“Press Agents of the South” – Gone with the Wind and the United Daughters of the Confederacy

Abstract

This paper seeks to provide a broader context for contemporary viewership of the film Gone with the Wind (1939) by focusing on the role of the organization The Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), one of the most vocal adherents of the Lost Cause ideology, in shaping the ideological framing narrative for the film’s early reception. The introductory section examines the recent debate surrounding the film, triggered by John Ridley’s op-ed in the LA Times. The following sections analyze the key ways in which the film perpetuates Lost Cause sentiments, establish Gone with the Wind as a new kind of Confederate monument within the UDC’s agenda, and explore the UDC's role in publicly promoting the film and utilizing it as a cultural tool to advance their own platform.