“Gone with the Wind” removed from theater due to racial sensitivity

“Gone with the Wind” is a landmark film, one which has been beloved since its record-breaking 1939 release. It is, quite simply, a great story that was translated to film beautifully. Now, the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Memphis has decided to stop showing the film, as, in the words of one citizen, it has somehow been placed in the “tributes to white supremacy” category.

The film is based around Scarlett O’Hara, a willful, spirited woman who is both the antagonist and protagonist at different times in the film. It depicts the slave state of the “Old South,” painting it in a genteel light and with a bit of nostalgia, while acknowledging some of the darker aspects of the civil war along with the heroics of those that lived in the South at the time.

Memphis based Orpheum Theatre, whose stated mission is to “entertain, educate, and enlighten,” will no longer show the classic film, theater officials announced Friday.

“The Orpheum cannot show a film that is insensitive to a large segment of its local population,” Brett Batterson, president of the Orpheum Theatre Group, said in a statement.

The film was last screened at the theater on Aug. 11 and had been a 34-year tradition at the Orpheum.

The Orpheum Theatre Group decided not to include it in its 2018 Summer Movie Series after it received feedback from patrons following the mid August screening.

Some citizens in Memphis, whose population is about 64 percent African-American according to WREG, are on a mission to rid the city of historical references to its Confederate past.

On Facebook, Wendi C. Thomas, a writing fellow at The Center for Community Change, announced the Orpheum’s decision. She says Batterson told her directly about dropping the film, and that a man named Charles McKinney brought the issue up to the board. After thanking the board for their decision, she writes, “Slowly but surely, we will rid this community of all tributes to white supremacy. #TakeEmDown #Charlottesville“

TakeEmDown is a reference to a movement in the city to remove memorials of the Confederacy. Last weekend, there was a #TakeEmDown901 rally, which reportedly ended in 8 arrests.

MGM’s “Gone with the Wind” was a staple at the Orpheum. It screened the film four times during a single week in June of 1999, and actor Fred Crane, who played one of the Tarleton twins in the film, even made an appearance at the theater for the event, according to Commercial Appeal.

Yet, as Commercial Appeal reports, “even in 1939, producers were aware that the racial content of the film — adapted from Margaret Mitchell’s best-seller — might offend some viewers. Producer David O. Selznick was in correspondence with NAACP officials, and made some attempts to soften the racial imagery. (For example, in the novel the stranger who attempts to assault Scarlett is black.)”

Although the Memphis theater has proudly shown the movie for decades, this year’s event generated negative comments, leading to the decision. “While title selections for the series are typically made in the spring of each year, the Orpheum has made this determination early in response to specific inquiries from patrons,” the Orpheum group reportedly said.

In an interview, Batterson reportedly said the decision to discontinue screening “Gone with the Wind” was made “before Charlottesville” and the debate over Confederate symbols and monuments. He said “Gone with the Wind” the film’s popularity “has leveled off,” and that although the Aug. 11 screening attracted nearly 1,300 patrons, past screenings had a larger audience.

According to the statement released by the theater, the Orpheum carefully reviewed all of the comments it received before making the decision to ban the film.

“This is something that’s been questioned every year, but the social media storm this year really brought it home,” said Batterson. “This is about the Orpheum wanting to be inclusive and welcoming to all of Memphis.”

Many people are unhappy with the decision. On social media, they declare that the film is favorite and a classic, and that, frankly, they give a damn.