CNN carried the story and interviewed two black leaders who said this should not happen. They said the movie is a work of art and depicts the attitudes of the time. It seems HBO plans to add a discussion of that issue when it resumes carrying the film.
Not mentioned in the movie is why Scarlett O'Hara's father spoke with an Irish accent in the move. The book indicates Mr. O'Hara was a fugitive from justice at the time of the Famine Years because of his rebellion activities. Mr. O'Hara was clearly proud of his Irishness, and that explains why he named his plantation Tara, after the capital of ancient Ireland.
Thomas Mitchell, the actor who portrayed Mr. O'Hara, was an American, and adopted an Irish accent for the movie role.
Pulling the movie is a form of censorship, akin to taking down statues of Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general who led the rebellion.
Adding some context to a discussion of the movie is a good idea, but the story is about the O'Hara family, not directly about slavery. Similarly, the movie, "The Godfather," another American classic, does not glorify the Mafia, but is about the travails of an immigrant family in the U.S. Oddly, the term Mafia is not used in the movie, because Italian-Americans in the Hollywood labor unions protested.
Consider also the movie "Gangs of New York," about Irish-American activities in Lower Manhattan in the 19th Century. Does it glorify crime, or does it depict the struggles of an immigrant group to gain acceptance?
Like the man said, "Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it."
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