Gone With The Wind

In class on Friday, we watched a movie called Gone With The Wind. The movie is a historical romance and was released in 1939. This film is considered controversial that was written by Margaret Mitchell. It was also taken place during the Civil War. The theme to this movie, is survival. "What makes some people come through catastrophes and others, apparently just as able, strong, and brave, go under? It happens in every upheaval. Some people survive; others don't", states Mitchell.

The movie starts off with the main character Scarlett. She was very flirtatious and wanted to find love. The man she loved was engaged, so this was very discouraging to her. Scarlett eventually marries another man to make Ashley Wilkes jealous. During the war, many of the men in Scarlett's town were killed. She took the job as a nurse and the job seemed so overwhelming. Scarlett eventually delivered her sisters' baby too.

I can see how this movie could be offensive to the black community. It ignored the struggles of slavery and was very stereotypical to people of color. The character Prissy, was seen as a lesser character and probably the most stereotypical. I personally did not recognize the controversy in this movie until I wrote about it and discussed it in class. As a white person I will not fully understand how it feels from a person of color's side.

Comments

Speech Theories

The theory "Promote Tolerance" about freedom of speech and extremist speech, resonates most with me. We have the freedom to say and believe in our own opinions towards the president or government. Everyone may not agree with each other and different beliefs form, but this may better the society and our country. Beliefs that someone may have might convince another persons viewpoint into a more open idea. Lee Bollinger wrote his view on the "Tolerant Society". He argues that protecting it could reduce racial tensions and the beliefs of other individuals in society. Lee Bollinger also argues tolerance in favor of protecting extremist speech. Bollinger states "toleration helps to promote a stable and open society". In support of this, he believes that it could make individuals respectful of the rights of other. I agree with these points. Toleration can help society by encouraging respect and openness to other people's beliefs. I believe that respecting

Class Presentations

Each of my classmates gave a brief presentation about a person who was either anti slavery or pro slavery . It was very interesting listening to each of their presentations about a different historical person. One of the most interesting one to me was Abraham Lincoln being antislavery. I did Abraham as proslavery which explained why the oral presentation given showed how Lincoln 's viewpoint changed throughout his presidency . Lincoln was against slavery and made a decision to free all slaves as he was running for president . In comparison to mine, Abraham Lincoln actually wanted to send the slaves back to their own country since he thought they did not belong in America. Lincoln is known as the president who freed the slaves in the United States. Another presentation that I found interesting , was Fredrick Douglass. He escaped from slavery in Maryland and then became a national leader of abolitionist

Jim Crow Era - The Red Summer

The Red Summer became the peek of growing tensions that surrounded the great migration of African Americans from the South into the cities of the North. An African American drowned at Lake Michigan soon after he violated the unofficial segregation Chicago’s beaches and was stoned by a group of white boys. This all took place on July 27, 1919. The police refused to take arrests towards to white men who caused it. This sparked a huge riot between black and white gangs. These riots concentrated on the South Side throughout the neighborhoods. The riots eventually ended on August 13. 15 whites, 23 blacks were killed, and over 500 people were injured. This also resulted in 1,000 black families losing their homes.

Amanda Moran

Search This Blog