Genre refers to a kind of culture, art or any classification of literature, be it spoken or written, visual or audio, that is founded on a number of stylistic criteria, which are created by treaties over a period of time." Various masterpieces incorporate several genres by “…borrowing and recombining these conventions”. Among the most common kinds of visual and audio arts is film. In this genre, information is passed to quite a large number of viewers via electronic media.
This may be substantiated by the film “Gone with the Wind”, a mixture of several genres with multidimensional approach meant to captivate the mass viewer. It is a chronological film, which echoed the ideas and themes of a white southerner with regard to the Reconstruction era, as well as the Civil War. Based on the background of the Reconstruction era and the Civil War, the film fell under the category of ancient epic.The film clearly portrayed the courageous figures’ tussles in the face of wartime adversity.
The film told a story of Scarlett O’Hara, an inexperienced and charismatic sixteen year girl. She was irritated and resentful following her discovery that Ashley was engaged to Melanie, her cousin. Soon after the engagement ceremony, the young men from the town were enrolled in the army. Soon enough, Scarlett was faced with a major challenge, as her husband, Charlie, died of measles and pneumonia while in the army. In this scenario, the film brings to light the vindictiveness of the Civil War.
As a result, Scarlett moved to Atlanta to live with her cousin, Melanie. Both of them were working as volunteers in the army hospital. Here, there main work was to take care of the injured soldiers. When Atlanta was taken over by the Unionists, Scarlett, Prissy, Melanie and her newly born baby escaped in a wagon under cover of the night.
The initial portion of the film deftly introduced the account of how Belle, an undisturbed Southern, tolerated the cruel beginning of the war. In the subsequent parts, it reveals how Scarlett together with her family members, as well as helpers,had to toil vigorously in the cotton fields. Being in need of financial support, she attempted to seduce Rhett. Consequently she deceived Frank, her sister’s husband, into marrying her in order to be in charge of their business. Through this event, the film intends to chronologically reveal how this young female writhed with her distressing state in the course of the Civil War.
As highlighted, “Scarlett did not have the luxury to hear the inner conscence calling; neither did she have the time to pursue her own genuine feeling”. It is further stated that, “…she utilized a human being's primmest methods such as physical strength, personal determination and little witty tricks to enable herself and the family to survive”. This brings out her opportunistic nature as a way of surviving. It is further revealed that, “…she had to swiftly grip the hardly gained opportunity in order to deliver herself from poverty and starvation; even though this was unethical that might sully her reputation”.
To make the film more creative and interesting, various identical and splendid recurrent sceneries, outstanding sights of war, as well as interlude backgrounds illuminating the experience of the women in the story, were employed. The film runs for approximately four hours, and this gives one a picture of a mythical epic that went on for nearly eleven years. Based on the chronological context of the film, some traces of slavery could be detected. Right from the interactions between Scarlett and the royal, traces of slavery of that period may be seen.As much as the film’s background was set from a historical epic point of view, its plot was chiefly romantic.
The plot incorporated descriptions, climax expansion, resolution, five-phased organization and subsiding action. With regard to the exposition phase at the start of the film, the central character, Scarlett, together with other characters, are introduced. Their relationship is also highlighted. Scarlet had been admiring Ashley, yet he was betrothed to Melanie. Quite incidentally, Rhett comes across the two having a clandestine conversation. With regard to personality, Melanie and Ashley had some similarities, as they were principled, gentle, and old-fashioned.
This was in contrast with Scarlett's resilient, permissive and opportunistic nature. These characteristics were identical to those of Rhett. Rhett had fallen in love with Scarlett at first sight. He was fascinated by her revolt against folklores, as well as her bravery to respond to difficult situations. Some romantic scenes between Rhett and Scarlett are shown in the film. In particular, Rhett is portrayed as, “…carrying Scarlett upstairs when he tried to force her to sleep in the same room.
Scarlett fell downstairs after she quarreled with Rhett when he returned from London”. The climax of the film comes when the sensation of irritation is revealed. As it is shown in the film, “Scarlett helplessly stood by Bonnie Blue, leaping the heightened hurdle with a little pony&rdqquo;. This was when Bonnie had been thrown from the back of the horse. This resulted in his death. From this scenario, “…everything on the screen seemed to be frozen”.
This could be seen, as spectators were perplexed and seemed to be asking, “What would be the consequences of the romance between Scarlett and Rhett as they lost their mutual child?” This is followed by other events in which, “Rhett was in a deep remorse for Scarlett’s miscarriage and mournful for Bonnie Blue’s death”. There also exists a fussy illustration of the grief-stricken sights brought about by death. At the end, a resolution phase is realized as, “Scarlett lastly realized how she genuinely loved Rhett and the sublimation of her feeling to Ashley as a friend”. Regardless of this development, Rhett chose to let her go.
The film is categorized under the genre of drama. Ithas several scenes in which dramatic encounters are brought out. In contrast with the intriguing shadowy scenes and the sensitive music, the film takes another twist in the manner in which its main theme is brought out. The principal idea behind this film is that, “The young generation should inherit and expand the invaluable heritage granted by Irish ancestors”.
There is an instance in which Scarlett vows not to starve again. From this, an immense melodramatic image is planted in the viewer’s mind. In the long run, Scarlett finds solace in her home, Tara. She says, “I will go home, and I'll think of some way to get him back! After all, tomorrow is another day!” This further reiterates the theme of the film.
Her home, Tara, acted as her source of hope and strength, as it reminded her about life’s responsibility and values. The film is concluded in an impressive, positive and heroic way.“Gone with the Wind” is one of the most influential and highest-earning films in the history of film-making of America. It had an unblemished reputation among global audiences. This is demonstrated by the tributes it has, such as being regarded as the “Best Film Editing”, as well as the “Best Art Direction”.
These were based on the creative fields applied. The skeletal category of the film was a chronological epic, while its plot was based on passion. Besides, the entire film was decorated and toned with theatrical variety. This was achieved by harmonizing the various genres, so as to attain a rich, energized circumstantial effect. Therefore, multispecialty categories were matched together in order to boost the perpetual artistic significance and enormous achievement of the film.
