Gone With The Wind has been temporarily pulled from the new streaming service
HBO Max due to its racist depictions.
The film’s removal comes after Oscar-winning filmmaker John Ridley called for the movie to be taken off the platform.
The 12 Years A Slave screenwriter wrote in The
Los Angeles Times that the film, “when it is not ignoring the horrors of slavery, pauses only to perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of colour”.
He said the film “continues to give cover to those who falsely claim that clinging to the iconography of the plantation era is a matter of ‘heritage, not hate’”.The 1939 film has long been considered racist because a lot of it takes place on a plantation and paints a glorified picture of slavery.
HBO Max has now confirmed that the film has been taken down, just two weeks after the streaming platform’s US launch – but will eventually return accompanied by a “discussion of its historical context” and a “denouncement of its racist depictions”.An HBO Max spokesperson says "Gone With the Wind" will eventually return, but it will feature a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of its racist depictions https://t.co/V2pWZfH3Q7— Variety (@Variety) June 10, 2020A spokesperson for the service told Variety: “Gone With The Wind is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in
American society.
“These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.
“When we return the film to HBO Max, it will return with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions, but will be presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.”
They added: “If we are to create a more just, equitable and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history.”
On
Social Media, the move was met with a mixed reaction. Some were happy that a film with unchallenged racial stereotypes was being taken down, albeit not permanently.
Others pointed out that Hattie McDaniel’s Oscar-winning performance was an important moment in Black history, and said films like Gone With The Wind could be helpful in showing changing attitudes towards race.
Award-winning
Actor Jeffrey Wright said: “Not for nothing but I like to watch movies like Gone With The Wind to rememberer how stupid their politics were/are.”Not for nothing but I like to watch movies like 'Gone with the Wind' to rememberer how stupid their politics were/are.— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) June 10, 2020So we can’t acknowledge the triumph that is Hattie McDaniel now? Gone with the Wind is still a part of our history. We cannot erase what was, but viewing a film like this with OPEN eyes- we can certainly learn and help change future story telling. https://t.co/k9dSZDPIQI— Ariana DeBose (@ArianaDeBose) June 10, 2020BBC News - Gone with the Wind removed from HBO Max https://t.co/PibGoc8Cfq A case of throwing the baby out with the bath water? Maybe let's start with fixing what's currently wrong with the system.— Mel Nwanguma (@omelihu) June 10, 2020Instead of @hbomax pulling 'Gone With The Wind' from their platform, I would much prefer that they display a disclaimer similar to the one that Warner Bros uses. We shouldn't look away from history, no matter how shameful. We bear witness, we call it out, and we learn from it. https://t.co/kVD1ff6fCm— diggableme ツ (@diggableme) June 10, 2020If @hbomax really wants to do something about Gone With the Wind, they should take a look at @gmgeiko's script Selznick's Folly, a Hattie McDaniel biopic centered on the making of the film. (She's also an alumna of the @WomenInFilm/@theblcklst Episodic lab for a different script)— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) June 10, 2020White people are showing their asses when they invoke Hattie McDaniel’s Oscar win as a reason to keep around Gone with the Wind. Black people have a complicated relationship with a
Hollywood and America that forced black actors into demeaning roles.— Stephen Robinson (@SER1897) June 10, 2020The Oscar itself has a racist history. There are certain films it would honor and certain roles by minorities they would honor.Denzel Washington’s work in Malcolm X or Mo’ Betta Blues is not less than his Oscar winning work in Glory or Training Day.— Stephen Robinson (@SER1897) June 10, 2020My only opinion on Gone with the Wind right now is I find it hilarious so many racists are pretending they want it on HBO Max because it made Hattie McDaniel the first black person to win an Oscar— Ira Madison III (@ira) June 10, 2020For those who are citing Hattie McDaniel's win for Gone With The Wind, please also share she wasn't allowed to sit at table with her film's white colleagues and fellow nominees. They put her at a small, isolated table far away.— Wajahat "Social Distance Yourself" Ali (@WajahatAli) June 10, 2020You don’t give a shit about Hattie McDaniel so don’t use her legacy to spew propaganda about gone with the wind this wasn’t the only movie she was in 😒She later in life tried to shed the “mammy” image which won her the Oscar in the first place so please stop ✋🏾 https://t.co/qSSas1XHI1— Reggie 🌸 (@rreggiehart) June 10, 2020Gone With The Wind won eight
Oscars following its release, including one for Hattie McDaniel, who was the first Black
Actress or actor to ever win an Academy Award.
However, the actor was forbidden from sitting with her white co-stars during the Oscars ceremony, and was similarly not allowed to attend an after-party with her fellow stars.Earlier this week, it was revealed
BBC and
Netflix made the decision to pull Little
Britain – which frequently saw comedians David Walliams and Matt Lucas performing in blackface – from their streaming services.