Gone With The Wind Reflection

Gone with the Wind is a movie that portrays negative stereotypes of black female characters. The portrayal of Mammy by Hattie McDaniel and Prissy by Butterfly McQueen was one of new heights for both of these actresses. However their roles in this film can be seen as demeaning. The movie depicts both the roles of Prissy and Mammy to be seen as lesser than the other characters. The character Mammy was seen as a woman who was strong, however it still made me feel demoralized. The lack of effort put into the black female’s character in this time period is not unexpected; this reflects the psyche of the country towards black people. However, it feels disrespectful when these women were portrayed as less than equal when compared to the other characters in the film. The white characters were depicted as possessing high stature and intelligence. 

The lack of the depth in the characters is seen as a downfall, because it showed black women as lesser than equal to those around them. For example, the character of Prissy was a quiet woman who did not have much intelligence, yet her character was important in contrast to Mammy who was strong and assertive. Prissy was depicted in the manner of low intellect. Her lack of intelligence added to the paradigm in the days of slavery;  slaves were unintelligent and were only around to aide in helping white people. However, the movie led to awards for Hattie McDaniel's, the portrayal of these characters re-enforced racist stereotypes in the 40’s for black people. In the words of Butterfly McQueen from a Gone With The Wind Vogue Article, she said “I didn’t mind playing a maid the first time, because I thought that was how you got into the business. Upon playing several similar characters to Prissy I resented it. This was when it became evident that she was contributing to the stereotype. McQueen said, “I don’t mind being funny but I didn’t like being stupid.” This quote re-enforces the stereotype that Prissy’s character was used as a vehicle to portray black women as unintelligent and lower level citizens. 

Sources

Saluting Butterfly McQueen, Who Paved the Way | Vogue

The Long Battle Over ‘Gone With the Wind’ - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Gone with the Wind (1939) (imdb.com)