Despite being widely regarded as one of the greatest films in the history of cinema, it would also be fair to say that certain elements of Gone with the Wind haven’t held up particularly well when viewed through a modern lens.
It might be the highest-grossing release the business has ever seen when adjusted for inflation, as well as winning 10 Academy Awards from 13 nominations, but it’s very much a product of its time. Of course, that’s to be expected when it hit theaters close to a century ago back in 1939, but some purists were up in arms when it was removed from streaming services back in 2020, only to return with a disclaimer.
Those same folks who clutched their pearls will no doubt be at it again after it was revealed Margaret Mitchell’s source novel has become the latest classic text to undergo sensitivity edits, following in the footsteps of Ian Fleming’s James Bond, the Roald Dahl back catalogue, R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps, and Agatha Christie’s works to name but a small few.
Publisher Pan Macmillan has added a warning to newly-printed editions of the source material, offering that the tome contains depictions that could be interpreted as “hurtful or indeed harmful,” as well as nothing that it offers “the romanticization of a shocking era in our history.” Historical fiction writer Philippa Gregory will also add a foreword explaining aspects of “white supremacy,” but the actual story itself will remain untouched.
Altering literature is always going to be a thorny subject for some, but in the current world we live in, some changes simply need to be made in order to educate newer generations regardless of what the snobbier element will have to say about it.