Just passed the scene (on TCM right now) where Ruth Hussry says something about, expecting there to be "pickaninnies and banjos" in such a home as the Lords' mansion.
Actually, that joke is because they are being shown into the "south parlor."
I agree with you that the images of what is typical of "the South" were acceptable in a movie of the time, and wouldn't be now. A modern rewrite might say something about expecting to see the Confederate flag, or a Baptist service to be going on in there, or some other stereotype of Southerners (white, black, or both).
Back to the original topic, I detest Seth Lord's speech, and the fact that it is the thing that finally gets to Tracy. I wish Barry had found some other way to crack her shell, or had just left out the part about how her lack of softness and daddy-worship had any connection to his non-affair affair (oh, yes, the script is careful to say he hadn't actually done anything -- I don't know if that was a change from the stage play or not).
What he says to her about acting like she is made of bronze was fine, but why not just have someone else say it, and talk to her about forgiving someone else, like Dexter? After several attempts by her mother and Dexter, why is it the inaccurate guilt-trip from Dad that gets to her and starts her drinking and thinking?
To me, that's a huge flaw in a film I otherwise like.
Like you, I would imagine that more people would find it distasteful now than in 1939, but I have no illusions that everyone was more sexist then and are less-so now. I imagine that lots of people found that speech distasteful at the time, and others who would still think it's just fine in 2016.
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