Movies change for us over time because we change.

The first time I saw Gone with the Wind was at the age of six. Back then, before video technology (let alone DVDs and streaming video), the only way to see some classic movies was when they would go into theatrical re-release every few years.

Gone with the Wind has shaped me as a critic, scholar, teacher, and filmmaker. This is one of a handful of films seen in my childhood that had an outsized and lasting effect on me.

From the beginning (and more than I like to admit now), the movie also affected my sense of myself as a Southern woman and, later, seeing it was a mirror for my growing consciousness about social class, race, and intimate relationships between women and men. I’m going to talk more about the first two of those categories below.

Now that the iconic epic is coming back into cinemas for a limited number of screenings celebrating the 80th anniversary of its release, I need to find a nearby screen and take it in to reflect once more about my complex responses to this film.

Continue reading “GONE WITH THE WIND”