I was recently asked to give my opinion about a controversial article by the person who wrote it. I’m not sure they knew what they were getting into. I don’t even know if my response was accepted since my comment came several days after the article was posted and some blog platforms have cut-offs for comments. In any case, below is the comment I submitted, even if it didn’t get posted (but it might have).
I want to be clear in stating that I personally do not feel that the person who wrote this article is a mean or bad person in any way shape or form. They have an opinion that is different from mine about this particular issue. This person does share my opinion about some other things. (It is possible for people to agree on some things and disagree on others.) This person is willing to be open and honest and have conversations that others would like to gloss over or “sweep under the rug” and for that, I admire her.
My response to her article is very one-sided, and I will not apologize for it. I am aware of what’s going on in the world and do not believe for a moment that “my struggle” is the only one in existence, but the opinion that I expressed was based on my gut reaction. It has not changed. If someone wants to point out global issues that I didn’t address in my comment, they are welcome to do so.
So, below you will see my response to an article (which you can find HERE) written about the film, Gone With The Wind. If you are not interested in reading any opinion that may not be exactly the same as your own regarding this film, please skip it. I’m not here to change your mind and don’t need you to try to change mine. You are welcome to leave a comment, but I will only be responding with the following statement, “Thank you for reading the post and sharing your opinion.”
Since this comment is being reposted here, I have cleaned up some typos, but grammatical errors may still be present since I didn’t want to edit my words too much. And while I don’t say this in my comment, Gone With The Wind (GWTW) is a work of fiction, an interpretation of events based on the historical past, but even HIStory is told from SOMEone’s perspective.
BTW- On a personal note, I’ll be attending an annual fashion show this weekend which raises funds and awareness for the fight against human trafficking. I may be posting about it afterward.
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“I’m not offended by this article, but I also don’t agree with it.
This isn’t something I haven’t heard before and I’m sure I will hear it again.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with appreciating GWTW for its cinematic historical significance, but I personally feel the movie is overly praised for its depiction of the Civil War south, which is only accurate from the white perspective.
I’m not saying that unicorns never existed, but I’ve never personally met a white person who has said that Roots was their favorite movie. Yet, so many people will defend GWTW if someone else doesn’t love it. I don’t care if someone doesn’t love Roots, but other people get emotional if I say, “I don’t love GWTW”.
If people wouldn’t ask me questions about this movie, I would never give it a second thought. I’ve seen it. It has entertainment value. It’s visually stunning and the story arc is complex and inspiring, but so are a bunch of other movies. Beyond the things I’ve listed, it’s just another movie about white people, for white people, that just happens to feature black people according to the period in which the movie takes place.
What it boils down to is the statement, “Slaves on the Tara plantation were generally happy and loved their masters.” That statement explains what’s wrong with this film.
Slaves can’t be happy. Yes, they can be content, optimistic, and have hope, and even be forgiving, but they cannot be happy. Slaves cannot be happy because they do not own their own existence.
Prostitutes don’t love their pimps. Dogs don’t love the people who keep them chained up and force them to fight other dogs just so they can live another day to do it all again. Rape victims don’t love their rapists. And slaves experience all these things and more, whether physical or mental. To say that “Slaves on the Tara plantation were generally happy and loved their masters”, undermines the millions of slaves who were treated unfairly and makes the assumption that just because Tara slaves weren’t mistreated that they were happy. Since when does a lack of mistreatment equate to happiness? (So, yeah, I’m not going to beat you but you can’t leave and need to do all my work so I can take it easy). If one slave is mistreated, all slaves are mistreated.
As long as, people watch this movie and think that the slaves were happy, black people will continue to condemn this film. Allies to the cause of true freedom will continue to fight against the glorification of slavery that this film represents. If the white community could come to a consensus and admit that this depiction of slavery is wrong, then maybe we all could view this film for its cinematic historical significance, instead of its part of the ongoing problem.
I have a high opinion of this blog author and this opinion has not changed, but that’s only because I stopped trying to get non-POCs to understand the POC perspective a long time ago. They will either eventually get there, or they won’t.
I was asked to offer my honest opinion and here it is.
Colleagues of this blogger have deemed me “an angry black woman” in the past, but then all black women are deemed angry in the eyes of white society if we aren’t smiling and keeping quiet. I don’t think this blogger sees me that way and I appreciate her willingness to express her true opinion even if I don’t agree with it. With her, and hopefully others, the conversation is at least happening.
I don’t think GWTW should be canceled, but I also don’t think it should be on a pedestal. It needs to be talked about.
Thank you, Denise.”
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Thank you for making it this far down the virtual page. Kudos to you! I’d love to know what you thought of this post in the comments below. Stay safe and be blessed.
