Introduction to The Decline of the Old South Series: Gone with the Wind (1939) part 1 and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) part 2

The Decline of the Old United States South

This is a two part review that will focus on the decline of the Old United States South. When I refer to the Old United States South I am referring to the slave economy that was destroyed with the victory of the Northern states, led by Abraham Lincoln and his generals, over the Confederate states in the South in the United States Civil War (1861-1865). I will focus on two films of note when discussing this theme: Gone With the Wind (1939) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). These films address the decline of the Old United States South although the context of both films is different in many regards. In Gone with the Wind the destruction of the Old United States south is visible with the characters being embroiled in the events of the Civil War and the reconstruction effort that followed the changing of the guard where the slave economy was replaced with a wage/ subsistence economy. In A Streetcar Named Desire the decline of the Old United States South is more evident on a personal level with the character Blanche Dubois (Vivien Leigh), who is forced to encounter the rapid advance of industry introduced by the North and the characters that emerged in its wake represented by Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando) ,a  semiliterate member of the proletariat class, who represents, to Blanche, a primal character because of his lack of decency or notions of chivalry which were a feature of the old slave based economy.  A Streetcar Named Desire takes place at a time where racial segregation was enforced in the south following the reconstruction efforts of the North. Discrimination on racial lines was institutionalized with whites and blacks disallowed from sharing the same facilities. Racial segregation was enforced by renegade groups such as the Ku Klux Clan, led by white red necks, with violence; the lynching of blacks was a common occurrence following the reconstruction efforts after the civil war. If a black man moved within the vicinity of a white community he or his family risked losing their lives or having their houses burned out.   The concept of master and slave still persisted among the old white guard of the south and the civil rights movement emerged in light of this institutionalized discrimination.

The true decline of the south is reflected not so much in the negative racial attitudes of some whites towards blacks, which is a feature of several American states even to this day, but in the refusal to acknowledge the decline of the old slave society associated with the confederacy. The discrimination is hardly material to my discussion because although the North instituted wage labour it is now universally known that it (wage labour) is a modified form of slavery where the capitalist class and their lackeys in the government extract surplus value from the labour power of the proletariat. The Government declared war on the south since they would be able to expand the tax bracket for, with the erosion of the slave economy, there would be more avenues for taxation:  the wages of the working class and the small farmer and the profits of the capitalist as well as room for the expansion of industry. Surplus value drives economic expansion in the capitalist mode of production and this is achieved with the relative extraction of unpaid labour time from the working classes with the increased levels of productivity that ensue in this mode of economic development. The southern states seceded from the north, with the ascension of Abraham Lincoln to power, since the basis of their slave economy ensured massive profits due to the demand for cotton, particularly from Western Europe, which was the main staple of the confederacy. With the threat that slavery could end with Lincoln the act of secession seemed justified to the southern states. The expansion of the North into the South, following the War, would create linkages with the agrarian based South thereby ensuring some form of unity within the country and, more essentially, the union of industry and agriculture.

There are other emotional reasons since the culture of the South was developed along these economic lines. The concept of master and slave seemed almost feudal but it represented an intermediate mode of economic development between the medieval culture and the capital growth of the bourgeois class. The slave economy encouraged the chivalrous encounters more akin to the age of romance where the primary concerns of the ruling class were amorous pursuits or high tales of adventure; the females likewise only saw progress in landing a husband with their high romantic notions.  It seems almost fantastic to have lived that way in these modern times but it is a feature of the low levels of productivity in that form of economic development where one lives primarily for one’s own needs as opposed to the need to ensure as much profit as possible which would involve increased investment in technology, which would be the natural outcome of increased productivity of the working classes. In a slave economy development is restricted with the growth of constant capital for the slaves which represent chattel in the minds of the so called masters become a feature of the constant capital. The labour of the slaves does not become a variable element as it is under capitalism since there is no way to measure true  value as opposed to profit. Profit does not necessarily have to be expressed in surplus value since there is also the backward perception of the mercantilists who see profit as a form of expropriation which is what occurs in the slave economy. Profit in the capitalist economy is expressed in the form of the surplus value generated from the capital advanced (constant capital). With the advent of the commodity traded on the market in the capitalist mode of development labour becomes embodied in this element and constitutes its value. The cheaper the commodity the more surplus value for the capitalist since this would mean that a mass of this same commodity would have been produced by the labour power of the working class. So even if the individual commodity is cheaper the quantity of commodities produced would increase exponentially. The variable element of wage labour under capitalism is a more accurate way of measuring relative surplus value which involves driving down the real wages of the working class.  The surplus value of the capitalist eventually becomes profit when the cost price of the commodity is determined. Surplus value is unpaid labour time. The more the capitalist can drive down the real wages of the working class the more surplus value (unpaid labour time) is generated. Surplus value is in contrast to the necessary labour time of the worker where he replinishes his labour power by purchasing the means of his subsistence with his wages. The slave economy cannot hope to realize such value since the development of the estates is restricted to its boundaries. It does not encourage expansion unless the barriers associated with slave labour are removed. I will come to this point later in my review of Gone with the Wind. There is also the peasant based farming that emerges after the break up of the slave economy as these small farmers basically subsist off their small plots of land. The capitalist will not immediately swoop in following the break up of a slave economy. The peasant farmers or small independent producers will determine the extent that there are opportunities for investment. Until then the those freed from slavery pay their own wages by subsisting off the land. This was the fate of most blacks in the south following the end of the civil war.

