WDR: "Gone with the Wind" from the perspective of slave Prissy

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A Hollywood classic is told in a completely different way by Westdeutscher Rundfunk: WDR has had the southern epic “Gone with the Wind” artistically processed in a completely new way - as a radio play.

This time, the material by US writer Margaret Mitchell is rolled up from the perspective of a slave.

The radio play is part of a program focus on the subject of racism.

Several WDR waves will broadcast the first of 16 parts on Monday (March 8th).

"Gone with the Wind - The Prissy Edition" can be heard on WDR3, WDR4 and via the virtual WDR radio play memory, as the broadcaster announced.

In the series, author Amina Eisner tells the classic from the perspective of the enslaved nanny Prissy, who only played a supporting role in Mitchell's original 1936 novel.

Prissy's descendants continue to tell their story

The "Gone with the Wind - The Prissy Edition" put the narrative position in the hands of slaves, it was said.

These have been degraded to extras and clichés in the book.

The narrative thread of the original interweaves with the continuation of Prissy's story.

The author Eisner designs a family in what is now Berlin.

Prissy's descendants inherit the records that began in the 1860s and with it the responsibility to continue this tradition.

The events of the American Civil War unfold against the background of experiences of racism in Germany today.

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The original story was formative for many people's image of the southern states and the American Civil War, it said.

At the same time, the 1939 film came under increasing criticism over the decades because of racist prejudice and the problematic portrayal of slavery.

The audio book should now start at this point: The enslaved comment on the events and the racism and discard the role of extras.

“Hardly anything has shaped our image of the southern states and the American civil war as much as Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone With the Wind', said WDR-3 program director Matthias Kremin.

At the same time, the novel and film stand for a transfiguring, romanticizing view of slavery and the continuation of racist stereotypes.

With the radio play the aim is to use the opportunity to “make as many people as possible aware of the symptoms and structures in which we encounter historical and current racism”.

At WDR3, the 30-minute episodes run from Monday to April 1, always from Monday to Thursday in the evening.

On the occasion of the focus on racism, the broadcast of the radio play is to be supplemented by various conversations and features on the topic, according to the broadcaster.

In the week from March 8th, following the radio play on WDR, programs on the topic of "Black Matters" will be bundled with different focuses.

Other productions include the cultural feature “Black Heroes - Between Hollywood Dreams and Reality” by Markus Metz and Georg Seeßlen as well as the reading of James Baldwin's “After the Flood, the Fire”.