Gone With the Wind, an Oscar-winning 1939 romance film has been removed from HBO Max due to its “racist depictions.”
This comes amid the surge of Black Lives Matter protests across the country and a re-energized discussion about racial inequality; following the death of George Floyd, the black man who died after a white policeman knelt on his neck for minutes.
According to CNN, HBO Max removed Gone with the Wind, which follows the story of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler during the US civil war; after criticisms increased over its “depiction of slavery”.
The epic film, which features slaves who seem content with their lot even after the abolishment of slavery; will return at an unspecified date after a discussion of its historical context.
Speaking on the development, a spokesperson for HBO Max admitted that the movie is a product of its time; depicting some “racial prejudices that have been commonplace in American society.”
“These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. We felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement would be irresponsible,” the spokesperson explained.
“It will return with a discussion of its historical context and will be presented as it was originally created; because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.
“If we are to create a more just, equitable, and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history.”
How John Ridley hastened the move
This comes after John Ridley, an Academy award-winning screenwriter of ’12 Years a Slave’ earlier wrote an opinion editorial in the Los Angeles Times; asking HBO Max to take the film out of its rotation.
“It’s a film that glorifies the antebellum south. When it is not ignoring the horrors of slavery; it pauses only to perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of colour,” Ridley had said.
“The movie had the very best talents in Hollywood at that time working together to sentimentalize a history that never was.
“I would ask, after an amount of time has passed, that the film is re-introduced; along with others that give a more broad-based and complete picture of what slavery and the confederacy truly were.”
