All this debate over the Confederate flag has got NY Post film critic Lou Lumenick to thinking:
Should GONE WITH THE WIND go the way of the Confederate flag? http://t.co/8QdQT6B3bq pic.twitter.com/6yZaAJaQil
— Trapped by Television (@LouLumenick) June 24, 2015
Here’s what he concludes:
But what does it say about us as a nation if we continue to embrace a movie that, in the final analysis, stands for many of the same things as the Confederate flag that flutters so dramatically over the dead and wounded soldiers at the Atlanta train station just before the “GWTW’’ intermission?
Warner Bros. just stopped licensing another of pop culture’s most visible uses of the Confederate flag — toy replicas of the General Lee, an orange Dodge Charger from “The Dukes of Hazzard’’ — as retailers like Amazon and Walmart have finally backed away from selling merchandise with that racist symbol.
That studio sent “Gone with the Wind’’ back into theaters for its 75th anniversary in partnership with its sister company Turner Classic Movies in 2014, but I have a feeling the movie’s days as a cash cow are numbered. It’s 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.
Yep, that’s what we need. Because Americans love nothing more than being told what is and isn’t acceptable art.
https://twitter.com/jhornburg01/status/613788576971628544
A generation ago, that argument was being used on behalf of BIRTH OF A NATION. https://t.co/ZyPTq2uFNS
— Trapped by Television (@LouLumenick) June 24, 2015
@LouLumenick you didn't call for censoring GWTW just awareness and less love of it, yet there are people crying censorship. Of course.
— J. Chlebus (@J_Chlebus) June 24, 2015
No, he didn’t call for outright censorship. But he is suggesting that we as a society can’t handle a movie and therefore it should be relegated to a dusty room away from our sensitive eyes and ears.
I oppose censorship, whether it's BIRTH OF A NATION or TRIUMPH OF THE WILL. Time is catching up with GWTW. https://t.co/8nQPC71ddL
— Trapped by Television (@LouLumenick) June 24, 2015
@LouLumenick u don't think there's any difference btw GWTW and those two?
— Ariel Shavonne (@mermaidgal24) June 24, 2015
@mermaidgal24 Of course there is. GWTW has its own issues that will lead to a tipping point.
— Trapped by Television (@LouLumenick) June 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/IvyLawEditor/status/613800651089387520
Isn't film criticism all about revisionism? https://t.co/AEL86oqFYT
— Trapped by Television (@LouLumenick) June 24, 2015
@LouLumenick Lou is too smart for this to be a real article, he wrote it for clickbait purposes.
— ?? Woke Unicorn ?? (@GotThatWMD) June 24, 2015
@GotThatWMD No Eric, these are my genuine feelings about GWTW.
— Trapped by Television (@LouLumenick) June 24, 2015
And let him be clear:
And to repeat, I am NOT advocating censorship, let alone film (or book) burning. https://t.co/svNoAHoajh
— Trapped by Television (@LouLumenick) June 24, 2015
But the thing is, Lou, you’re kind of on a slippery slope.
Of course, some people think Lumenick is really on to something here:
Yes, it should. https://t.co/hZ7QZH2oI5
— thanksgiving alexandria ocasio cortez fan account (@franklinshepard) June 24, 2015
THANK YOU. https://t.co/5roetpvSLm
— Tiffany Vazquez (@filmiliarface) June 24, 2015
@J_Chlebus @LouLumenick But but but GWTW is TOTALLY problematic. Like, a lot. A lot lot.
— Trey Lawson (@T_Lawson) June 24, 2015
@J_Chlebus @T_Lawson @LouLumenick Wait…there are people who think that GWTW ISN'T problematic?!
— The Notorious LHB (@lhbizness) June 24, 2015
@LouLumenick It's almost as problematic as Birth of a Nation. In some ways, more insidious.
— The Notorious LHB (@lhbizness) June 24, 2015
This won't make me very popular, but I've thought this for years. https://t.co/K1oN5XDBNO
— MovieMovieBlogBlog (@MovieBlogger61) June 24, 2015
@LouLumenick Fantastic read! May GWTW soon join BIRTH OF A NATION in the Offensive Artifact Club
— Movies Silently (@MoviesSilently) June 24, 2015
Others … well, not so much:
Dude? http://t.co/7RoBoB32v2
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) June 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/NoahCRothman/status/613810912307359745
.@LouLumenick The Godfather glorifies organized crime and needless murder. Should we no longer respect it as a great film?
— Neri Stein (@neristein) June 24, 2015
@LouLumenick GOTW is a piece of art. The Confederate flag is a symbol of racist oppression. Apples, oranges, etc.
— David Kuhne (@D_Khunne) June 24, 2015
Could you tweet out a list of books I need to turn around backwards in our bookshelf during Thanksgiving? https://t.co/1kSLVfSija
— Kris Kinder (@kris_kinder) June 24, 2015
Stop. Just stop. https://t.co/tHpONmfUce
— Jessica Welman (@jesswelman) June 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/dangainor/status/613795403234967552
@loulumenick No. Don't be absurd.
— Joshua Marks (@Lugash) June 24, 2015
Well, one thing’s for sure:
https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/613814312885485568
Amen to that.
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