Gone with the censored wind ? After its disappearance from the American platform HBO Max, many shouted at the censorship of a classic of the seventh Art, when it was a temporary withdrawal, the time to add a context, a historical presentation . The news, with the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, played as a sounding board, and if the debate was sometimes inaudible, especially on social networks, the question of the contextualization of works in general, and movies in particular, was asked.
"Forrest Gump" and "Indiana Jones", "problematic" films?
A recent Variety article added fuel to the fire, listing "problematic films" which, like Gone with the Wind , deserve a "warning". The journalist recalls the case of films with a racist character such as Birth of a Nation or Melody of the South , but also Diamonds on the Couch with Mickey Rooney in stereotype of Japanese or West Side Story and its representation of the Puerto Ricans - necessarily delinquents.
Then he goes on with Forrest Gump and "his condescension towards the handicapped, the veterans of the Vietman, the AIDS patients", and even "his hostility to the demonstrators, the militants and the counter-culture". Or Inspector Harry and his above-the-law cop, Indiana Jones and "his exotic villains portrayed as primitive and bloodthirsty strangers", etc.
For Variety , it is of course not a question of banning these films, but of seeing them with a critical eye: "These films represent the era in which they were made, and it is important to remember the history - and intolerance and insensitivity - so as not to repeat these things ”. For some, it is already too much, and the American magazine is accused of wanting to make the buzz, of political correctness, or of being beside the plate.
Warnings on Disney +, HBO Max, Sky Cinema
However, warnings or contextualizations exist, especially in the United States. As soon as it was launched in November, Disney + added a note to the list of certain films: "This program is presented in its original form, and may contain certain obsolete cultural representations". Are concerned La Belle and the Tramp , Dumbo or Fantasia .
The British pay channel Sky Cinema has just implemented the same policy, with a warning for "obsolete attitudes, language and cultural representations, which can offend today" on fifteen films: Gone with the Wind , Always Him, Aladdin , the two versions of the Jungle Book , Tropic Thunder , The Goonies , Flash Gordon … But also Aliens . Aliens , James Cameron's masterpiece, because the character of Vasquez, a Latin Marine, is played by the white actress Jenette Goldstein, who had to dye her hair, wear lenses and make up the skin for the role.
"Sky is committed to supporting the fight against racism and improving diversity and inclusion on and off the screen," a spokesperson for the channel told Variety . We are constantly reviewing the entire content of Sky-owned channels and will take action if necessary, including adding information to our customers to allow them to make an informed decision when deciding which movies and TV shows to watch. "
Released almost at the same time as Gone with the Wind, 82 years ago, Le Quai Des Brumes is preceded by a welcome contextualization.
Censorship of works of art, no.
Putting it into perspective, yes. pic.twitter.com/yAYOJ80QRz
"We must not censor, we must prevent"
The current debate would almost forget that this kind of warning has been around for a long time. In 1980, William Friedkin warned at the opening of Cruising that "the individuals and their practices shown in the film [very gay gays and followers of sadomasochism] are not representative of the homosexual community as a whole", recalls Liberation . No warning, however, before La cage aux folles , which is badly received by the French gay community.
If this work of contextualization is for the moment less widespread in France, there exists, as underlined by a surfer on the subject of Quai des brumes : "Released almost at the same time as Gone with the wind , 82 years ago, The Quai Des Brumes is preceded by a welcome contextualization ”. On the occasion of its restoration and its release in the room and on DVD / Blu-ray in 2012.
The withdrawal of Gone with the Wind, Netflix at the Cannes Film Festival, the place of female directors in cinema ... We asked very frank questions to Thierry Frémaux! pic.twitter.com/23JkO8e2Ca
- Konbini France (@KonbiniFr) June 22, 2020In a recent interview for Konbini, Thierry Frémaux, general delegate of the Cannes Film Festival, returns to the “controversy” Gone with the wind and takes over the words of the American basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “You shouldn't censor As much blows the wind , however, you have to prevent. We warn that this film must be taken with precaution for such or such reason. We can do this critical work. This is history, historians, cinephilia ”. Before mentioning the questions surrounding the publication of the anti-Semitic writings of Céline or Mein Kampf . Contextualization is an ancient and current practice in literature with prefaces and afterwords. Moreover, Gone with the Wind , the original novel by Margaret Mitchell this time, came out in a new translation by Gallimard.
For the film "as much wins the wind" they will just add contextualization to put the film back in its time, it's the same principle as an afterword in a book, tqt it's been done for years and it's even often very interesting, we will not burn your books pic.twitter.com/rSpuk8vAq2
- Pawn (@PionTropCourt) June 10, 2020Finally, it is good to remember that all the “problematic” films mentioned are well available and visible, even if none will have a better warning card than La Classe d' Amérique: “Attention, this is not a film on cyclimse . Thank you for your understanding ".
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