The Filming of ‘Gone with the Wind’

Published in Mainichi Shimbun
(Japan) on 8 July 2020
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Eric Stimson. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.
The filming of the movie "Gone with the Wind" had already begun. But the producer disliked the screenplay, so he halted filming and ordered screenwriter Ben Hecht, originally a journalist famous for working quickly, to rewrite it in five days. The play "Moonlight and Magnolias" is a comedy based on a true story that depicts hectic activity behind the scenes. It premiered in America in 2004 and was performed by a Japanese troupe at the Theatre Echo under the title "In with the Wind." When "Gone with the Wind" was made 81 years ago, Nazi Germany was persecuting Jews in Europe. While the producer was excited by its success, Hecht, who was Jewish, fiercely conveyed his perspective that the premise of the movie romanticized slavery. c Actually, it is said that Hecht turned down a writing credit. In America, the Black Lives Matter movement is spreading after an incident in which a white police officer killed a Black man. Video streaming services temporarily halted the streaming of "Gone with the Wind" and reposted it with an explanation at the beginning. If Hecht had been alive, he would’ve been delighted. A debate is also occurring over “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” the fight song of the English rugby team, which has its origins in a Black spiritual. The debate is over the song’s connection to slavery. It seems that the theme of a popular Disney ride will be changed to a one about a movie starring a Black girl. But even if racism is physically eliminated, nothing will change if one’s consciousness doesn’t also change. How can negative history be used as instruction? Instilling the power of imagination in others also matters.


映画「風と共に去りぬ」の撮影はすでに始まっていた。しかし、脚本が気に入らなかったプロデューサーは撮影を止め、新聞記者出身で早書きのすご腕と定評があった脚本家のベン・ヘクトに5日間での書き直しを命じる▲舞台「ムーンライト&マグノリア」は実話を基にドタバタの舞台裏を描く喜劇だ。2004年に米国で初演され、日本の劇団ではテアトル・エコーが「風と共に来たる」の題で上演している▲81年前の製作当時、欧州ではナチス・ドイツがユダヤ人を迫害していた。映画の成功に情熱を傾けるプロデューサーに対し、奴隷制を美化するような設定に反発するユダヤ系のヘクトの視点がピリッと利く。実際、ヘクトはクレジットされることを拒否したという▲米国で白人警官が黒人男性を死亡させた事件を受けてブラック・ライブズ・マター(黒人の命は大事だ)運動が広がる。動画配信サービスは、この映画の配信を一時停止し、本編の前に解説を付けて再開した。ヘクトが生きていたら、留飲を下げたに違いない▲ラグビーのイングランド代表チームのファンが歌う黒人霊歌由来の応援歌「スイングロー・スイートチャリオット」も賛否の議論が起こる。奴隷制に関わる歌だからというのだ▲米ディズニー社の人気アトラクションのテーマは、黒人少女が主人公の映画に変更されるようだ。たとえ物理的に排除されても、意識が変わらなければしょうがない。負の歴史をいかに教訓にするか。他者への想像力も大事だ。
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