Adams, Jesse. “Local Color: The Southern Plantation in Popular Culture.” Cultural Critique, 42 (1999). .

This article by Jessica Adams examines the symbolism and role of plantations in the history of the American South and the Civil War. The presence of plantations resulted in the need for slaves or cheap labor to maintain the land, which was often a large source of agriculture. Therefore plantations, which are markers of southern history, were grounds for the establishment of issues such as racism and slavery. Today, enthusiastic tourists visit some of the existing plantations in order to directly observe the land where much of American history was defined. During the period of the War, it was common to see African Americans working outside of the plantation, picking cotton or cultivating other crops. Inside, however, the whites were found within aesthetically pleasing rooms, drawing a clear line between the slaves and the slave-owners.

The film Gone with the Wind gave many Americans insight into the southern mentality; however, throughout the film this mentality transforms into values that can be found across the nation. Towards the end of the Civil War, the symbolism of the plantation moves from the manual labor of slaves to the manual labor of the people usually found inside the plantations. The protagonist, Scarlett O’Hara, receives a drive to keep enduring the hardships and concludes the film with the statement, “After all, tomorrow is another day.” This final sentence shows the extent as to how much Scarlett has matured throughout the course of the war, especially since the beginning of the film shows her giggling and flirting with two brothers. This transformation made Scarlett a paragon for feminist qualities in the eyes of southern women, both white and African American.