HBO Blacklists ‘Gone With The Wind’, Becomes #1 Bestseller On Amazon
HBO Max announced on Tuesday that it is blacklisting iconic American classic Gone With the Wind (1939). In it, Hattie McDaniel earned her first Academy Award, Best Supporting Actress, in 1940.
McDaniel’s win was historic, not only because it was her first ever Oscar but because she was the first black person ever to be nominated and win an Oscar of any kind.
Oscar-winning screenwriter of 12 Years A Slave, John Ridley called for the blacklisting of Gone With the Wind, saying, “Please consider removing “Gone With the Wind” from your rotation of films.” Ridley said that he didn’t believe in film censorship, but what he just wants is, “after a respectful amount of time has passed, that the film be re-introduced to the HBO Max platform along with other films that give a more broad-based and complete picture of what slavery and the Confederacy truly were.”
Ridley further explained why he thinks the movie needs to be banned from the HBO streaming platform. He claimed that the movie falls short when it comes to representation, and “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,” Ridley continued.
HBO released a statement saying that they will put the classic film back up after providing a “correct” explanation of its background and history. “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,” said an HBO max representative.
Then on Wednesday, following HBO pulling out Gone With the Wind, Americans rushed to Amazon to get physical copies of the film. It was the number one bestselling film on Amazon on Wednesday, DVDs and Blu-ray discs were all sold out. Resellers are also available on eBay, and some are offering DVD rentals on Amazon. Looks like Americans are looking to get their hands on one of the best films in American cinema before the leftists ruin it.
A lot of people also found it ironic how the film was getting banned, when it stands as a masterpiece wherein the first black actor was awarded her first ever Academy Award.
The first black actress to win an Academy Award was Hattie McDaniel for her role in “Gone With The Wind.”
— Errol Webber For Congress (CA-37) (@ErrolWebber) June 10, 2020
The Left has now decided to ban the movie from streaming services to “cure racism”.
Is this not just Hitler’s book burning all over again? pic.twitter.com/uusP7jZ4Vq
1939 - Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Hattie McDaniel for Gone With the Wind - WINNER
— Kate Andrews (@KateAndrs) June 10, 2020
HBO Max has removed the film for which a black actor won an Oscar for the first time in history.https://t.co/pJmizqvJzZ
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American to win an Academy Award of playing Mammy “In Gone With The Wind.”
— Chad Prather (@WatchChad) June 10, 2020
HBO would like you to know you can no longer see her performance on their racially woke network. pic.twitter.com/krmQgXkCKk
Colorado’s hopeful representative even asked if banning the film was supposed to end racism.
So now banning “Gone With The Wind” is supposed to solve racism?
— Lauren Boebert for Congress (R-CO3) (@laurenboebert) June 10, 2020
Charlie Kirk of Trump Students also chimed in, saying, “The left doesn’t care. They just want to see it all burn.”
HBO removing Gone With The Wind is just another part of the left’s sinister plot to erase American culture
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 10, 2020
Did you know—the first black American to win an Oscar was Hattie McDaniel for her role in Gone With The Wind
But the left doesn’t care.
They just want to see it all burn.