Gone with the Wind: Zach Cementer sheds new light on 1939 classic

Jasmine Blais, Crier Staff

Zachary Camenker’s presentation, “Beyond the Scarlett Lining: Gone with the Wind Revisited,” shed new light on this 1939 masterpiece. Zach is a junior English and Education major here at Saint Anselm College. In addition to his responsibilities as a resident assistant, his dedication to the Abbey Players, his love of literature, and various other commitments on campus, he finds time to explore the beauty of film.

Giving thanks to those who made this presentation possible—Yemi Mahoney and the Multicultural Center, friend, senior Cameron Wood, the English Department, and Residence Life—he began to tell the audience how his love with Gone with the Wind came to be.

He and his mother saw The Wizard of Oz in the fall of 1999, and this moment became Zach’s gateway to something he describes as an “obsession”: film history writing and research. Years later, with a fresher mindset, Zach revisited a film that did not do much for him as a child, Gone with the Wind. Zach took on the feat of reading this 1,000 page book and re-watching the movie for the first time since his childhood. This time, it was different.

Zach was not only amazed by the legacy of Margaret Mitchell’s only novel, but the fluke of the film’s success. Zach made it clear that putting Gone with the Wind on film was “never supposed to work”; however, the producer David O. Selznick was determined that with a 4.25 million dollar budget and a brilliant creative team, it could.

The first issue was casting. Not only were there countless roles to fill, but Selznick had to find the perfect “core four” to fill the roles of Scarlett O’Hara, Rhett Butler, Melanie Hamilton, and Ashley Wilkes. To start, Selznick had to find his Scarlett—the strong, bold, ultimate 30s woman. After interviewing over a thousand women, he decided on Vivien Leigh, who later won an Academy Award for the role. Next, after a rejection from Gary Cooper, Selznick chose Clark Gable for the role of Rhett Butler, who immediately became a favorite of both public and producer. Melanie Hamilton was played by Olivia de Havilland, and Ashley Wilkes by Leslie Howard. Gone with the Wind soon became equipped with a strong lead and supporting cast by the end of Selznick’s great endeavor.

Directing was another problem. The first director on set was George Cukor, who Zach describes as “no stranger to Hollywood.” Cukor had recently been fired from directing The Wizard of Oz, but Selznick thought he would be the right man for the job. However, Cukor and Selznick did not see eye to eye, because Selznick did not agree with Cukor’s delicate attention to small details and consequently, the time it took to film. Clark Gable also had problems with Cukor because of his open homosexuality. Cukor was being fired from a film again, just 18 days into filming Gone with the Wind.

Cukor’s replacement once again was Victor Flemming, who had just finished directing The Wizard of Oz. Although Flemming was not well liked by the cast, Selznick had a particular liking towards him. In the span of directing Gone with the Wind, Flemming had to take time off due to “exhaustion,” which Zach was reluctant to claim, as it is rumored to be alcohol-related. Nonetheless, Flemming finished directing the film and stands as the only one who received credit.

For a project that was a recipe for disaster, Gone with the Wind was an extreme success. In 1940, the film received ten Academy Awards from thirteen nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and other awards to the cast. Up against major motion pictures such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Wizard of Oz, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Selznick’s Gone with the Wind nearly swept the board.

After the story of the film’s making, Zach analyzed the film in terms of historical accuracy and posed the question, “Is Gone with the Wind a love story or war novel?”. Zach used his favorite scene, “The Burning of Atlanta,” to examine this question. Although the scene is exhilarating and dramatic, the chance of it happening in this sequence is unlikely. However, Zach highlights the scene’s impeccable blend of music, dialogue, cinematography, and design. This scene shows the advanced, innovative, and pioneering technique that Gone with the Wind brought to the film world. In a time with very limited special effects, “The Burning of Atlanta” recreates this major Civil War event in a way to make it concrete to its audience, although the details might not be historically accurate.

Lastly, Zach racially analyzed the film. Although Gone with the Wind has been criticized as “historical revisionism” glorifying slavery, it has been credited for triggering changes for African Americans in the film industry. The largest African American roles in the film are the warm and maternal Mammy, played by Hattie McDaniel, and the helpless Prissy, played by Butterfly McQueen. Although he maintains that Prissy is hard to watch, Zach argues that the African Americans characters are supposed to be in place for comic relief. This makes their stereotypical dimwittedness and uselessness at times funny.

“Nonetheless,” Zach said, “they are not recognized in a racially just manner… Humor doesn’t do justice to the hardship they had to face.” In hindsight, it is clear that Gone with the Wind glorifies slavery and misrepresents the condition of the majority of African Americans. Despite the hardships they had to face, however, McDaniel and McQueen paved the way for future African Americans and minorities in the film industry.

Zach has faith in the future of Gone with the Wind. Its intriguing history, timeless characters, and place as a pioneer of film will continue Mitchell’s legacy. As the film has a place among the greatest of literature and of cinema, Gone with the Wind has a special place in Zach’s heart. “Gone with the Wind is one of my favorite films,” he states, “and if you don’t agree… Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”