HBO Max to revamp “Gone with the Wind” with added historical context

HBO Max decided to remove the Civil War film “Gone With the Wind” from its service. This decision was made in support of the protests going on worldwide against racism. 

The decision was made after a piece in The Los Angeles Times was written. The writer of “12 Years a Slave” strongly advised HBO Max to reconsider having that particular film in their library. The reason for this is the way racism has been portrayed in the movie. In the film, racism isn’t being condemned enough. 

What HBO Max has decided to do after consideration, is to bring the film back with a lot more context. There will be more information in regards to the history of racism, and the goal is the present it in a much better way. This will be done via an introduction from Jaqueline Stewart, who is an African-American film and media studies professor and the University of Chicago. 

“I will provide an introduction to placing the film in its multiple historical contexts. For me, this is an opportunity to think about what classic films can teach us,” Stewart wrote in an op-ed for CNN. “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 doing their homework, we may be poised to have our most informed, honest, and productive national conversations about Black lives on screen and off.”

The film itself has gone right to Amazon’s best sellers charts for TV and Movies. This happened a day after the film was removed from HBO Max. The streaming service has a special edition of the film available right now. This is a two-disc DVD version of “Gone with the Wind” This is currently starting at $29.95. If that’s a bit out of your price range, you can go for the Amazon version, which you can rent from $3.99 and purchase from $9.99.

This film was released in 1939, and it is the highest-grossing film of all time. The Guinness Book of World Records reported that the film had made over $3.3 billion since it’s release, which most can agree is incredible. 

If we look at individual platforms, success is evident. The film was on top of the Amazon sales charts and is doing very well in the US on their iTunes movie chart. The film was fifth on their charts. Films such as “The Hunt,” “Birds of Prey,” “Bad boys for Life,” and also “The Invisible Man” are the only films that they are currently behind.