Response Paper: First Four Films
The public eye in America is extremely powerful when it labels works of art that are in
the spotlight, giving these works of art sets of everlasting “ideals” that are seen decades after the
works fade from the spotlight. The first four films reviewed in our class are no exception with
their well known stories and “ideals”. However, the “ideals” are often only the shallow
interpretation of the foreground of the films’ content, missing the underlying subtext that has a
much richer interpretation of the content. Again, these films are no exception as their subtexts
have been missed by the public eye, but brought forth by those looking deeper, creating a
similarity among the films as their subtexts say more about the South than what meets the eye.
Looking at the foregrounds of the films studied in class, the classic “stories” surrounding
the films are seen; they’re what we think of when we think of the films. For instance, Gone with
the Wind is the ideal Antebellum South, showing the extravagant parties, beautiful land, the
culture of the Southern gentlemen and their willingness to go fight for their beloved region. It
then shows the Civil War and the conflict that surrounded it and Reconstruction. All of this is
wrapped up nicely in a love story, making the audience sigh as they “remember the good ol’
South.” The Birth of a Nation is a similar story showing the Antebellum South with a little more
focus on the destruction caused by Reconstruction and the injustice placed on Southerners. It
shows the creation of the KKK by painting them as the light in a world of darkness filled with
every stereotype available. Carpetbaggers, blacks in the government, blacks loyal to their
masters and the South, and Southern gentlemen run abound in this film, further reinforcing the
injustice placed upon Southerner’s and their land by the oppressive North. The film gained
national attention for this view of the South, the loss the South experienced due to the oppressive
Reconstruction, and the Nation that was going to rise from the ashes with the KKK’s assistance.
God’s Little Acre brought about a new stereotype of the South – the white trash, incest laden
family. TyTy is the leader of a crude clan of dirt poor, uncontrollable white Southerners with no
resemblance of the class of the Old South. To Kill a Mockingbird shows a similar stereotype as
God’s Little Acre with the lower white class of the South, and adds on injustice towards blacks
in the legal system. But countering all of this is the upstanding Southern male in Atticus,
bringing forth the Southern gentleman again, coupled with the small Southern town viewed
through the children’s eyes; the “perfect” South appears again to the public eye. The foreground
stereotypes brought forth in these films created not only the reputations behind the films
themselves, but also the reputation of the South. While these must be recognized and understood,
the deeper subtexts are left hidden, leaving the audience deprived of the films’ full intentions.
Returning to Gone with the Wind, the subtext of a progressive South is rampant throughout the film. It can be seen with the Old Southern ways of Ashley and his backwards views
compared to the progressive, capitalistic views of Rhett. Scarlett is also an example of progress
as she is a sassy woman who is out to get her own and manipulate, constantly fighting the Old
South mentality she was raised with. The love story is even an example of the progressive views
of a new South as Scarlett fights with herself between Ashley and Rhett; Old versus New. To
Kill a Mockingbird shows another progressive view of the South and class, and that is through
the different classes of whites seen in the film. Atticus is the noble, high class white without
racist views. He stands against the working/ farming class of gentlemen, but who have racist
tendencies, and of course the low class, white trash, blatantly racist Ewells. The injustice towards
the blacks in the film seen in the trial is simply another reinforcement of the class struggles
among whites in the South, showing the pure hierarchy and the loss of cleanliness as you go
down in class. Showing this similar idea of class in its foreground, God’s Little Acre has a
subtext that focuses on human nature rather than class. The idea of a poor, lower class, separated
from structured society allowed Caldwell to bring about the animalistic ways of human nature.
The pursuance of females by the man’s man Will, and their acceptance of his force, along with
the dynamic between the men, shows the animal inside man and his disregard for family or
societal norms when without structure in desperate times. When looking at these three films, the
stereotypes used by them bring a strong pathos to the table, evoking the films’ feelings upon the
audience. Although the subtext is lost, to the shadow of the foreground, it is surprisingly present
in the audience’s subconscious. They are all propaganda, projecting the author’s/ director’s
subtext onto the audience. The Birth of a Nation is the largest of the propaganda piece among the
films. The Birth of a Nation paints the KKK in a fantastic light as they are fighting to save the
ideal way of Old Southern living. They can do no wrong against the force of Northern
oppression and a South in despair. Although the film may not say directly to join or support the
KKK, the message is pretty clear, imprinting the KKK into the audience’s minds as they view
the film and leave the theater. The subtexts present in the works are the most important content,
and as they are sit in the shadows of the foreground, they bring the movies together as their
deeper meanings lay hidden.
So as we look for similarities and differences among the films that have captured the
spotlights of the past, perhaps it would do us well to look for the deeper meaning behind the
foregrounds of romance, lost culture, and heroism. In the cases of these four films, the subtexts
have much more to say about the underlying feelings and subconscious of the South compared to
the Southern stereotypes that their foregrounds produced. When looking to understand the South,
the foregrounds offer the quick fix to Southern culture past and present, but we miss the raw
emotions and conflict found deep within the Southern ways shape what the Southern core.