The iconic Oscar-winning film, Gone With The Wind, has been temporarily pulled from HBO Max following an op-ed written by screenwriter John Ridley of 12 Years A Slave where he argued that the world-famous romance “romanticizes the horrors of slavery.”
“It doesn’t just ‘fall short’ with regard to representation,” Ridley wrote in The Los Angeles Times. “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.”
When the film does come back, it will be accompanied by “a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement” of its racist depictions, reports Indiewire.
“Let me be real clear: I don’t believe in censorship. I don’t think ‘Gone With the Wind’ should be relegated to a vault in Burbank. I would just ask, after a respectful amount of time has passed, that the film be re-introduced to the HBO Max platform along with other films that give a more broad-based and complete picture of what slavery and the Confederacy truly were. Or, perhaps it could be paired with conversations about narratives and why it’s important to have many voices sharing stories from different perspectives rather than merely those reinforcing the views of the prevailing culture,” Ridley further added.