# Should we Mourn the death of Olivia de Havilland **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 27, 2020, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455 "2020-07-27T06:54:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/41 "2020-07-27T08:14:02Z")
> [@kswiss](#): > > Olivia de Havilland participated in a racist movie. Therefore Olivia de Havilland is a racist. Let’s just get rigorous here: Socrates is a man. Mankind has shown racism. Therefore Socrates has shown racism. Okay, now it has been established that all humans are racist beings. What next? ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/42 "2020-07-27T08:15:31Z")
My opinion. Yes The SJW opinion seems to be muddled. Although I got the official ok from the president of the SJWs, I’m still confused as to the logic of the decision. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/43 "2020-07-27T08:15:52Z")
> [@kswiss](#): > > Olivia de Havilland Here is her filmography: > **[Olivia de Havilland | Actress, Soundtrack](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000014/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1)** > > Known for: Gone with the Wind, The Heiress, The Adventures of Robin Hood Of course she should be acknowledged, praised and mourned at the Oscars. ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/44 "2020-07-27T08:17:29Z")
> [@PlaceboTarget](#): > > Okay, now it has been established that all humans are racist beings. What next? We tear down there statues, shame them at the Oscars. Isn’t it obvious? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/45 "2020-07-27T08:19:59Z")
What is this thread really about? You seem to be all over the board with this. ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/46 "2020-07-27T08:24:49Z")
Is an Actress, who participated in a horribly racist (by todays standards) film, guilty as much as any other person who participated in horribly racist activities (by todays standards) in their time? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/47 "2020-07-27T08:35:37Z")
I didn’t find the character she played to be especially racist, she had no foreknowledge of what society would be like many decades later, and she was certainly no racist in real life. Do you think she played a racist character, or was a racist in real life? ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/48 "2020-07-27T08:42:13Z")
I’ve never seen Gone With The Wind so I have a question for those who have, is it a racist movie, or was it simply a movie accurately portraying the racism that existed in the time and place it was set, if it is a racist movie what makes it so ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/49 "2020-07-27T08:42:48Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > she had no foreknowledge of what society would be like many decades later, Nor did anyone else ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/50 "2020-07-27T08:43:37Z")
Corollary: Hugo Weaving played a Nazi in the film _Captain America: The First Avenger._ Nazis committed crimes against humanity and were held accountable for it at Nuremburg. Therefore, Hugo Weaving has committed crimes against humanity and should be put on trial at Nuremburg. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/51 "2020-07-27T08:44:34Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > And here I thought this thread was going to be “Should we mourn the death of Olivia de Havilland, since after all we’ve all got to go some time, and 104 is a pretty good showing in the Not Dying Olympics. Go Liv!” Sadly, this is exactly what I thought it would be about. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/52 "2020-07-27T08:44:38Z")
> [@steepone](#): > > I’ve never seen Gone With The Wind so I have a question for those who have, is it a racist movie, or was it simply a movie accurately portraying the racism that existed in the time and place it was set. Much more the latter than the former, I think. The new commentary added before the beginning does a good job explaining it. ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/53 "2020-07-27T08:47:17Z")
> [@steepone](#): > > I’ve never seen Gone With The Wind so I have a question for those who have, is it a racist movie, or was it simply a movie accurately portraying the racism that existed in the time and place it was set That might be up for debate, the defenders of GWTW would say its a great historical drama. Opposing viewpoints might say it glorified the south, and its Slavery, as some kind of noble cause. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/54 "2020-07-27T08:50:26Z")
Or some might say it was a movie made from a very popular book, with great acting and memorable lines, an escape movie so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/55 "2020-07-27T08:56:56Z")
Yes that’s what HBO probably thought when they removed it in 2020. Reinstated it with “Commentary” ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/56 "2020-07-27T08:57:29Z")
Guys, I don’t think non-African-Americans should be answering this question. You’re centering your own opinions over other people’s oppression. ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/57 "2020-07-27T08:58:12Z")
I don’t nothin about birthin no babies. Yes classic dialogue ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/58 "2020-07-27T09:00:29Z")
What do you think of the added commentary, and what do you think about the role she played? ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/59 "2020-07-27T09:05:38Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Guys, I don’t think non-African-Americans should be answering this question. You’re centering your own opinions over other people’s oppression. We all, regardless of race, live in world where we have to address systemic racism. If some people think GWTW is just a cool movie, we should point out that it glorifies the South and the system of Slavery it embodied. GWTW is no different than a Statue of Robert E Lee. ---
**Author:** ![kswiss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kswiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kswiss)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455/61 "2020-07-27T09:08:25Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > very popular book A very popular book, by white people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-mourn-the-death-of-olivia-de-havilland/916455.md?page=4)