Look. I say it like it is: I like this movie. It's kitschy. It's epic. It's romantic. It's sad. It's a drama. It looks beautiful. It shows US history (extremely biased though). Leigh and Gable are great. Scarlett and most other characters are reasonably complex. Like Scarlett they are often likeable with a darker side. It's a classic. (Tbh I didn't even know that such vibrant color film existed in 1939). I like the story. I like the (fake?) southern accents. By modern standards it's much too long, though. Had to watch this over the course of three days (Hint: there's also an entr'acte that naturally splits this movie in two parts). You can't rate a movie from the 30s by modern standards. It's an entertaining and fascinating 7/10. If it wasn't that long, it would be an 8/10. I guess even people back then thought it was too long.

I'm of course aware of the controversy surrounding this movie. It's of course racist and full of stereotypes. This soap opera describes the confederacy as a utopia and normalizes slavery. Men abuse women. A lot. I don't deny this. Only fools would. At least it doesn't glorify war. But - perhaps since I'm not from the US - I watch this movie like I would watch a movie about a European king or queen from the 19th century. I know their royal lifestyle was based on slavery, exploitation and brutal oppression of other people overseas and their own peasants (or - god forbid - democrats). I can still enjoy such movies w/o constantly thinking about this backdrop. Likewise I enjoy those southern mansions or watch Scarlett wear the incredible garments of this era only people like the O'Hara's were able to afford.