HBO Max will be adding the classic film, Gone With The Wind, back to its catalog of content, but with a new introduction by Jacqueline Stewart. The introduction will explain the historical and racial context of the film.
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Gone With The Wind was initially pulled from the streaming service last week, after director John Ridley wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times explaining the problematic depictions of slavery in the movie.
"We failed to put the disclaimer in there which basically sets up the issues that this movie really brings up," WarnerMedia chairman Bob Greenblatt explained to Jess Cagle for an interview on Sirius XM: "We took it off and we're going to bring it back with the proper context. It's what we should have done. 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."
Saturday, Stewart explained her plans for the introduction, on CNN: "For me, this is an opportunity to think about what classic films can teach us," she wrote. "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. 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."
A return date has yet to be announced by HBO Max.
[Via]