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The Orpheum Theater in Memphis, Tennessee has canceled all planned screenings of

Gone With The Wind in the wake of the white supremacist rally that ended in
violence and death in Charlottesville and the subsequent debate over Confederate
romanticism.

The Orpheum issued a statement about their decision, printed on Entertainment


Weekly:

While title selections for the series are typically made in the spring of each
year, the Orpheum has made this determination early in response to specific
inquiries from patrons. The Orpheum appreciates feedback on its programming from
all members of the mid-south community. The recent screening of Gone With the Wind
at the Orpheum on Friday, August 11, 2017, generated numerous comments. The Orpheum
carefully reviewed all of them.

As an organization whose stated mission is to entertain, educate and enlighten the


communities it serves, the Orpheum cannot show a film that is insensitive to a
large segment of its local population.
Gone With The Wind has long been regarded as one of the greatest films of all time,
with eight academy awards (and two honorary ones) as well as, adjusted for
inflation, the highest box office take of all time. One of those academy awards
went to Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to ever win one. However, the
film takes place on a Southern plantation during the Civil War, and has been
criticized for glorifying slavery as one of the most prominent vehicles of the Lost
Cause mythology.

The Orpheum hasnt said whether the decision to stop showing the movie is
temporary, while tensions are high, or permanent.

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