The lessons I learned from Gone With The Wind

(Editor’s Note: This column is open to STAR readers who love movies. All a contributor has to do is write about his/her favorite movie and how it has affected his/her life. The article, which must not exceed 4,000 characters, should be written in an interesting yet simple style. Contributors must send a short bio-data and a 3R colored photo. Published pieces will be paid accordingly. E-mail your article at [email protected]

There was a land of cavaliers and cotton fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, gallantry took its last bow. Here was the last ever to be seen of knights and their ladies fair, of master and of slave. Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a civilization gone with the wind…

So goes the opening of my favorite movie, (you guessed it) Gone With the Wind. Set in the 1800’s U.S. Civil War, the plot of this war-era romantic epic revolves around Scarlett, a charming, vivacious Southern belle caught in the midst of war. Just as the war brings the Old South to ruin, so it transforms Scarlett from a spoiled little girl to a brave young woman, from a child to a fighter, from a charmer to a survivor. And just as Gone With the Wind is a story of survival, so is it a story of love, of a woman torn between a serious gentleman, Ashley, and a dashing rogue, Rhett.

Scarlett is torn between the man she thinks she loves and the man she truly loves without knowing it. Indeed, it is unfortunate that it is only in the end that Scarlett realizes she has been chasing a dream in Ashley and that she has loved Rhett all along, only to lose him in the mist right after hearing the immortal lines: "Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn." Thus ends the story with the popular scene of a woman silhouetted against blazing orange skies while standing under a shady oak tree, the only thing in Tara, which like Scarlett, has withstood the evils of war.

I am fond of classics, not for any other reason but for the mere fact that they are classics — masterpieces which refuse to die even in the rapid changing of time — though it has not always been that way. I used to prefer, like most people my age, movies that are within the two-hour limit, light and easy to understand. Thanks to the many write-ups about Gone With the Wind, along with a great deal of persuasion from my mom and dad, I finally decided I would try and watch the movie. I saw it and I was conquered. After that, I never left a video store without first going through the rack labeled "classics." Who knows what else I could be missing?

Not only is Gone...a cinematic treat in terms of its powerful cast, colorful costumes and breath-taking cinematography, it is also very informative, providing a glimpse into American history. Before watching the movie, I had always thought of the Civil War as a small event. It took the representation of a Southern belle in Scarlett to make me realize how significant it was and how difficult it must have been. In telling her story, the movie was able to tell the story of the Civil War and all who experienced it, much like the ploy Titanic used in allowing Jack and Rose to convey the sentiments of the 1,500 passengers aboard the ill-fated ship. If Gone was all about dying soldiers and starving homeless people, it would not have been appreciated as much, but the persona of Scarlett along with the romantic aspect of the movie made not only appreciation, but admiration, possible.

It is funny how a person’s tastes can be easily influenced by society’s standards. A person who has never liked reading will read Harry Potter just to have opinions to exchange with a friend or a person who hates telenovelas will watch Meteor Garden just to avoid being left out at conversations. Yet, I like Gone With the Wind not merely because of the accolades the society has placed beside it, but more so, because of its effect on me. There is much inspiration to be drawn from the movie. True, I can never be like Scarlett, but just like her, I can learn to be brave and believe in myself. It was Scarlett who taught me that reality is cruel and that it can come at you when you least expect it. All you have to do is have fun while you still can, then when it does come, adjust. It was also Scarlett who taught me that the human will cannot be underestimated. And most important of all, she taught me that no matter how hard things get, they can always get worse but they will always get better. "After all, tomorrow is another day."