Film Journal: Gone with the Wind

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening 
In class, we discussed Gone With The Wind very briefly, just going over it because of time restraints. Since Gone With The Wind is around a four hour feature, watching it in class would take much more than one time period, so it became extra credit. We discussed how this is another film where star actor Clark Gable steps in as the lead male role to give it a romantic twist. Gone With the Wind was originally a book written by Margaret Mitchell in 1936, and was soon made into a film a couple years later.

2) Find a related article (on the film, directed, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, ect.) You can use the library or the Internet. Cite the article or copy the url to your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content.
The article I chose to complement Gone With The Wind is an article on Rogerebert.com that can be found by clicking HERE. [If link does not work, can also be found here: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-gone-with-the-wind-1939 ] This article gives a generalized idea of the film including a summary and a lot of backstory that many people would miss upon the first time watching it. In the beginning of the article, the website states that Gone With The Wind took place during the civil war in the South, which gives the film a kind of chaotic background twist.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.
This was a film that became one that I had to watch at home, and although I knew it was going to be long, I didn't quite expect it to be as long as it actually was. This article actually enlightened me much more about Scarlet's part, and how Margaret Mitchell intended her to be an extreme sex symbol throughout the entire film. The article speaks of her lusty intentions, yet the loveliness of a "southern flower", as Roger Ebert states. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh were a match made in heaven for this film, which the article also brings up. 

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of 4 things: the screening, class discussions, text material, and the article.
The screening was extreme for it's time. Gone With The Wind is one of those title names that stands out from its generation of film because of its theatrical complexity on screen. Aside from that, the romantic aspects have been talked about for what is nearing one hundred years after its release. I also think that as a book turned film, this is one of the more revolutionary releases when it comes to that style of production. As a book, the scripting is done very differently compared to a script that is being written from scratch because the elements already exist. It's just a matter of perfecting what the reader would be imagining, except in screen. According to class discussion, it was also ranked #4 as one of the Best American Films, granting it royalty in the industry. I think my opinion for the film really changed for the better after reading the article I chose for this journal. Roger Ebert pointed out most of the points that I missed the first time around, such as the entire war being played out from before it until after it, all through the eyes of Scarlet. I didn't catch that while watching the film, even though it was one of the broader main ideas. Gone With The Wind is one of those classics that really never grows old because even with as much time that has passed, people can still go back to it and learn from its romance and cinematography.


CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 

1) (X) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 

2) (X) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 

3) (X) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 

4) (X) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 

5) (X) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 

6) (X) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 

7) (X) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 

8) (X) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.