I confess. I am uncultured. It is true. I just watched Gone with the Wind for the first time last week. That reveals the truth. I am just uncultured.

I am in change mode this year in that regard. We are going to watch as many of the movies that were awarded with the Best Picture Oscar as we can this year. Gone with the Wind won the Best Picture award in 1939.  I was so impressed with the characterizations in the movie. Wow! The characters are so distinct. There were distinct protagonists, and there are antagonists as well. Scarlett’s character is the one that stands out to me.

Scarlett is portrayed as a narcissistic, spoiled manipulator. Even Rhett Butler gives her credit for being conniving and self-serving. Scarlett is always looking out for herself. I must admit that I admire the tenacity that helped her and members of her family survive in the aftermath of the Civil War. But Scarlett’s life is a tragic one in many ways.

She is a chronic manipulator. Always scheming, always working something for her personal advantage… She seems to have no regard for the impact her behavior could have on others. She uses her charm and natural charisma to get people to do what she wants. Her manipulative activities finally catch up with her.  Death and tragedy seem to have a genuine impact on Scarlett toward the end of the movie. She seems to soften. But it is too late. Her husband will no longer tolerate her. She appears to have a real change of heart, but he still leaves her. Her credibility bank has been emptied.

The movie is a tragedy in that sense. The change in attitude was too late to save her marriage. You leave the movie feeling some degree of hope for Scarlett, however. The final lines indicate that she is ready for another beginning. You hope that a new beginning for her will be one shaped by humility and unselfishness. I learned a few things from watching Scarlett.

I was reminded of the importance of using things and loving people. Scarlett told several people during the course of the movie that she loved them, but it appears she only knew how to use people.

I was convicted of the need to change before it is too late. All of us have a lot at stake…

And finally I was touched by the harshness of that time period and the universality of human nature. We think our society is decadent. Think again. Watch Gone with the Wind again.

Perhaps by the end of the year I will not be so uncultured.. The Sting is up next in our random watching process. It won Best Picture in 1973.