Gone With the Wind Removed From HBO Max Over 'Racist Depictions'

[CatWoman]

anyone else thinks things are going a little bit too far?


HBO Max has removed Gone With the Wind from its streaming library.

The announcement comes following a number of calls for the streamer to take action, in light of the global protests for racial equality.

HBO Max maintains, however, the movie will return to streaming with a disclaimer.

“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," a statement from the streamer reads.

"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."

Released in 1939, Gone With the Wind won eight Oscars, including Best Picture and was a box office success.

It made history when Hattie McDaniel became the first black American to win an Oscar for her performance.

https://www.tvfanatic.com/2020/06/gone-with-the-wind-removed-from-hbo-max-over-racist-depictions/?fbclid=IwAR07-ofWnds_9BsAH8Xj7n89Q0CEUS8g8MM_9O60VlL5LyIac9qlOX5DFyI

[wryter2000]

1. No, I don't think it's going too far

As I recall, Scarlett's second husband is portrayed as a martyr because he was killed participating in what, in essence, was a Klan raid. That book and movie are racist, through and through. It's not as if it's great literature, either.

And btw, Hattie McDaniel gave a blistering speech about how she didn't want to be called "a credit to her race."

[sdfernando]

8. Hattie McDaniel was given a speech to read by MGM

Those were not her words. She was not allowed to give her own speech.

[wryter2000]

9. Odd

I have a memory of watching her give the speech. Just proves how faulty memory is.

[sdfernando]

12. Oh she was present and did give a speech

I'm just saying that the speech was written by MGM and not her. They were not her words.

[Keth]

16. and..

didn't they also make her sit way in the back by the kitchen and not with the rest of the GWTW cast.

[lpbk2713]

26. Yes. She had to sit apart from the "white folks".

And all of her movie roles were obedient maids to wealthy white folks. Butterfly McQueen
didn't like playing that game so she didn't get many good roles over the years.

[kskiska]

46. She had to say, as they all did,

that she hoped she'd "been a credit to her race." She wasn't allowed to be at the movie premiere in Atlanta. She was even denied being buried in the cemetery of her choice. Now the same people responsible for for the limitations on her career and her life are crying because this movie that glorifies the Confederacy is being shelved. Her limitations were not caused by Hollywood liberals, but those studio heads who were afraid of how movies would be received in the south if Blacks were portrayed as other than subservient. The same people are pretending to be concerned today that Hattie McDaniel is being denigrated.

[wryter2000]

85. Do you remember the old comedies?

Wartime, I think. There'd be one odd scene where a bunch of African Americans would rush on, do a frantic musical number, and rush off. Then, the real story would start up again. I watched those as a kid and didn't understand what that was all about.

I learned much later that those scenes were inserted in such a way that they could be cut out completely for showing in the south without interrupting the story line at all.

[kskiska]

96. I sure do remember those -

and nightclub scenes where the Nicholas Brothers would do their tap dances.

[CatWoman]

98. The Horrific Bigotry Endured by This 'Gone with the Wind' Star

[Ex Lurker]

37. A movie like this glorifying nazism

Wouldn't be allowed in Germany where they have common sense laws against hate speech.

[misanthrope]

40. It is Lost Cause BS wrapped around a bodice ripper

Kind of a Bronte derivation for Klan country.

[Trumpocalypse]

2. All I have to say about that is

Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn!

[BannonsLiver]

3. On the fence

I start getting a little uneasy when art starts to get censored or banned. I’ve never seen the movie all the way through. It’s not my cup of tea. But I don’t like this particular road.

Years ago I went out and bought up a bunch of TV shows and movies I anticipated will be banned or self censored by entertainment providers in the future. Shows like All in the Family, and Different Strokes, and movies like Caddyshack and several John Hughes films, among others. I’m glad I did.

[CatWoman]

4. it took me several years to even watch the movie

after hearing all my life how much it sucked.

Now I don't even think about it. The movie depicts a part of history. Period.

That part of history sucked, sure. But it is a part of history.

[csziggy]

74. It depicts a sanitized lying version of history

Read Margaret Mitchell's entry on Wikipedia - she was raised as a racist, not even realizing that the South had lost the war, and she continued to be a Confederate supporter all her life.

One of the reasons the movie is so long is that it adheres very closely to her book, so every bit of revisionist history came out of her twisted mind.

