The Hollywood classic Gone with the Wind starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh is the subject of a wave of controversy. This comes in the wake of the death of George Floyd. The film dates from 1939 and tells the story of a young white woman in the South of the United States in the 1860s, in the midst of the Civil War. Yet multi-Oscar, this film by Victor Fleming was withdrawn from the HBO Max platform. Its scheduled screening at the Grand Rex is cancelled.
Gone with the Wind Suppressed from HBO Max
"The screenwriter of Twelve Years a Slave has called for a stop airing of this film that perpetuates racist stereotypes and glorifies the pre-war South"
The Hollywood classic has long been criticized for being accused of euphemizing slavery. It is also good to know that the controversies had begun even before the release of the film (that is to say…). For now, it remains unavailable on the platform. However, it should reappear in its original version shortly, accompanied by a critical note in order to set the historical context. 
The screening at the Grand Rex cancelled
The removal of the film from the HBO Max platform is not the only measure that has been taken.
The Grand Rex was indeed to screen this classic on June 23 to celebrate the reopening of cinemas. However, Warner Bros. reportedly asked for the screening to be cancelled.
This decision was not justified, but surely has a direct link with the existing controversy around the film. Culture Minister Franck Riester tweeted:
The deprogramming of the film "Gone with the Wind" at the Grand Rex is incomprehensible and unacceptable. The France will always defend the freedom of creation and dissemination of works. Like equality, it is at the heart of our values.
La déprogrammation du film « Autant en emporte le vent » au Grand Rex est incompréhensible et inadmissible. La France défendra toujours la liberté de création et de diffusion des œuvres. Comme l’égalité, c’est le cœur de nos valeurs. https://t.co/CkWZWSnevP
— Franck Riester (@franckriester) June 12, 2020
All the same, according to an HBO Max spokesperson who spoke to AFP about the withdrawal of the feature film:
"Gone with the Wind is the product of its time and depicts racist prejudices that were common in American society"
A film at the center of controversies that intervene in a hostile climate. The death of George Floyd last May shocked the whole world. Racism is at the heart of the news.
