[Tom4784]

https://www.theguardian.com/film/202...ion-of-slavery

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...Gone-Wind.html

Basically it's been removed from the service so that they can put the racism of the film into historical context, it seems like they'll basically do what Disney did with Dumbo on Disney+ and put a warning on it saying that it was a product of it's time and that it doesn't reflect today's values. It's an open and shut story, really, but obviously the Right Wing needed to act like white martyrs and make out that taking a film offline temporarily because it paints a positive image of slavery is akin to white genocide. Megyn Kelly's lead the charge but there's a lot of outrage from the right about it for no real reason.

There's a lot of people pointing to Hattie McDaniel and using her as an excuse as to why the film should remain on the service (Which it will do, it's removal is a temporary thing) which is particularly gross because the studio system of that era of Hollywood would have forced her to appear in whatever films they wanted her to with the threat of penalties if she refused. You see, Studios back then could basically imprison people into service with awful contracts that would only be extended if the actors chose not to take the roles they were given. Hattie was made to play the role of a slave that was all too happy to serve in a film that ignored the horrors of the era for a cheery look at the Antebellum south. People use the fact that she won an Oscar for it to justify her treatment but fail to mention that the Oscars deigned her worthy of a statue but not a place in the auditorium in which the ceremony took place.

People using Hattie McDaniel as a defense of Gone The Wind are basically disingenuous as hell and are using her as a footnote for their argument as to why the film is okay.

For me personally, I think the film has historical importance but we must recognise that it's a problematic film. Basically, I'm all in favour of the Disney+ approach, acknowledge it's problems and let people choose to watch it if they wish. Adding context to the film is not censorship and the film isn't being censored at all by being taken off a service for a few days when it's widely available everywhere.