[Guilded Lilly]

13. Yes. Very slippery slope. To-the-point disclaimers, if used across the board...

and with clarity would be a plus. Films educate.

Censorship does not.

[tritsofme]

28. Should the Jazz Singer be erased?

I don’t know that I “like” the movie, but it is historically significant cinema.

I think these sorts of pieces should be given critical context, but I too am uncomfortable with book burning.

[brush]

29. Of fucking course get rid of it. You're obviously white. I'm black.

We disagree. If there was so-called art degrading white people all through this culture I'm pretty sure you'd change your tune.

[CatWoman]

88. just found out that was the first sound movie

[Goodheart]

5. GOING TOO FAR.

Anybody who sees its continued presentation as some sort of advocacy is just cuckoo.

[morillon]

6. About damn time.

And I say that as a middle-aged white chick from the South.

Every Southern white chick I know hates that piece of shit with the fire of ten thousand suns.

[johnp3907]

7. Nope.

Easy to see that movie if you want to see it. Easy to see The Tin Drum or A Serbian Film too if you want. Doesn’t mean they have to be on HBO.

[EllieBC]

18. I had to look up "A Serbian Film".

Wish I hadn’t. That’s awful.

[greatauntoftriplets]

59. Same here.

OMG. I have no wish to see that one.

[johnp3907]

75. I just wanted to point out how all manner of controversial films are available.

Even though it made me feel sick typing it.

Sorry.

[Celerity]

76. Srpski Film (A Serbian Flim) is pretty hardcore nt

Not a date movie, lolol

[wryter2000]

10. I use that book and movie to point out the invisibility of racism to whites.

Most girls at least used to grow up with the movie/book as a romantic icon. The wealth, the gowns, the sexy, forbidden Rhett. They don't even remember the racism in the book. They're pretty shocked when it's pointed out to them.

There's the stupid black, "I don't know nuthin' about birthin' no babies, Miz Scarlett." There's the good black, Mammy, happy as a clam to be in the position she's in. There are the bad blacks who assault Scarlett and the good ones who rescue her.

The slave-holding South is held up as some sort of paradise and utopia. It's garbage. And again, it isn't great literature. (It might be great cinema, though.)

That movie should only be shown as an example of what's wrong with this country. What continues to be wrong with this country. It might have some teaching value, but that's about it.

[csziggy]

77. I hated the way the movie portrayed women

Brainless, flighty creatures that thought marital rape was romantic. That many of the blacks in the movie were women who were apparently happy with their lot as slaves, then faithful to their former masters (or mistresses) afterward, irritated me to no end. And I've only seen the movie all the way through once as child.

As a white woman raised in the South, I found the movie to be promotion of a way of life that should have been abolished long before I was born. Most of the whites shown are one percenters - as was Margaret Mitchell - with no grasp of the effects of their privileged way of life on others before the war and with the goal of retaining it afterwards.

[captain queeg]

11. I think dropping it from their service is one thing, trying to

Make it unavailable at all is too much. I’ve never seen it but I guess it portrays what 1930s Hollywood thought of things at that time so it’s historical in that sense. It’s not a documentary. But I hate to see anyone trying to rewrite history.

[hlthe2b]

14. No problem with adding historical context, but the entire Western genre is equally problematic

toward Native Americans. At some point, we just need to teach accurate HISTORY and let fiction be fiction-- but hopefully with an eye to progress in this country toward the truth and positive change.

[LisaL]

25. How do you add historical context to a movie that is finished?

You interrupt the movie with slides? I am very curious as to what exactly they are thinking of doing to the movie.

[hlthe2b]

27. Oh heavens no. Add a disclaimer or a few sentence introductory comment--either written or spoken

Something to remind viewers that this classic academy award-winning movie was based on a novel by Margaret Mitchell that, like many works of the time, did not accurately represent the face of slavery and the history of the time.

I'm not saying this is necessary, given I'm hard-pressed to think of too many movies--even more recent ones that should not be reframed in terms of racial, gender, or social issue accuracy, to be more inclusive or to demonstrate serious events of the era.

If one starts with GWTW, arguably do we do it with all?

As I said, I'd prefer we teach actual accurate (not propagandized) history and, perhaps expect news and reporters to include historical context to current events in real-time.

