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Gone With the Wind: Film returns to HBO Max with disclaimer that it ‘denies the horrors of slavery’

Classic film was removed from platform earlier this month over ‘racist depictions’

Ellie Harrison
Thursday 25 June 2020 10:27 BST
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John Oliver responds to HBO removing Gone With The Wind

Gone with the Wind has been reinstated by HBO Max, accompanied by a disclaimer saying the film “denies the horrors of slavery”.

The 1939 classic, set in the years after the American Civil War, was removed from the US streaming service following criticism of its “racist depictions” earlier this month.

It follows the love story of Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh), the daughter of a plantation owner and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), a gambler. Over the years, it has been criticised for presenting the Antebellum South and its history of slavery through rose-tinted glasses.

After being taken down by HBO Max, Gone with the Wind has now returned to the site, along with two videos discussing its historical context.

One clip features TV host and film scholar Jacqueline Stewart, who says that while the movie was “one of most enduringly popular films of all time”, its depiction of African American people was controversial even when it was released 80 years ago.

“Producer David O Selznick was well aware that black audiences were deeply concerned about the film’s handling of the topic of slavery and its treatment of black characters,” she said.

She added that the film’s treatment of the Antebellum South as a “world of grace and beauty… through a lens of nostalgia denies the horrors of slavery, as well as its legacies of racial inequality”.

The second video features a panel debating Gone with the Wind’s “complicated legacy”.

Hattie McDaniel, who played house servant Mammy in the film, became the first African American to win an Oscar when she was awarded the accolade for Best Supporting Actress.

However, due to racial segregation, she was not allowed to sit with the other cast members at the ceremony dinner.

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