My guess is that its easier to ignore what other people are doing when they're a mile away than when they're in the apartment above you, and there's less opportunity for crimes of opportunity when you have to go out of your way to see if there's an opportunity.
I've never seen Gone With The Wind, but I've heard Tara's theme 1,000,000,000 times too many. HBO's plan, to add statements about the historical context and the portrayals of the characters are probably about as good as they can do. I'd imagine Margaret Mitchell would be more pilloried in the modern day if not for her charitable works, including paying towards tuition for Morehouse medical students and helping add seats for African-Americans at local hospitals.