I always took it at face value, even when I read the book eventually. I guess I never had anything prodding me to really give it any thought, but then when I read a bit of criticism about it - yes, you're exactly right. Well, maybe not exactly right. I'll agree that of course she's selfish. On the other hand, it seems silly to fault her for owning slaves in ante-bellum South, and even sillier for making a fuss over her whipping a horse. By the way, about the looter, even Melanie thinks she did the correct thing.
Rhett, however, I think is pretty great. He's pretty clear-thinking, pretty honest in voicing his thoughts, and has respect and compassion as well.
It wasn't the fact she shot him it was the fact she was so nonchalant about it that fits in with her cold personality. I didn't find Melanie or Ashley particularly likable either. And Rhett was way too rough physically with Scarlett, and practically raped her even if she apparently enjoyed it. He did do well calling out her crazy ass at the end though.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
OF COURSE everyone who's seen the movie realizes it. What a strange post. You must have Asperger's or some other similar condition.
