HBO Max has removed the 1940 civil war drama Gone With The Wind from its catalogue after a Los Angeles Times op-ed by screenwriter John Ridley pointed out that it “romanticizes the horrors of slavery.”
HBO Max released a statement explaining that the film will be back, with some commentary: “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.”
And Netflix and BBC iPlayerhas removed the UK comedy series Little Britain from its catalogue over the use of blackface.
Variety reports: “Variety has confirmed that Netflix pulled the BBC series, which was written by and stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams, on Friday. Netflix has also dropped the comedians’ airport mockumentary ‘Come Fly With Me.’ A BBC spokesman told Variety: ‘There’s a lot of historical programming available on BBC iPlayer which we regularly review. Times have changed since ‘Little Britain’ first aired, so it is not currently available on BBC iPlayer.'”
