HBO Max temporarily pulls Gone With The Wind after accusations it ‘glorifies the antebellum south’ 

Gone With The Wind has been temporarily removed by HBO Max from its streaming platform after it was criticized for romanticizing slavery, amid a nationwide re-evaluation of cultural values.

The 1939 Civil War epic, starring Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara, is based on a novel written three years previously by Margaret Mitchell.

It tells the story of a turbulent romance during the Civil War and Reconstruction period, for which Hattie McDaniel won the first ever Oscar for an African American person.

Hattie McDaniel, as Mammy, with Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind, which HBO Max removed from its streaming service on Tuesday amid criticism of the content

The 1939 film stars Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, and won eight Oscars. Yet its rosy portrayal of life in the antebellum South has angered many, who say it is racist and glorifies slavery

HOW HATTIE MCDANIEL’S BECAME THE FIRST EVER AFRICAN AMERICAN TO WIN AN OSCAR BUT WAS SEGREGATED FROM HER CASTMATES AT THE CEREMONY

  • McDaniel, the daughter of two former slaves, played the role of a maid 74 times in her career, but it is as Mammy, the maid in Gone With The Wind, that she is best recalled.
  • McDaniel’s performance won immediate critical acclaim – and she marched to the office of producer David O. Selznick to ask he submit her for Oscar contention.  
  • McDaniel was nearly not allowed to attend the Oscars ceremony in 1940, owing to the ‘no blacks’ policy of the Ambassador Hotel, where the awards were held. Selznick intervened.   
  • McDaniel was escorted not to the table where Selznick sat with the stars of the film – Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland – but to a small table set against a far wall.
  • A list of winners had leaked before the show, so McDaniel’s win came as no shock. Yet the room was still emotional.
  • McDaniel died in 1952. Her final wish – to be buried in Hollywood Cemetery – was denied because of the color of her skin. 
Hattie McDaniel with her 1940 Oscar

Hattie McDaniel with her 1940 Oscar

 

Yet the film has been viewed through a more critical lens in recent years, with many questioning whether a film that glosses over the horrors of slavery should still be shown.

In the light of the killing of George Floyd, the debate has gained added power. 

On Monday John Ridley, screenwriter for 12 Years A Slave, wrote in the Los Angeles Times that the film should potentially be removed. 

‘It doesn’t just “fall short” with regard to representation,’ he wrote. 

‘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.

‘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.’

The film was controversial from the beginning. 

African American film critic Earl J. Morris, who wrote for the black Pittsburgh Courier newspaper, urged readers to write to the Motion Picture Producers Association and demand that the ‘n-word’ be removed from the script, because it featured heavily in the novel.

Morris also reported that many black actors refused to take the demeaning roles, but added that ‘we cannot criticize’ the black actors, ‘for they are economic slaves.’ 

When the movie was released in January 1940 the NAACP criticized McDaniel, who played Mammy, as an ‘Uncle Tom.’

McDaniel reportedly responded by saying she would ‘rather make seven hundred dollars a week playing a maid than seven dollars being one.’ 

McDaniel was seated at a table in the back during the Oscars, separate from the rest of the cast and crew. 

The incident features heavily in the Netflix show Hollywood, released in May. 

HBO said on Tuesday the film’s removal was only temporary.

‘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,’ the company said in a statement. 

‘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 irresponsible. 

John Ridley, pictured with his Oscar for 12 Years a Slave, in 2014. Ridley said HBO should consider removing the film from its offering, describing it as a film which only serves to 'perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of color'

John Ridley, pictured with his Oscar for 12 Years a Slave, in 2014. Ridley said HBO should consider removing the film from its offering, describing it as a film which only serves to ‘perpetuate some of the most painful stereotypes of people of color’

John Ridley called for HBO to take down the film, and a day later the service complied

John Ridley called for HBO to take down the film, and a day later the service complied

‘These depictions are certainly counter to WarnerMedia’s 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.’

The decision is, however, likely to anger Donald Trump, who after the Oscars ceremony in February declared his love of the film. 

‘The winner is … a movie from South Korea! What the hell was that all about?’ he said. 

‘We got enough problems with South Korea with trade. 

‘Can we get Gone With the Wind back, please?’

Supporters of the president were quick to condemn Tuesday’s decision on Twitter.

Davidson, who works for Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw, said it was a 'cultural purge'

Davidson, who works for Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw, said it was a ‘cultural purge’

Erielle Davidson, who works with Republican congressman for Texas, Dan Crenshaw, said the move marked the start of ‘the left’s cultural purge’. 

‘Gone with the Wind is just the beginning,’ she tweeted.

Greg Price, social media associate for The Daily Caller, tweeted: ‘Way to erase a historic black achievement in the name of social justice.’

His comment was ‘liked’ almost 2,000 times in one hour.

But Ira Madison III, host of the Keep It podcast, laughed with his 204,000 followers about the anger from conservatives. 

‘My only opinion on Gone with the Wind right now is I find it hilarious so many racists are pretending they want it on HBO Max because it made Hattie McDaniel the first black person to win an Oscar,’ he said.

Price, social media assistant for conservative site The Daily Caller, condemned the move

Price, social media assistant for conservative site The Daily Caller, condemned the move

Writer, actor and producer Ira Madison mocked conservatives for their anger at the decision

Writer, actor and producer Ira Madison mocked conservatives for their anger at the decision

HBO MAX STATEMENT IN FULL 

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 irresponsible. 

These depictions are certainly counter to WarnerMedia’s 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.