Oh my gosh, my fangirl boner will probably show as I continue my comment, but OH MY GOSH SOMEONE ELSE WHO IS ENTHRALLED WITH GONE WITH THE WIND LIKE ME AND ISN'T 100 YEARS OLD!
GWtW is hands down one of my top favorite books and movies of all time. You're right, when you way that there are certainly a lot of reasons to dislike (or even hate) the book/movie, but I find its flaws my favorite part.
Rhett Butler, my gosh, I just love him. And you are right, too many people overlook his really very bad qualities and actions, but there is something more to that. He isn't a gentleman, he doesn't pretend to be who he isn't, he's brash, he's bold, and he has the same allure to every girl that he did with Scarlet, his charm. I think that's why it's hard for people to see past his alcoholism, the rape, misogynistic tendencies, because he's so god damn charming. He is a very real character, a very believable male figure who isn't the dashing beauty ready to place Scarlet into a little box like Ashley, and exactly the reason I despise Ashley.
What I think is amazing is this author give the protagonist role to a woman that everyone is suppose to hate, but ends up loving (at least that's what happened for me). I mean, you want to CHOKE the living crap out of her for the way she acts before the war gets to Atlanta. Her true colors do in fact shine in a time of crisis when no one (not even the men) seems to know what to do. She is a very strong woman, even so much so that she tussles with men about her Terra. For that time period, she would have seemed very out of place and I have a feeling that just about no one would like her or take her seriously (beyond her selfish nature) simply because she is a woman. I just admire her strength, because as the story goes on, I found myself rooting for her, hoping everything would work out for her (and it simply broke my heart when Rhett left).
The fact that the two main characters are in such opposite roles as what they are "traditionally" put in is what makes this book so intriguing. Yes, it may steer some away because it's a bit hard to swallow at some times, but all in all I just can't escape how captivating it is. And I COMPLETELY agree that I would find it interesting to be remade, because while Clark Gable will ALWAYS be my Rhett, I would just like to see what modern cinema could make out of this. So much more freedom could be taken and a lot more psychological and explicit nature that is in the book could be used in a remake of the movie simply because this isn't the 1930's. They would have to cast EXTREMELY carefully though, because some of these roles are so engraved on the memories of the movie's fans that anything less would just be very disappointing.
Thank you so much for an AWESOME post about GWtW, I think it's really cool theaters around you go around showing it from time to time. If that were the case here, I would see it every single time they brought it to the screen!
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GWtW is hands down one of my top favorite books and movies of all time. You're right, when you way that there are certainly a lot of reasons to dislike (or even hate) the book/movie, but I find its flaws my favorite part.
Rhett Butler, my gosh, I just love him. And you are right, too many people overlook his really very bad qualities and actions, but there is something more to that. He isn't a gentleman, he doesn't pretend to be who he isn't, he's brash, he's bold, and he has the same allure to every girl that he did with Scarlet, his charm. I think that's why it's hard for people to see past his alcoholism, the rape, misogynistic tendencies, because he's so god damn charming. He is a very real character, a very believable male figure who isn't the dashing beauty ready to place Scarlet into a little box like Ashley, and exactly the reason I despise Ashley.
What I think is amazing is this author give the protagonist role to a woman that everyone is suppose to hate, but ends up loving (at least that's what happened for me). I mean, you want to CHOKE the living crap out of her for the way she acts before the war gets to Atlanta. Her true colors do in fact shine in a time of crisis when no one (not even the men) seems to know what to do. She is a very strong woman, even so much so that she tussles with men about her Terra. For that time period, she would have seemed very out of place and I have a feeling that just about no one would like her or take her seriously (beyond her selfish nature) simply because she is a woman. I just admire her strength, because as the story goes on, I found myself rooting for her, hoping everything would work out for her (and it simply broke my heart when Rhett left).
The fact that the two main characters are in such opposite roles as what they are "traditionally" put in is what makes this book so intriguing. Yes, it may steer some away because it's a bit hard to swallow at some times, but all in all I just can't escape how captivating it is. And I COMPLETELY agree that I would find it interesting to be remade, because while Clark Gable will ALWAYS be my Rhett, I would just like to see what modern cinema could make out of this. So much more freedom could be taken and a lot more psychological and explicit nature that is in the book could be used in a remake of the movie simply because this isn't the 1930's. They would have to cast EXTREMELY carefully though, because some of these roles are so engraved on the memories of the movie's fans that anything less would just be very disappointing.
Thank you so much for an AWESOME post about GWtW, I think it's really cool theaters around you go around showing it from time to time. If that were the case here, I would see it every single time they brought it to the screen!