The national debate over the Confederate flag has now turned toward Scarlett O’Hara.
New York Post film critic Lou Lumenick said Wednesday that Americans should think about relegating the 1939 classic “Gone with Wind” to a museum.
“If the Confederate flag is finally going to be consigned to museums as an ugly symbol of racism, what about the beloved film offering the most iconic glimpse of that flag in American culture?” Mr. Lumenick asked. “I’m talking, of course, about ‘Gone with the Wind,’ which won a then-record eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1939, and still ranks as the all-time North American box-office champ with $1.6 billion worth of tickets sold here when adjusted for inflation.”
The movie, which starred Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, sends the wrong cultural message because it “stands for many of the same things as the Confederate flag” waving before the movie’s intermission, Mr. Lumenick said.
“[‘Gone with the Wind’ is] showing on July 4 at the Museum of Modern Art as part of the museum’s salute to the 100th anniversary of Technicolor — and maybe that’s where this much-loved but undeniably racist artifact really belongs,” Mr. Lumenick added.
The Victor Fleming directed film has made over $3.3 billion worldwide since its release, when adjusted for inflation, Turner Classic Movies estimated in 2007.
