Atlanta History Center grapples with the complex legacy of 'Gone With The Wind'

July 29th, 2024

The Atlanta History Center presents a discussion about the impact of "Gone With The Wind." (Courtesy of Atlanta History Center)

The Atlanta History Center is celebrating the reopening of a newly renovated Margaret Mitchell House by closely examining the book’s legacy that placed Mitchell firmly in America’s collective memory.

“Telling Stories: Gone With the Wind and American Memory,” which opened on July 10, examines how Mitchell’s 1936 book (and David O. Selznick’s 1939 film of the same name) has influenced American collective memory and interpretation of the Civil War since its release.

Atlanta History Center’s VP of Special Projects, Claire Haley, sat down with “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes over Riverside to discuss the newly reopened museum and an upcoming panel discussion about the book.

According to Haley, as visitors walk through the recently renovated Mitchel House, they’ll be presented with “aspects of [US] history that are explored in Gone with the Wind, and the ways that that history is often misconstrued.”

These explorations include topics like the lost cause ideology and involve “historical artifacts and other things that guests can look at to better understand that,” says Haley.

Another concept that the exhibition explores is how the US and the South, in particular, view the concept explored as the idea of reconstruction and how Americans collectively view that history. Although the novel is one that primarily concerns itself with the Civil War, it also lays down significant lore about the fallout from that conflict.

“Telling Stories: Gone With the Wind and American Memory Panel Discussion” will occur on Tuesday, July 30, and includes scholars and curators involved with creating the exhibition.