TCMAfrican American cinema and media studies professor Jacqueline Stewart explains in her op-ed for CNN why people ‘can’t turn away’ from the 1939 movie adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s novel.
- Jun 15, 2020
AceShowbiz – Hollywood classic “Gone with the Wind” is to return to the HBO Max streaming platform after being temporarily removed due to the “racial prejudices” on display in the movie.
The 1939 movie adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s novel about the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era South won eight Academy Awards, including a best supporting actress gong for Hattie McDaniel, who was the first black person to be nominated for and win an Oscar.
While the controversial film was removed from the on-demand service in the wake of global protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, after African-American George Floyd was killed at the hands of Minnesota police officers last month, it has since been announced “Gone with the Wind” will return with a new introduction by Jacqueline Stewart, host of “Silent Sunday Nights” on Turner Classic Movies and professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago in Illinois.
In an op-ed posted on CNN on Saturday, June 13, Stewart explained why people “can’t turn away” from the once-acclaimed drama.
“HBO Max will bring ‘Gone with the Wind’ back to its line-up, and when it appears, I will provide an introduction placing the film in its multiple historical contexts,” Stewart shared. “For me, this is an opportunity to think about what classic films can teach us. 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 date for the movie’s return to the platform has yet to be announced.
Source: Movies - aceshowbiz.com
