HBO Max temporarily removed Gone with the Wind from its library last week so that an introduction can be added to denounce, and provide historical context for, the racist depictions in the 1939 classic. Although the move drew criticism from some corners, including the White House, it's undeniably the right decision.

Hollywood has a long history of producing and immortalizing racist propaganda, which shouldn't be forgotten or swept under the rug. And those films need to be carefully examined when presented to a modern audience.

Casually placing a film like Gone with the Wind on HBO Max with no historical context is akin to ignoring its offensive elements. It's rightly criticized for romanticizing slavery and glorifying the Antebellum South as some sort of paradise. It is also important not to permanently lock away such films, as Disney has done with another release of the era, Song of the South. (Curiously, however, the theme park attraction Splash Mountain, which uses the movie's characters and elements, has largely escaped scrutiny, until now.)

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An adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel of the same name, Gone with the Wind remains the highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation. More importantly, it earned 10 Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress, with Hattie McDaniel becoming the first African-American to win an Oscar. Any introduction would ideally highlight not only the groundbreaking achievement of McDaniel, but also her mistreatment due to the laws of the time: She was unable to attend the film's premiere in Atlanta because of Georgia's segregation laws, and she was forced to sit in the back of the ballroom where the Oscars ceremony was held because of the hotel's "no Blacks" policy.

It's commendable that HBO Max, a division of WarnerMedia, recognizes its responsibility to accurately present such problematic "classic" material, warts and all. Gone with the Wind's narrative is so dependent on its inherent racism that it would be impossible to edit out the offensive material.

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The racism and glorification of the Confederacy shouldn't be forgiven simply because Gone with the Wind is a product of an earlier time. The film has became so ingrained in popular culture, and so central to the mythology of the South, that a theater in Memphis, Tennessee, drew criticism in 2017 when it decided to no longer hold annual screenings.

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It appears likely that Gone with the Wind will return to HBO Max with an introduction by a Black scholar, rather than with a simple content warning. It's not dissimilar to the move made by corporate sibling Turner Entertainment for the 2004 release of Tom & Jerry Spotlight Collection, which included an introduction by Whoopi Goldberg that addressed the racist caricatures of the early shorts and celebrated the importance of Mammy Two Shoes. Of course, Gone with the Wind requires a more in-depth explanation of the film's importance, and its failings.

Holding the film from streaming until contextual material can be created is the right decision by HBO Max. The streaming service is taking responsibility for presentations of films that teeter on the line between influential Hollywood classics and racist propaganda. These films, including Gone with the Wind, are significant to the history of Hollywood and to the development of the film in North America. However, they must be examined with a critical lens.

KEEP READING: Gone With the Wind May Return to HBO Max With African American Scholar Intro