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groundloop

(11,488 posts)
Wed Jun 10, 2020, 08:04 AM Jun 2020

"Gone With the Wind" pulled from HBO Max library for now [View all]

Source: CBS News

"Gone With the Wind" is generating controversy once again. The once-acclaimed 1939 Civil War drama has been temporarily pulled by HBO Max from its slate of streaming options amid outcries over the film's dated depictions of slavery and racism, according to multiple reports.

<snip>

The film -- which has long been revered by film critics and is the highest grossing movie of all time when adjusting box office totals for inflation -- was recently decried in a high-profile op-ed in the Los Angeles Times penned by "12 Years a Slave" screenwriter John Ridley.

Ridley called on HBO Max to pull the film -- which tells the story of a tumultuous love affair between two wealthy Southern aristocrats and is set against the backdrop of the end of the Civil War and the destruction of the Confederacy. Ridley argued that the movie "doesn't 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 -- a bloody insurrection to maintain the 'right' to own, sell and buy human beings."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gone-with-the-wind-pulled-from-hbo-max-library-for-now/



However, a spokesperson for HBO Max explained that the film would eventually return to their streaming catalog, along with additional content that would contextualize the controversial historical depictions and elements of the story.
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I always got the feeling that GWTW was Mitchell's response to no_hypocrisy Jun 2020 #1
In Mitchell's view, Old South was really good. LisaL Jun 2020 #3
Maybe it's temporary and when it returns, the movie will be paired with no_hypocrisy Jun 2020 #4
How are they going to make people to watch the other movie if that move is not LisaL Jun 2020 #6
Return GWTW and run the other movie before or after it. no_hypocrisy Jun 2020 #9
They'll also have to run something to belie the scene thucythucy Jun 2020 #12
GWTW is already far too long csziggy Jun 2020 #60
Sometimes I think we were better off before bucolic_frolic Jun 2020 #2
This quote melm00se Jun 2020 #5
Well, i don't hear anyone advocating having the government destroy all copies of GWTW. thucythucy Jun 2020 #10
disagree melm00se Jun 2020 #15
GWTW edhopper Jun 2020 #19
If there's any "rewriting of history" being done here thucythucy Jun 2020 #26
Thank you DeminPennswoods Jun 2020 #40
So I take it you are in favor of keeping Confederate statues in the public square? killaphill Jun 2020 #35
The book is even worse than the movie. thucythucy Jun 2020 #7
Glad you brought this up. Talitha Jun 2020 #41
How ridiculous. kacekwl Jun 2020 #8
Watching it on DVD? Politicub Jun 2020 #16
I don't support this at all Blasphemer Jun 2020 #11
I agree rockfordfile Jun 2020 #13
Are you saying HBO is obligated to offer GWTW? thucythucy Jun 2020 #17
Certainly, they are not obligated. It's clearly their right. Blasphemer Jun 2020 #23
+1. There are hundreds of films, perhaps thousands, that could arguably be pulled ... Auggie Jun 2020 #36
+1 CountAllVotes Jun 2020 #18
They are not offering it edhopper Jun 2020 #21
Not to mention also pro-rape. thucythucy Jun 2020 #27
That too! edhopper Jun 2020 #31
Funny RobinA Jun 2020 #49
I liked it for different reasons CountAllVotes Jun 2020 #32
+1 Blasphemer n/t Devil Child Jun 2020 #29
IIRC, McDaniel wasn't allowed at the Atlanta premiere of the movie. CTyankee Jun 2020 #44
Nobody is stopping you from seeing it edhopper Jun 2020 #53
Agree. Hattie McDaniel won the first Oscar for an African American in this film. n/t Calista241 Jun 2020 #68
this seems stupid to me Skittles Jun 2020 #76
It was an artifact of its time Politicub Jun 2020 #14
A review by Cass Sunstein in The Atlantic from 2015 gives a somewhat different point of view. honest.abe Jun 2020 #20
Thank You RobinA Jun 2020 #55
May be for the best. Mitchell certainly did his part in perpetuating the 'noble lost cause' myth. PatrickforO Jun 2020 #22
True edhopper Jun 2020 #25
Ah, I stand corrected! PatrickforO Jun 2020 #69
People the title is edhopper Jun 2020 #24
Thanks HBO for protecting me from the insidious threat of GWTW Devil Child Jun 2020 #28
That made me laugh DeminPennswoods Jun 2020 #42
I guess we've found the modern version of banning books Steelrolled Jun 2020 #30
ferchistsake edhopper Jun 2020 #33
True Steelrolled Jun 2020 #37
more BS edhopper Jun 2020 #52
True Steelrolled Jun 2020 #73
why do they need an excuse to not edhopper Jun 2020 #75
Post removed Post removed Jun 2020 #34
HBO is making a decision based off profitability npk Jun 2020 #47
They are not claiming they are pulling it based on profitability. LisaL Jun 2020 #56
My point is that they are business npk Jun 2020 #59
I don't think you can call it censorship marie999 Jun 2020 #38
ridiculous, I equate this with book burning beachbumbob Jun 2020 #39
Did you notice my note the says HBO will eventually return it to the lineup ..... groundloop Jun 2020 #48
How would they work in that content? LisaL Jun 2020 #58
One option... LanternWaste Jun 2020 #72
Yeah... just like when CBS cancelled Gilligan's Island in 1967. LanternWaste Jun 2020 #70
That and "Birth of a Nation" need to be relegated to the dust bins of film history BumRushDaShow Jun 2020 #43
So what you're saying is "Gone with the Wind" is Gone with the Wind npk Jun 2020 #45
This is the kind of insanity that helped Trump win the electoral college. sarcasmo Jun 2020 #46
I don't like someone telling me what I can watch, read or listen to. moonseller66 Jun 2020 #50
Who specifically is telling you you can't watch the film? LanternWaste Jun 2020 #71
This is stupid Bayard Jun 2020 #51
So all you who think this is terrible edhopper Jun 2020 #54
Just a basic question, not any hidden meaning... moonseller66 Jun 2020 #57
No edhopper Jun 2020 #63
This is disgusting Polybius Jun 2020 #61
And the Taliban and ISIS destroyed forever their own historical wonders. LiberalLovinLug Jun 2020 #62
As I said above, why not teach it as a cultural artifact and as a means of oppression of people of CTyankee Jun 2020 #64
Never have understood the ongoing popularity of that movie. Paladin Jun 2020 #65
This message was self-deleted by its author geralmar Jun 2020 #66
It gives a glimpse into a piece of history - with all its terrible warts. Chemisse Jun 2020 #67
Haven't you heard? Steelrolled Jun 2020 #74
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