Decline must not be confused with descent. Decline implies that there is an irrevocable demise of an objectified element whereas descent suggests that there is a natural progression from one thing to another. I discuss the decline within the context of the values associated with the slave economy. In Gone with the Wind the stages of decline are presented through the eyes of Rhett (Clark Gable) and Scarlett O’ Hara (Vivien Leigh) who are more reflective of modernity as opposed to  their fellow southerners who cannot seem to cope with the extinction of their slave based society. The ambitious attitude of these two protagonists sees them survive the reconstruction era however their ambitious ways eventually undermine their relationship. It is ruthless ambition that was needed to survive the destruction caused by the war. Scarlett loses Rhett in the end because she clung too much to the ideals of her slave society by pursuing the chivalrous Ashley Wilkes who is irrevocably lost in the light of progress or descent. Scarlett selfishly clung to it despite being guided by Rhett away from the decline of the slave economy and being in step with the progress of the society that emerged following the war. Descent and Decline are intertwined and one should be careful in saying that there is a decline when one could be confusing this element with descent. Descent is the outcome of Decline because with the decline of a former tradition there will inevitably emerge a new element that arose from the rubble of the former dilapidated structure. The decline of a former tradition seems difficult to bear since that structure prevailed for a lengthy period of time and therefore  the people that emerge into the new tradition cannot seem to cope since the old tradition looms so large over their heads that they give the impression that this tradition alone is worthy of them and no other. They try and instill this belief in others and this belief assumes mythic proportions in the eyes of some and so they still adhere to the tradition in evolved forms although it still hinders their progress. This is why A Streetcar Named Desire has to be discussed along with Gone with the Wind for Blanche, in A Streetcar Named Desire, represents a degenerate version of Scarlett and it is not surprising that Elia Kazan, the director (he also directed the great On the Waterfront (1954)),  chose to work with Vivien Leigh to reprise her role as a fading southern belle or the lady antebellum type. In Gone with the Wind Scarlett fails to progress because Rhett, who leaves her, represents the modern ideal and so Scarlett has to return to the plantation of Tara, the land of her birth and hopefully try and restore the faded values of the south (who knows). A Streetcar Named Desire seems to pick up where Gone with the Wind left off for Blanche does not seem to be able to adjust to the progress of the economic society associated with industrial growth. She has lost the plantation of Belle Reve and still clings to the ideals of her faded society thereby making her appear quite out of step and even mentally deranged. Madness is a common feature of decline. It is tempting at times to see Blanche as Scarlett and vice versa.  It is no surprise that Vivien Leigh won Oscars for Best Actress for her portrayal as Scarlett and Blanche for they are remarkably nuanced and unforgettable (two features of a great performance). Blanche seems to represent a more sordid version of what could have possibly happened to Scarlett following the loss of Rhett. Without Rhett Scarlett would only have the ideals of her former society to cling to although it’s gone. Stanley Kowalski also represents modernity and Blanche is drawn to him for almost the same reasons Scarlett is drawn to Rhett. The themes of these two films therefore are persistent decline in light of the birth of a new society and this is why characters are important in emphasizing this point. Not everyone will cling to the old ideals for some will stubbornly press forward for that is the only way out. These two films state that despite the emergence of a new society there are some who persistently cling to the old ways.  This is at the heart of decline for if a new society emerges or descends from the previous one it is those personally affected that cannot seem to advance for the birth of a new society suggests that the majority of the populace have adjusted in various ways. After the decline of the old slave economy slavery could never be reintroduced since the basis was now wage labour. The old vanguard adjusted by introducing Jim Crow legislation to cling to the master and slave tradition however this racial element was a feature of most of the US but not in such overt ways. Jim Crow would never bring back slavery it would only make the south appear more backward by clinging to this ideal well into the 1960’s.  The civil rights movement only nominally shattered this monopoly through legislature for the negative attitudes towards blacks still persist to this day among some whites who maintain economic control however Jim Crow can never be introduced again in such an overt form but evolved forms will still take its place. It is no surprise that some individuals of the southern states still cling to their agrarian base and love for the land which is a inherited tradition of most agricultural based societies despite the growth of surplus value associated with industrial capital? Is it any wonder that some of these former slave holding slave states represent some of the poorest sectors in America? The first review in this series will be Gone with the Wind and part 2 will be A Streetcar Named Desire. ( I present this two part review in three because of my lengthy introduction. I will post the introduction to the topic and then post the reviews of each film which will be added to my great film series.)