[misanthrope]

41. The film has an intermission

Use it wisely.

[TheCowsCameHome]

19. Yes, too far.

[Renew Deal]

20. Is this different than book burning?

[hunter]

45. Yes, it is different.

If HBO doesn't want Gone With the Wind in their house they don't have to have it.

If I don't want Gone With the Wind in my house I don't have to have it.

Hell, I don't even want HBO in my house.

That's not anything like gathering up all the copies of Gone With the Wind and burning them.

On the other hand, if there is a copy of Gone With the Wind in my public library and some fool destroyed that, I'd be upset.

If the police came to my door with a warrant to find and seize any copy of Gone With the Wind I might have, I'd be upset.

If anyone ever forced me to watch Gone With the Wind, I'd be VERY upset.

[npk]

21. HBO is being smart

They are removing it for the time being and they state that when they bring it back they will do so with added content and context about how the film perpetrates many racial prejudices that were pervasive back when it was released and still around in some aspects today. HBO is not preventing people from watching the movie, it is simply adding much needed context that will hopefully strip away some of the romanticism towards the period of time the movie reflects and its writer tries to depict. Smart move. If there is a market for this film in the future, it will likely be from younger movie buffs who want to see how this film compares to many other films that contrast GWTW flattering image of Slavery and the Antebellum South, to more accurate, historical films - like 12 Years a Slave.

[LisaL]

23. They think people can't figure it out for themselves?

In my experience, when people are told they can't do something, that only makes them to want to do it more.

[npk]

30. Maybe some people can't figure it out for themselves though.

Like I said earlier I question the relevancy of GWTW in this era, but I don't think GWTW has been a harmless movie that has had no impact on our current political climate either. That movie, in particular in the South, was more than just a film, it was in some ways a preservation of a particular viewpoint that the Civil War was a just cause and that it was really about fighting to save the particular way of life in the Antebellum South. It also attempted to give the idea that the Confederacy had a noble and heroic cause worth fighting to preserve.

GWTW helped change many viewpoints back then and it completely misrepresented factual events that led up to the Civil War and the Confederacy. It's also no big coincidence that GWTW helped to revitalize and grow the United Daughter of the Confederacy. And shortly after GWTW was released and it's popularity grew, the UDC made their biggest push to lionize these Confederates with statues and monuments that were placed all over the South. It also led to many Southerns growing up in the 30's 40's & 50's believing that Civil War was a just cause and that as such it helped completely reshape politics and spur support for continuing Jim Crow legislation through out the 50's and 60's.

Now I don't pretend to blame GWTW for all the racial strife since it was released. For one I don't wish to give the movie that kind of power. But there is no denying the fact that the film took on more than just a fictional tale of Hollywood art, it was viewed as "matter of fact and the way it was" for many white people who grew up during that period of time. I think that it's important that future generations understand the full context of the film, because sadly many people who watched it back when it was first release clearly didn't. They believed this movie represented what actually was and that can be dangerous.

[tenderfoot]

70. Then they're free to find the film elsewhere

eom

[LanternWaste]

80. Yet no one is being told they can't do something.

One particular channel for the movie's broadcast is temporarily removed, however thousands of other platforms remain to view it at your pleasure, cut or uncut, with or without director's commentaries, some with video static removed, others with the movie in its original form.

The choices available are legion... so I don't really get the melodramatic self-righteousness in believing, alleging, or implying we
re being denied anything.

[lindysalsagal]

24. Get rid of the Shirley Temple movies, too.

She was always dancing with the "help."

[edbermac]

32. They gonna pull Blazing Saddles next?

[npk]

34. Blazing Saddles was clearly understood as "satirical"

The problem with GWTW is not the subject matter it portrays, but rather the way in which it portrays it. There are/were many people who watch GWTW who clearly believe that it is an accurate description of that era. I have relatives that, when they watch that movie, become emotional and literally start crying because they think that GWTW was about preserving a genteel Southern way of life, in which slaves were invited inside by their masters for lemonade and cookies and that on hot days the women would bring the slaves in the field sweet tea and molasses and would pass out moist towelettes. Because of films like GWTW, many people never truly appreciated the savagery and brutality of slavery and that has led to divisiveness and racial tension in our current era.

