In the summer of 2020, the American streaming service HBO Max removed the classic film Gone with the Wind (1939), because of concerns about its depiction of black characters and the topic of slavery. Shortly thereafter, the film returned on HBO, now accompanied by an additional introduction by the African-American professor of Film and Media Studies Jacqueline Stewart, who places the film ‘in its multiple historical contexts’.
In response to the discussion that this act by HBO prompted, Prof. Liedeke Plate wrote an opinion article (in Dutch). Plate described the story of how she first encountered the film. Several readers responded by telling her their story. These stories were so fascinating that we became curious and enquired: What is your story? How did you encounter the film (and/or the book the film is based on)? And how do you look back on that now?
This research project examines how people in different places and in different times encountered the film (and/or the book) and how their opinion on the film and/or book changed over time. It inquires the film’s enduring presence in contemporary life and culture – after all, it’s been around for over 80 years! – and explores changing valuations of the film and book.
