'Gone With the Wind' returns to HBO Max with disclaimer, discussion on 'complicated legacy'

"Gone With the Wind" is back on HBO Max.

The 1939 classic was restored Tuesday, two weeks after the streaming service made the controversial decision to temporarily pull the film over its "racist depictions" amid anti-racism protests following the death of George Floyd.

But viewers will notice something different.

"Gone With the Wind" is now accompanied by two additional videos that denounce its representations, while examining the film's historical context.

In one video, titled "TCM Intro for Gone With the Wind," TCM host and Black scholar Jacqueline Stewart "introduces 'Gone With the Wind,' expressing why this 1939 epic drama should be viewed in its original form, contextualized and discussed."

"The film presents the Antebellum South as a world of grace and beauty, without acknowledging the brutalities of the system of chattel slavery, upon which this world is based," says Stewart.

'Gone With the Wind': Returning to HBO Max with introduction of 'historical context' by Black scholar Jacqueline Stewart

Stewart explains that the film's depiction of Black people is problematic, adding that the Black cast members weren't even allowed to attend the Atlanta movie premiere in 1939 due to Georgia’s Jim Crow laws.

"The film represents enslaved Black people in accordance with long-standing stereotypes: as servants, notable for their devotion to their white masters, or for their ineptitude," she said. "And the film’s treatment of this world through a lens of nostalgia, denies the horrors of slavery, as well as its legacies of racial inequality."

Based on a 1936 book by Margaret Mitchell, "Gone With the Wind" is a historical epic about a romance between Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh), the daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), a gambler who joins the Confederacy.

The film took home nine trophies at the 1940 Academy Awards, including best supporting actress to Hattie McDaniel for her role as Mammy, making her the first African American to win an Oscar.

"Gone With the Wind," widely considered one of the greatest films in American cinematic history, has long been criticized for romanticizing depictions of slavery and the Civil War-era South. Some theaters in recent years have pulled the old movie from their rotation, dubbing it "racially insensitive."

"Watching 'Gone With the Wind' can be uncomfortable, even painful," Stewart says. "Still, it is important that classic Hollywood films are available to us in their original form for viewing and discussion."

In a second, 57-minute video, a group of panelists discusses the polarizing classic's "complicated legacy." Stewart is included in the panel.

On June 10, HBO Max announced it was temporarily pulling the movie following national social unrest.

"'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," the streaming service said in a statement. "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."

The decision proved controversial and sparked a national debate, with Whoopi Goldberg and Meghan McCain both criticizing the move on "The View" and Queen Latifiah agreeing that the film should "be gone with the wind."

Contributing: Bryan Alexander, Hannah Yasharoff

Celeb Reactions: Queen Latifah, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar disagree on removal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Gone With the Wind' returns to HBO Max with disclaimer videos