“Gone With The Wind” will return to HBO Max with a disclaimer and a message from a professor putting film in its “multiple historical contexts.”
“HBO Max will bring ‘Gone with The Wind’ back to its line-up, and when it appears, I will provide an introduction placing the film in its multiple historical contexts,” scholar and University of Chicago Professor Jacqueline Stewart shared with CNN over the weekend. (RELATED: Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct On Fire After Officers Evacuate Building Amid George Floyd Riots)
“I don’t regret taking it down for a second.” – HBO exec. #BookBurners https://t.co/IyFEsE2Vmf
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) June 14, 2020
“For me, this is an opportunity to think about what classic films can teach us,” she added. “Right now, people are turning to movies for racial re-education, and the top-selling books on Amazon are about anti-racism and racial inequality.”(RELATED: Pearl Jam Postpones North American Tour Over Growing Coronavirus Concerns)
Stewart noted that “if people are really doing their homework, we may be poised to have our most informed, honest and productive national conversations yet about Black lives on screen and off.”
It all comes following reports last week that the 1939 classic film was taken down off the streaming site following protests and riots across the country after George Floyd’s death, the man who died while in custody of a Minneapolis police officer.
“We failed to put the disclaimer in there which basically sets up the issues that this movie really brings up,” WarnerMedia Chief Bob Greenblatt shared, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “We took it off and we’re going to bring it back with the proper context.”
“It’s what we should have done,” he added. “I don’t regret taking it down for a second. I only wish we had put it up in the first place with the disclaimer. And, you know, we just didn’t do that.”