米動画サービスが『風と共に去りぬ』配信停止　人種差別理由に

【ロサンゼルスＡＦＰ＝時事】米国をはじめとする各国で人種差別と警察の暴力に抗議するデモが拡大し、放送業界が配信内容の見直しを進める中、動画配信サービスHBOマックスは9日、映画『風と共に去りぬ』をストリーミング配信のコンテンツから削除した。（写真は資料写真）
　南北戦争を舞台にした１９３９年公開の同作はアカデミー賞９部門を受賞し、インフレを考慮した興行収益で歴代トップに君臨する歴史大作だが、奴隷が不満を言わず、また奴隷所有者が英雄のように描かれているという部分は批判の的にもなっている。
　ＨＢＯマックスはＡＦＰへのコメントで、「『風と共に去りぬ』には残念なことに、現在の米国社会でも当たり前となっている民族・人種差別的な表現がみられる」「このような人種差別的な表現は当時も間違っていたし、現在でも間違っている。これらの表現について説明も非難もせず、作品を配信し続けることは無責任だと考えた」と説明した。
　アフリカ系米国人のジョージ・フロイドさんが警察の拘束下で死亡した５月２５日以降、反人種差別デモは全米に拡大している。また、市民の間には警察の改革を要求する動きや、奴隷制を敷いた南部連合国に関する像など、人種差別の歴史の象徴を排除する動きも出ている。
　『それでも夜は明ける』の脚本を担当したジョン・リドリー氏は８日付のロサンゼルス・タイムズの論説に寄稿し、『風と共に去りぬ』について「表現において基準を満たしていない」だけでなく、奴隷制の恐ろしさを無視し、「有色人種の最も痛ましい偏見」を永遠のものとしていると指摘し、排除されるべきだと主張した。
　ＨＢＯマックスは歴史的背景に関する議論や説明を追加して配信を再開する予定だが、「差別は存在しなかった」と主張することになりかねないとの理由で編集は行わない意向を示している。
　「もしわれわれが、より開かれた公正・公平な未来を目指すのならば、まずは歴史を認識し、理解しなければならない」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/06/11-13:07）

Gone with the Wind was removed from the HBO Max streaming platform Tuesday, as mass protests against racism and police brutality prompt television networks to reassess their offerings.
The multiple Oscar-winning US Civil War epic released in 1939 remains the highest-grossing movie of all time adjusted for inflation, but its depiction of contented slaves and heroic slaveholders has garnered criticism.
'Gone With The Wind' is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society, an HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement to AFP.
These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.
Demonstrations have swept the United States since the May 25 killing of African American George Floyd while in police custody, with calls growing for police reform and the broader removal of symbols of a racist legacy, including monuments to the slave-holding Confederacy.
Floyd died last month as a white Minneapolis officer pressed a knee into his neck for almost nine minutes. The officer has been charged with second-degree murder.
12 Years A Slave writer John Ridley said in a Los Angeles Times op-ed Monday that Gone with the Wind must be removed as it doesn't just 'fall short' with regard to representation but ignores the horrors of slavery and perpetuates some of the most painful stereotypes of people of color.
The film will return to the recently launched streaming platform at a later date, along with a discussion of its historical context, the company said.
No edits will be made, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.
If we are to create a more just, equitable and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history.
- 'Normalized injustice' -
Meanwhile Tuesday, long-running reality series Cops was canceled by Paramount Network.
The show followed real-life US officers on duty for over three decades, but had been accused of glamorizing aspects of policing and distorting issues such as race.
'Cops' is not on the Paramount Network and we don't have any current or future plans for it to return, a network spokesperson told US media Tuesday.
Police shows -- both reality and scripted -- are among the most-watched on US television but have come under scrutiny.
Civil rights group Color of Change, which campaigned against the show for its depiction of suspects and alleged masking of racism in police forces, welcomed the news Tuesday.
For 30 years, #COPS has normalized injustice and misrepresented crime, policing and race, tweeted president Rashad Robinson.
But it's far from the only crime TV show to do so.
Dan Taberski, whose podcast Running from Cops claimed the show allowed police to remove unflattering material during editing, said he was hopeful its cancellation 31 years later is a sign of positive change to come.
Popular reality cop show Live PD has also been removed from schedules, while Jessica Alba-starring scripted procedural LA's Finest saw its season premiere delayed Monday.