At present time, many people including historians learn history through films and book review essay, which attempts to recreate the specific historical event, place and time. (Andrea) notes that, the accuracy and the authenticity of any given film is significantly dependent on the quality of the represented historical event. As a result, historians and filmmakers often disagree on the elements to be considered when determining authenticity and accuracy, thus the need to collaborate in coming up with universal definitions. In addition, historians mostly disregard the challenges faced by film makers in production of a movie.

It is notable that any successful authentic film helps in recreating historical event as well as relates the story to the time, in which producers released the movie. While historical authenticity enormously captures the time in which the event took place, historical accuracy follow historical plot as well as employs the concrete historical facts, verified by various sources. Generally, accuracy makes it easy for the audiences to fully understand and appreciate the history portrayed in the film. On the other hand, a movie can sometimes be misleading, due to the fact that the given historical event is not well portrayed, thus the need for the stakeholders to realize that, it is not always healthy to believed what one see, hear, or read. This paper will candidly examine the current and the past events, which have taken place in the U.S. as depicted by the movie Gone With The Wind

Gone With The Wind, a 1939 American historical epic movie, was taken from Pulitzer-winning 1936, a novel written by Margaret Mitchells and both had the same title. The film was produced by David Selznick, O. and directed by Fleming Victor from screenplay done by Sidney Howard. The film, which was set in the 19th century in South America, stared prominent Hollywood stars such as Hattie McDaniel, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard and Vivien Leigh among others. It clearly narrates of the Civil War in the United States as well as the Reconstruction era and this is carried out from the white South point of view.

As a result of its accuracy and authenticity, the film received ten notable Academic awards, eight of which were competitive and two honorary. This is a record, which stood for approximately 20 years up to 1960 when it was surpassed by Ben-Hur. According to the 1988 inaugural list of the best 100 movies of all times in America carried out by the American Film Institute,Gone With The Wind was ranked the fourth best movie and in 1989, the movie was regarded as one of those to be preserved by the NFR (National Film Registry). The movie was considered to be one of the longest sound film from the U.S., as it made up of up to 3 hours and 44 minutes, in addition to 15-minute intermissions and was still the initial movies, which was shot in color, thus winning the initial academy award aimed for the best Cinematography in class of colored films. Generally, the movie became one of the best recouped movies of all times, after its release and still earned more as compared to other movies in the entire box office history after inflation is adjusted. The film starts on a big cotton plantation known as Tara in the rural area of Georgia in 1861 during the Civil War, which took place in the U.S. Scarlett is flirting with two of Tarleton brothers known as Stuart and Brent, who had just been expelled from a university ( the University of Georgia). Scarlett, Careen and Suellen are all daughters of an immigrant from Ireland named Gerald O'Hara as well as Ellen O'Hara who was his wife, an aristocratic French ancestry. Scarlett is admired by Rhett Butler and finds him in high levels of disfavors among the superiors and industrial mighty, who were from the North (Andrea). Thereafter, the city of Atlanta is besieged by Union Army, where Melanie goes into hard and premature labor. Scarlet learns that her own mother died of typhoid as well as the fact that, the minds of his father had failed as a result of mental strain. Generally, Scarlet vows to ensure that her family survives. She exclaims, "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!"

It is clear that, the movie Gone With The Wind, significantly resembles the 1930’s feelings about the international isolation in the U.S. The movie captures the notion and the idea, which past looked brighter as compared to the future and the same feelings may be applied to 1930’s. Immediately after the World War I, the U.S. experienced great prosperity, but in the late 1929, the U.S. experienced the Great Depression. In the movie Gone with the Wind, the nostalgia created at the time of post-Civil War reflects the disillusionment faced by Americans after World War I. In this regard, the film reflects the beliefs possessed by most Americans that, the past was more appealing as compared to the future. The movie also reflects how the old society and new society would merge, immediately after the Civil War. From the beginning of the movie, Scarlett enormously represents a mixture of old as well as new. Ellen, her mother originates from well established aristocratic family and the father Gerald was an immigrant who was self-made. Prior to the Civil War, Scarlett obeys almost all regulations set by high class from the South. At the start of the war, though social codes relaxed, she started to break rules. Scarlet turns to self-reliant and extremely business –savvy and these were traits, which were disturbing to Scarlet and other poor individuals from the south, though critical in enhancing their survival in the New South. The life of Scarlett from a prewar period to a hardened opportunist in the South indicates how the southern culture regained control in regard to the political structures as well as being able to rebuild society, which mixes the past world to the new one. The movie also indicates the existence of social evils such as racism in the U.S. As epitomized at the start of the movie, the white women are seen as elegant and their menfolk are easily seen or dashing. In the background, the African -Americans can be seen being contented and dutiful, thus being incapable of being independent in their existence. Thus, the movie can be likened to a birth of nation, based on clansman among other re-imagining during the time of Civil War.

The movie, Gone With The Wind, highly focuses on the need to redefine the roles of women. For instance, they are encouraged to be independent, through creation of economic destiny, thus preparing their duties outside the home, especially after the Second World War. As indicated in the movie, there is the need to live in a cohesive society as not only ensure security but also economic and social progress.