Gone with the Wind
This page is about the fandom. For the Professionals fanfic, see Gone with the Wind (Professionals story).
Fandom | |
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Name: | Gone with the Wind |
Abbreviation(s): | GWTW |
Creator: | Margaret Mitchell |
Date(s): | 10 June 1936 (novel), 15 December 1939 (film) |
Medium: | novel, film |
Country of Origin: | United States |
External Links: | |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Gone with the Wind is a 1936 novel set in the Southern United States during the American Civil War and Reconstruction. It was adapted into an immensely popular and award-winning 1939 film starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.
Fandom
Online Fandom
Most fanworks center around Scarlett O'Hara, who is widely considered a fascinating(ly unlikable) character. Rhett, Melanie, and Ashley also commonly feature in fanworks, and the fandom's most popular ships are various combinations of these four characters.
The canon (though turbulent) Rhett/Scarlett pairing can be considered the fandoms' juggernaut ship, with the most popular alternative being the femslash Scarlett/Melanie ship. The canon Ashley/Melanie is also popular, often as a background pairing. Rhett/Ashley and Rhett/Melanie can also be found, and there is fanfiction exploring Scarlett and Ashley's feelings for one another—though, like in canon, the pairing usually isn't endgame.
Gone with the Wind has been a popular Yuletide fandom since the challenge's inception in 2003. Fifteen Gone with the Wind fics have been written for challenge as of 2015.[1]
Some fans have expressed their reluctance to become involved with Gone with the Wind fandom due to the issues present in the original canon (most notably racism, in both the depictions of black characters and the glorification of the American South/Confederacy, also rape-as-love/sexual assault perpetrated by the romantic lead). For example, one fan writes on an anon meme:
- "I kind of hate that GWTW is GWTW because I don't want to deal with it's [sic] issues and I also don't want to ignore it's issues, so I find myself never really getting fannish in public about it."[2]
Gone with the Wind fanworks are frequently based on the novel (rather than the film), and thus it is sometimes considered a rarelit fandom.
Collecting, Costuming, & "Windies"
This article or section needs expansion. |
Outside of fic fandom, Gone with the Wind is notable for its contingent of "superfans" known as Windies. Windies have received mainstream media attention for having intensive Gone with the Wind memorabilia collections, recreating costumes from the film, arranging fan "gatherings", and similar fan activities.[3][4]
See Also
- Fandom overview at crack_van (2007)
- Frustrated Fantasies: Misperceptions of Fandom and 'Gone With the Wind' at PopMatters (2011)
- The Wind Is Never Gone: Sequels, Parodies and Rewritings of Gone with the Wind (Chapter 6: "Gone with the Wind Fanfiction") by M. Carmen Gómez-Galisteo (2011)
- Scarlett's Women: Gone with the Wind and Its Female Fans by Helen Taylor (1989)
Notable Fanworks
Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfiction
- Somebody's Darling by prillalar (2004), Scarlett/Melanie, written for the 2004 Femslash Ficathon. Author's summary: Needs must.[5]
- Five Things That Never Happened to Ashley Wilkes by Bonibaru (2004), Rhett/Ashley. Author's summary: Rhett Butler has an offer for Ashley he can't refuse. Will Ashley explore his darker side or will honor prevail?[6]
- La Pieta by Lyrastar, (2003) Scarlett/Melanie, very dark, short piece written for the 2003 Slash Advent Calendar Femmeslash category. Author's summary: Dark, non-cons, child abuse, terror.
Fanart
- After all, Tomorrow is another day. by megahelloclassypostenthusias (2015), an animated gif
- Gone with the wand by AnastasiaMantihora (2012), a drawing of Scarlet, Rhett, Melanie, and Ashley as Hogwarts students
- "I'll Think About It Tomorrow" by elorahhh (2015), a digital drawing of Scarlett
Vids
- Gold Digger by AbsoluteDestiny (2007), a Scarlett O'Hara character study set to a mashup of Kayne West's "Gold Digger" and Walter Murphy's "A Fifth of Beethoven".
A Pro Book
"The Wind Done Gone" by Alice Randall (2001) is a professionally-published book and is an alternate view of "Gone with the Wind." It tells the story of the life of one of her slaves, Cynara, during the same time period and events. This book comes up often in fannish discussion regarding the legitimacy and definition of fanfic, and is used as an example of the fine line between fan-written fanfic and "mainstream" fanfic.
Fannish Resources
Archives
Fanlistings
- A Dream Remembered: The "Gone With The Wind" Book fanlisting (defunct)
- Unforgettable: The Rhett Butler & Scarlett O'Hara fanlisting (defunct)
Journal Communities
- gonewiththewind on LiveJournal
- gwtw_forever on LiveJournal
- gwtw_the_novel on LiveJournal
- gwtw_references on LiveJournal
- gwtwgraphics on LiveJournal
Mailing Lists
- GoneWithTheWind_FanFiction on Yahoo! Groups (members-locked, membership requires moderator approval)
- GWTW Fanfic Archive on Yahoo! Groups (members-locked, membership requires moderator approval)
Recs
- gone with the wind tag at crack_van
- Gone with the Wind Fanfiction Recs and Reviews, a Tumblr for GWTW recs
Webrings
References
- ^ See works tagged Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell in the Yuletide collection at AO3, and Fandom: Gone With The Wind (movie) at yuletidetreasure.org.
- ^ anon comment at fail_fandomanon. Re: Movies. Posted 28 November 2014. (Accessed 05 September 2015.)
- ^ For example: "Frankly, My Dear, the ‘Windies’ Do Live for This" at The New York Times (2011), "Meet the "Gone With the Wind" superfans" at CBS News (2014), "'Gone with the Wind' at 75" at Entertainment Weekly (2014), "Gone with the Windies" in the Times Daily (1984), etc.
- ^ For an example of memorabilia collecting on a fansite, see the GWTW Fan Collections page at Viv and Larry Dot Com (archived by the Wayback Machine 18 January 2008).
- ^ Also available at the author's webpage. Prillalar described the fic as her "favorite challenge story" of 2004 writing, "I really enjoyed getting to play in the GWTW world and writing in that style. And what relationship is more complex than Scarlett and Melanie?" (2004 Fanfiction Review, 09 January 2005).
- ^ Also (originally?) posted to LiveJournal. Recced at rarelitslash as "jaw-droppingly good" (Gone With the Wind slash!, post by mayhap, 05 March 2004).
- ^ Gone With The Wind Ring at Dreamweb / Gone With The Wind Ring at RingSurf
- ^ The Scarlett O'Hara Webring at RingSurf