[txwhitedove]

35. Mmm, I read GWTW in 1967 and remember southerners being shocked by it discussing slavery

at all and that Scarlett even consorted with blacks. My grandmother was racist and never said a word about the book or movie, which I didn't see until later in life. I think any wistfulness is about the love story, but certainly not the so called gentility. Not my favorite movie, and sure wouldn't want to wear those dresses. Different movies tell different stories and don't all have the same focus. Schools need to go back to teaching critical thinking.

[Retrograde]

82. The book is somewhat less sanitized than the movie

It's more the story of a young woman determined to keep her family and farm at any cost. While it's a 20th century white southern woman's interpretation, it does at least allude to topics such as slaveowners breaking up families, interracial sex, and the Klan's using any excuse to terrorize freed slaves. And Prissy (whom I hated in the movie) has an excuse for not knowing anything- in the book she's barely a teenager.

IMHO, the Hayes office had a lot to do with either erasing Blacks from the movie version of America, or at least relegating them to minor, stereotyped roles. I wonder how much influence the United Daughters of the Confederacy had in crafting that image.

[misanthrope]

42. It has already been sliced and diced

so much so that the watered down version has lost some of its satirical bite. It's a shame because it's one of the more enjoyable eviscerations of bigotry's ignorance that I've seen.

[txwhitedove]

33. Oh gee, does this mean we hate Little Rascals too? I just thought they were all friends.

I like the comment here about how this seems like book burning. Books, art, poetry, movies, pictures taken at the time. Is none of it educational or historical? Do we just erase memories too? If you don't like, then don't watch. I don't go to Hooters, but don't want to burn them down.

[CatWoman]

36. couldn't agree with you more

[misanthrope]

43. No one is advocating its total destruction

Just saying it should be given explicit contextualization for viewers.

[Behind the Aegis]

38. A few thoughts.

HBOMax is a private service, so I support their decision to control their content. That said, I feel this is a bit over the top. As others have said, where does this stop? Or even, will their be more. What about Breakfast at Tiffany's? What about anti-Semitic representation? Westerns?! Holy shit, talk about some racist, anti-Native representation as well as sinophobic issues! What about the years of anti-queer representation? When it comes to documentaries, I feel a "disclaimer" is a good idea because some might not understand the nature of the times and things may have changed, but movies like this, even with their abject historical revisionism, are simply another form of art. So, I guess, I am OK if they want to pull it; I am OK if they want to add a disclaimer, but I do feel this really doesn't do much, but who knows, maybe it will open some eyes and a few more open eyes is always a good thing.

[CatWoman]

44. LOL!!!!

ALL John Wayne's westerns are racist

[GulfCoast66]

90. I will say he was the worst actor ever.

But I can’t remember anything racist about True Grit or Sons of Katie Elder. Although it has been over a decade since I’ve seen either.

I thought the remake of True Grit better than the original. It was well acted.

[misanthrope]

39. In no way is this "going too far"

That film is American culture's most insidious furtherance of Lost Cause mythology, more so than D.W. Griffith's notorious "Birth of a Nation." Context is absolutely called for in its case.

[txwhitedove]

48. However, Scarlett lost Rhett due to her blindly clinging to the memory of her gallant

hero Ashley, Confederate and KKK leader. I think a contextual clip at the beginning of such a movie would be fine. Perhaps "context" is another way of saying "critical thinking" which is sorely needed. Definitely divert some police funds back into schools.

[jalan48]

47. Slavery as Romantic. nt

[tenderfoot]

49. How many here have actually seen GWTW?

I didn't think so.

[Quixote1818]

51. Since the bulk of DU are older, I am guessing most here have seen it. nt

[tenderfoot]

53. I'm pushing 60 and have never seen it. Never had the desire.

I recall it aired on the networks in the mid-70s around the same time as 'Roots'. Now that I think of it, that could have been a way to give the finger to Alex Haley.

There was another REPULSIVE civil war era film that was made in the 70s called "Mandingo" - easily the most disgustingly racist piece of shit ever made.

[SoonerPride]

52. I did. It was maudlin trash.

The Carol Burnett parody was better.

[tenderfoot]

55. I always heard it was utter bollocks.

I remember in the 70s how some would waxed poetic about it.

[tenderfoot]

68. Yikes!

eom

[CatWoman]

79. I remember Spike Lee alluding to that when "Malcolm X" came out

he was saying his movie should be required viewing as well.

