Abstract

Following the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and until the end of World War II, the concept of the romantic South spread across the nation and manifested itself into many different forms of popular culture including literature and eventually, film. The films Gone with the Wind (1939) and Song of the South (1946), both adaptions of earlier published materials, were examples of this theme in popular culture at the tail end of the period, but both currently have very different legacies. This article looks at the reactions stemming from the films, and why they, despite featuring similar ideas of the romantic South and stereotypes of African Americans, have such different legacies. The characters and portrayals of Mammy from Gone with the Wind and Uncle Remus from Song of the South played prominent roles in these legacies as well, generating most of the influential reactions from both white and black media. African American reactions to both films demonstrate the effect World War II had on African American attitudes regarding not only Jim Crow policies, but also the depiction of African Americans in popular culture.

How to Cite:

Fapp, K., (2016) “A Comparison Between Gone with the Wind and the Song of the South”, Arizona Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 5, 11-17.