The Power of Parody: Went With the Wind (1976), a Film Classic Revisited by The Carol Burnett Show (CBS, 1967-1978)
In the 1976 TV parody of Gone With the Wind (1939), Carol Burnett descends the grand staircase of a devastated Southern mansion in a green dress made out of antebellum curtains, complete with a rod that blows her shoulders out of proportion. Rather than downplaying the over-romanticized Southern mel...
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| Language: | English |
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Association Française d'Etudes Américaines
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Transatlantica |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/14233 |
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| author | Taïna Tuhkunen |
| author_facet | Taïna Tuhkunen |
| author_sort | Taïna Tuhkunen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the 1976 TV parody of Gone With the Wind (1939), Carol Burnett descends the grand staircase of a devastated Southern mansion in a green dress made out of antebellum curtains, complete with a rod that blows her shoulders out of proportion. Rather than downplaying the over-romanticized Southern melodrama, the sketch proceeds through further exaggerations and distortions, seeking to shatter the cult text by spoofing, mocking, while paying a humorous homage to the evergreen background text. This essay argues that despite The Carol Burnett Show’s dodging of race issues, the way it demystifies and takes down the cultural monument named “Scarlett O’Hara”—by mingling it with other generic conventions, such as slapstick comedy—sheds light on how Gone With the Wind can also work as a revelatory intertext. While failing to operate as a racial eye-opener, the 1976 skit paves the way for more critical reassessments of the famous cultural construction rooted in racist ideology and imagery. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4578cc5050944574b199e4f397fcb806 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1765-2766 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | Association Française d'Etudes Américaines |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transatlantica |
| spelling | doaj-art-4578cc5050944574b199e4f397fcb8062025-01-30T10:45:37ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662020-07-01110.4000/transatlantica.14233The Power of Parody: Went With the Wind (1976), a Film Classic Revisited by The Carol Burnett Show (CBS, 1967-1978)Taïna TuhkunenIn the 1976 TV parody of Gone With the Wind (1939), Carol Burnett descends the grand staircase of a devastated Southern mansion in a green dress made out of antebellum curtains, complete with a rod that blows her shoulders out of proportion. Rather than downplaying the over-romanticized Southern melodrama, the sketch proceeds through further exaggerations and distortions, seeking to shatter the cult text by spoofing, mocking, while paying a humorous homage to the evergreen background text. This essay argues that despite The Carol Burnett Show’s dodging of race issues, the way it demystifies and takes down the cultural monument named “Scarlett O’Hara”—by mingling it with other generic conventions, such as slapstick comedy—sheds light on how Gone With the Wind can also work as a revelatory intertext. While failing to operate as a racial eye-opener, the 1976 skit paves the way for more critical reassessments of the famous cultural construction rooted in racist ideology and imagery.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/14233adaptationGone With the WindParodyTV comedyCarol BurnettWent with the Wind |
| spellingShingle | Taïna Tuhkunen The Power of Parody: Went With the Wind (1976), a Film Classic Revisited by The Carol Burnett Show (CBS, 1967-1978) Transatlantica adaptation Gone With the Wind Parody TV comedy Carol Burnett Went with the Wind |
| title | The Power of Parody: Went With the Wind (1976), a Film Classic Revisited by The Carol Burnett Show (CBS, 1967-1978) |
| title_full | The Power of Parody: Went With the Wind (1976), a Film Classic Revisited by The Carol Burnett Show (CBS, 1967-1978) |
| title_fullStr | The Power of Parody: Went With the Wind (1976), a Film Classic Revisited by The Carol Burnett Show (CBS, 1967-1978) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Power of Parody: Went With the Wind (1976), a Film Classic Revisited by The Carol Burnett Show (CBS, 1967-1978) |
| title_short | The Power of Parody: Went With the Wind (1976), a Film Classic Revisited by The Carol Burnett Show (CBS, 1967-1978) |
| title_sort | power of parody went with the wind 1976 a film classic revisited by the carol burnett show cbs 1967 1978 |
| topic | adaptation Gone With the Wind Parody TV comedy Carol Burnett Went with the Wind |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/14233 |
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