[Maeve]

81. They showed it at my Ohio high school...1973

Brought out by the local theater, and I saw it again on a date. Then it showed up a few years later on tv...a shock that they left in the word "damn" in Rhett's great line.
As history it sucks. As romance...well, I 'm left agreeing with Rhett at the end.

[wryter2000]

83. I have

Read the book, too. Granted, I'm old. The movie was re-released in the 60's, and the book enjoyed a huge surge of popularity at the time. It wasn't until much later that I realized how horrid it was.

[Beaverhausen]

84. I'm sixty and have watched numerous times

parts of it are fine but it gets more and more cringeworthy, to put it very mildly, as time goes on.

I work for Warner Bros and I'm glad that Warner Media did this.

[Quixote1818]

50. I watched it recently. The movie is well made but is pure propaganda for the Confederate side

making it out as though they all treated the blacks wonderfully and completely side stepping what the war was about. I felt very uncomfortable with it in this time period even though it was one of my Mom's favorite movies and years ago had seen it and didn't realize how full of shit it really is. Seems right out of the playbook of the daughters of the confederacy, white washing the horrific history of the south. Someone should re-make it and use real history next time to open some eyes.

[LexVegas]

54. No more "Breakfast at Tiffany's" or "Bonanza". Anything that I find offensive! nt

[SoonerPride]

57. Breakfast at Tiffany's should be re-cut to completely edit out Mickey Rooney

That completely destroys the movie and the character is totally unnecessary to the story.

Edit that trash out and it is perfectly charming.

With those scenes left in it is unwatchable.

[tenderfoot]

58. Ever see Gunga Din?

Oh man....

[SoonerPride]

60. No. I've missed that one.

[thucythucy]

61. The director of Breakfast at Tiffany's said he absolutely regretted

casting Mickey Rooney in that part.

[LAS14]

62. What's this about.... the Micky Rooney and Breakfast at Tiffany's thing???? nt

[thucythucy]

67. Mickey Rooney plays a Japanese man living in the same apartment building

as the protagonists. He wears thick glasses, thick make-up, has grotesque buck teeth, and a phony Japanese accent that is entirely cringe worthy. His character is played exclusively for laughs, as in "Boy aren't those Japs hysterically funny!!??" or "here comes Mr. Moto, get ready to laugh."

It's a shame, because the other performances are quite good.

[Blasphemer]

69. Rooney played an Asian-American character. It was outrageously offensive... nt

[hunter]

91. It's okay if a movie or television show dies.

We can make new ones.

[tenderfoot]

56. Say Catwoman, this OP sure has the righties panties in a bunch.

lol.

[CatWoman]

65. LOL!!!!

I'm still trying to figure out what Mickey Rooney did in Breakfast at Tiffany's

[tenderfoot]

66. He played a Japanese guy and it's disgusting...

We saw the film in the mid-1990s - and that almost killed an otherwise great film.

[CatWoman]

71. thanks

[LexVegas]

72. You have to watch it now. You have to. nt

[CatWoman]

73. i'm still on the clock

perhaps tonight

[thucythucy]

64. The film is rapist as well as racist.

There's the scene where Rhett and Scarlet fight, and to teach her a lesson Rhett sweeps her up the stairs into the bedroom where it's obvious he's going to rape her. It's been a while since I've seen the movie, but I believe his words are something like "I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago."

Fade to next scene. It's morning, and Scarlet is in bed with this huge post-orgasmic smile across her face.

Because, after all, when women say no we all know they really mean yes. Then too, the best way to calm out a bitchy woman is with a good fuck.

I'll add this just in case it's needed.

[G_j]

78. I hope they also look at the way Native Americans are depicted

in those older films.

[wryter2000]

87. I watched the first few episodes of Mad Men

My impression was it was specifically designed to show how awful the misogyny, etc. was/is. A very different thing from glorifying all that crap. In total opposition to what we're objecting to in GWTW.

[Beaverhausen]

92. Well, Mad Men was an AMC title

but carry on...

[Totally Tunsie]

93. I bow to correctness.

[Marrah_Goodman]

94. I have actually never seen it

I just don't like old movies.

[betsuni]

95. It's temporary though. After all, tomorrow is another day.

[lpbk2713]

97. I can't think about that though.

...