Given the issues that have been happening over the past month or so, I believe a discussion needs to happen. I’ll be honest: I spent a couple of days deciding whether or not I should actually write this, but given the current events that are happening across the United States as well as the world, I believe that something needs to be said. Given that this website focuses on movies and the entertainment industry, I feel it’s best to try and focus on those aspects. I’m not trying to take away from the Black Lives Matter movements that have been occurring across this country. Far from it. As a matter of fact, some of the issues that I’m going to discuss here are relevant to what’s happening today. The issues of racism and police brutality need to be at the forefront of these social movements, because it’s something that’s plagued African American communities for decades, if not centuries. With all these protests going on, some companies and movie studios have tried to take a pro-active approach with some of their films. About a week or so ago, it was announced by HBO Max, a new streaming service for Warner Bros. that they would be removing the 1939 epic, Gone With The Wind from their library because of racial depictions within the film. People were quick to pounce on the announcement as a form of censorship. Here’s the thing, though, according to sites like The Hollywood Reporter, HBO Max was only removing the film temporarily with every intention of bringing it back with an added discussion about the film and a denouncement of those depictions. The film was very much a product of its time, but that never excused the fact that the film glorified the antebellum South. The issue here is that people jumped to conclusions before reading the articles. They assumed by the headline that it was going to be a permanent move. It was not.
Celebrities like Queen Latifah have come out and said that films like Gone With The Wind and 1915’s The Birth of a Nation should be relegated to the dust bin of history. While I can definitely see their point of view on the matter, I would personally disagree with such an action. First of all, The Birth of a Nation is far more racist than Gone With The Wind could ever hope to be, yet it’s public domain so everybody can see it. Getting rid of these films would do a real disservice to the preservation of film history. These are important films for very different reasons. Now, I’m not saying that people should agree with what these films have to say. Not at all. What I’m saying is that these films need to be preserved to show how far the film industry has come and how much further it has to go in terms of racial equality. You don’t tackle the issue of racism by sweeping it under the rug or burying your head in the sand, as some of our politicians have a tendency to do. No, you tackle the issue by shining a light on it and educating newer generations on why these depictions are wrong. It’s a discussion that’s been waiting to happen, but people are afraid of talking. I get it. It’s an uncomfortable issue for anybody to talk about. However, in order to deal with the situation, you have to see it. The first step in solving any problem is acknowledging its existence in the first place. That’s the point from which we start. Now, over the past few decades, we’ve seen more and more movies attempt to tackle the issues of slavery, racism and police brutality in an honest fashion. Movies like 12 Years A Slave shine a lot on one of the darkest periods in American history. It’s an unflinching look at the brutality of slavery and racism.
A recent film, The Hate U Give, is a look at the consequences of a police shooting of a black man by a white cop. It’s a fantastic film that offers a fairly honest look at not only how cops can essentially get away with murder, but in how some people can twist a movement to their own advantage. But by the end of the film, it also leaves the audience with a feeling of hope that things can and should change. Racism is an ugly stain on human history. It’s fueled these police shootings and other violent acts against minorities. The question is: How do we make changes that don’t bring people down? I fully admit that I’m not smart enough or qualified enough to answer that question, but it has to be asked. Burying movies that many consider to be racist is not the answer. In fact, it will have the exact opposite effect. That I know for a fact. I took a look at online retailers like Walmart and Amazon for copies of Gone With The Wind and it’s sold out. The copies that are still there on Amazon saw the prices skyrocket into the hundreds of dollars. That’s panic-buying. That’s people being afraid of losing a film that they may rightfully enjoy, even though it’s not going to happen. This is why I want people to understand that you need to read an article in its entirety before jumping to conclusions. With what’s happening in our world right now, between the protests and the pandemic, we can’t afford to be ignorant on these problems. I do see a glimmer of hope that things will start changing for the better in the coming years. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to require effort on our part to make sure things change. We have to get out and vote in these elections. We have to stand up against tyranny, cynicism and racism. But above all, we need to have hope and we need to give people hope, because we all need it. Now, more than ever.