Gone With the Wind should not be viewed without putting its racist themes in context, argue Black scholars

The 1939 film Gone With the Wind should be taught and discussed, but not viewed for entertainment or nostalgia's sake, according to two experts who worked toward its removal from the Orpheum theater's summer playlist in 2017.

"Have it curated. Teach it in a museum. Teach it at the Orpheum," said Charles McKinney, a professor of history and Africana studies at Rhodes College in Memphis.

"But you know, teach it. It should not be allowed to run unencumbered. It should not be allowed to run without context," he told Day 6 host Brent Bambury.

The Orpheum theater in Memphis used to show Gone With the Wind as part of its summer classics screenings. After complaints in 2017, the theater announced they would not play it in subsequent years.

The Academy Award-winning film has become another pop culture flashpoint in the U.S., after HBO Max temporarily removed it from its streaming library in the wake of the George Floyd protest and wider conversations about anti-Black racism.

In a statement, the AT&T-owned WarnerMedia, which owns HBO Max, called Gone With the Wind "a product of its time" that depicts racial prejudices.

When the film returns to the service, it will be preceded by an introduction by Jacqueline Stewart, a cinema studies professor at the University of Chicago, to provide historical context for the film, which has long been criticized for romanticizing slavery and the Civil War-era U.S. South.

According to the New York Times, the Orpheum's final screening of Gone With the Wind on Aug. 11, 2017, the night before a rally held by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va., led to violent clashes and the death of one counter-protester.

The Orpheum's decision to pull the film received significant pushback.

"The backlash was so severe that they weren't sure that they were going to be able to stand by that choice," said Noelle Chaddock, vice president for equity and inclusion at Bates College in Maine.

At the time, Chaddock was an associate provost at Rhodes College, and one of four Black people who were newly brought onto the Orpheum's board of directors, including a Black board chair.

"It was just really clear the Orpheum was trying to do this work," they said. "It was a huge shift in racial demographics of governance and power in this space."

Chaddock told Bambury that the playing the film in Memphis, a city where the majority of citizens are Black, was akin to erecting "a Confederate monument" with every screening.

"I do think educationally there is a place for these artifacts. And what I want to be clear about is that the reason it's endured is because it is a direct component of white supremacy. So it's not about the movie. It's about that construct," they said.

Instead of being celebrated along other classic films, Chaddock and McKinney agree its place should be in a school or museum to better understand why it inherently celebrates racist themes.

"When people leave those screenings feeling not simply joyous about the glory and grandeur of the old Confederacy, but have a clearer sense of the Confederacy and what the Confederacy actually entailed… then we can go ahead and do that work," said McKinney.

"But barring that, I remain concerned about the regular airing of this movie."

Written by Jonathan Ore with files from The Associated Press. Produced by Laurie Allan.

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