The spokesperson of HBO Max confirmed that they have officially removed Gone With The Wind from its massive library of films.
This removal comes amid the current nationwide protests concerning the death of George Floyd, who was mercilessly killed when a police officer knelt on his neck. The said officer has officially been charged for the incident.
This 1939 film was considered a classic and is one of the most popular films ever made. It tells the love story of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler during the American Civil War.
Although a classic to many, it was also very controversial due to its depiction of racism and slavery. Even Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) requested HBO Max to take the movie out of its rotation via an op-ed he wrote that was published recently in the Los Angeles Times.
In a report from CNN Business, HBO Max spokesperson said that “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.”
Upon the return of the film to HBO Max’s library, the spokesperson stated that “it will return with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions,” and “will be presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.”
