HBO Max temporarily pulls Civil War epic Gone With the Wind

Considered a Hollywood classic Civil War epic Gone With the Wind has been temporarily removed by streaming platform HBO Max from its library According to The Hollywood Reporter the development comes as media companies reappraise content in the wake of protests over police brutality and systemic racism after the death of George Floyd an AfricanAmerican man killed by Minnesota police last monthStarring Hollywood icons Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable the 1939 film which has for long been considered controversial for its depiction of black people and its overt positive view of slavery was again under the microscope after 12 Years A Slave screenwriter John Ridleys oped appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday In the article titled Hey HBO Gone With the Wind romanticizes the horrors of slavery Take it off your platform for now the Oscar winner argued that the film had its own unique problemIt doesnt just fall short with regard to representation It is a film that glorifies the antebellum south It is a film that when it is not ignoring the horrors of slavery pauses only to perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of color Ridley wrote It is a film that as part of the narrative of the Lost Cause romanticizes the Confederacy in a way that continues to give legitimacy to the notion that the secessionist movement was something more or better or more noble than what it was iquest a bloody insurrection to maintain the right to own sell and buy human beings he added The recently launched streamer from WarnerMedia said the film will eventually return but will feature a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of its racist depictions 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 irresponsibleThese depictions are certainly counter to WarnerMedias values so 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 If we are to create a more just equitable and inclusive future we must first acknowledge and understand our history a spokesperson for HBO Max said Based on the 1936 bestseller by Margaret Mitchell the film takes place in the American South on a plantation outside Atlanta and narrated the love story of southern aristocrats Scarlett OHara Leigh and Rhett Butler Gable The four hourlong film directed by Victor Fleming also starred Hattie McDaniel and Olivia de HavillandGone With the Wind would go on to receive eight Oscars at the 12th Academy Awards including best picture director adapted screenplay actress and supporting actress for McDaniel McDaniel who played house servant Mammy at the OHaras became the first black person to win the award but due to racial segregation at the ceremony she sat separately from her costars at a table at the back of the room Earlier on Tuesday Paramount Network cancelled the longrunning police reality show Cops in the wake of protests against police brutality Cops is not on the Paramount Network and we dont have any current or future plans for it to return a network spokesperson said The 33rd season of the show which has faced scrutiny over the years for its depiction of suspects and police tactics was scheduled to premiere on Monday but no episode has aired on the network since at least June 1Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever