Comedians “Burning Saddles”, “Plane!” like brave, defending the “absurdity” of beloved classics, etc

Common Joke: “Blazing Saddles is edited for TV. It airs from 8:00-8:07.”

Mel Brooks’ 1970s Wild West has sparked debate on social media in recent years about whether it can survive today’s throwback culture. The film is full of racist and sexist jokes, but that’s about it, according to fans of the film. It’s one of a handful of old, beloved films that critics think will never be made in the midst of current ingenuity.

Burning saddles

In recent controversy, fans of Burning Saddles have argued that the film’s original intentions have been misrepresented, and that this in turn is provoking today’s younger audiences. The plot focuses, in part, on the anger caused by the appointment of a young black man as mayor of a racist town. It is full of racial epithets, makes fun of sexual harassment in the workplace and much more.

A debate rages on TWITTER about the survival of Western culture “woke” by Burning Saddles.

Comedian Karith Foster defended Brooks’ vision for Blazing Saddles, noting that its “absurdity” was its appeal.

“Blazing Saddles … is a classic movie,” Foster said. “Here you have an old, Jewish guy who’s been through the Borscht Belt and understands the power of hyperbole, sarcasm, and sarcasm. I think there’s a reason why most of the most prolific artists and comedians are Jewish. Black. They come from some kind of pain. people. And he’s a genius at getting at the absurdity of things. That’s what a lot of comedy does — it points to the absurdity of things like racism and sexism and homophobia.”

“It seems like the goal is to be as ridiculous as possible,” he said. “It’s to point out how wrong these things are and how ignorant they are, and it’s to make fun of them. But in this day and age, people think, ‘You’re just kidding.’ You’re kidding. of people falling into these categories.’ And I think Mel’s intentions and what people thought were 40 or 50 years ago. So, unfortunately, you can’t see what will happen to him.”

“Blazing Saddles makes so many ethnic jokes that whoever made it will be charged with a hate crime, and anyone who likes one of their tweets will be monitored by the Biden administration,” said the comedian and Fox Across America. hosted by Jimmy Failla. said Fox Digital. “Not to mention that the plot revolves around a black Sheriff, which is also a problem because half of Hollywood wants to pay off the police.”

Whoopi Goldberg became one of the most surprising bat figures for Blazing Saddles during a Hot Topics discussion on “The View” earlier this month.

“Saddles of Fire, because it’s a great comedy, still holds up today,” said the Oscar-winning actress. “There are a lot of comedies that aren’t good, okay? That’s what we’re trying to say. This isn’t one of them. Blazing Saddles is one of the best movies because it touches everybody.”

“We’ve been stupidly politically correct, that’s the death of comedy,” Mel Brooks himself said of the culture’s undoing.

Airplane!

A 1980 parody of airline crash movies, Airplane! parody is one of the funniest comedies of all time. But some of his jokes may bother today’s moviegoers. In one of the most famous scenes, for example, Leslie Nielsen’s character Dr. Rumack hits and shakes a hysterical woman during a flight. Like Blazing Saddles, it’s full of stereotypical jokes.

“Airplane!” hysterical,” Foster said with a laugh.

“That’s what comedy should do,” he said. “Find the line and turn it on, push it or cross it a little bit … These are some topics that people are very sensitive about. There were so many scenes where … they were embarrassed at the time, but “Look . How inappropriate, “this would never be accepted in normal society. It wasn’t about normalizing it. Again, it was about pointing out the absurdity of things that sane, rational people would understand. No.”

“It was so far removed from what was actually supposed to be done that it was funny,” concluded Foster.

‘SKY!’ AND SCARY MOVIE DIRECTOR DESTROYES CULTURE IN COMEDY: ‘WE WANT TO TRY TO EDUCATE’

In this 1988 promotional file from Paramount Pictures, actor Leslie Nielsen, top center, is pictured with actress Jeannette Charles in a scene from The Naked Gun, portraying the Queen of England. (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, Elliott Marks)
(AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, Elliott Marks, File)

fat

Grease, the 1978 classic, featured John Travolta as Danny Zuko and the late Olivia Newton-John as innocent Sandy Olsson in leather jackets. The film is still considered a classic and has one of the catchiest soundtracks of all time. But in later years, some critics ripped the film for its themes of toxic masculinity, slut-shaming, lack of diversity, and heteronormativity.

But the Daily Mail’s Sarah Vine says that’s the point.

“Love, heartbreak, peer pressure, regret, insecurity, fear of failure, fear of judgment: these are all emotions teenagers like us today feel,” Vine wrote of the film in August. “They are lessons that every generation must learn, mistakes must be made to be understood properly.”

However, students at Presbyterian Women’s College and Scotch College in Perth, Western Australia refused to perform the musical version of the film, declaring the film anti-feminist.

“A number of PLC students are concerned about the musical’s relevance to modern times. The Scots College has listened respectfully to the girls’ concerns and both schools have agreed that it would be best to stage another musical for their joint production in 2022. received,” the school said in a statement. read it.

“If Danny had been dismissed for his (obviously brutal) butt moves in the first scene, he would never have made the journey from graysball to beloved boyfriend; and if Sandy had been as simple and straightforward as she was in the beginning she could have been. She never discovered her power as a woman,” Foster said. “What de-culture can’t understand is that the mistakes and stupid things we say and do make us better people. It’s the crumb in the oyster that makes the pearl. Without it, you risk being just another mollusk at the bottom of the sea. Life.”

Newton-John himself put the brakes on criticizing the film, saying people should “relax a bit and enjoy things for what they are.”

“It’s an interesting film that will make people happy,” he added.

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in a promo for their movie Grease.
(Paramount Pictures/Photos International)

Animal house

Former deputy editor Harry Cheadle told his readers to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Animal House” in 2018 by “getting trashed.” The film is about a group of fraternity brothers who drink, have fun and engage in a lot of promiscuity.

“As it is hard to imagine Animal house It’s hard to imagine today, having never seen it in 1978, “he said. “Drunken boys don’t seem so attractive anymore, the gender politics of the film are irredeemable, and there is no one. Having a sympathetic character, not counting Cathy or the women exploited by the characters.

White chicks

The 2004 comedy film stars Marlon and Shawn Wayans as FBI agents who go undercover as white women to solve a kidnapping plot. With such a premise, it comes with a lot of controversial humor. But the former Wayans brother said it’s what audiences want, especially the demographic he’s making fun of.

“They should,” Wayans told BuzzFeed. “I don’t know what planet we’re on, you think people don’t need laughter and people should be censored and canceled. If a joke makes me cancel, thank you for doing me such a favor. It’s sad that society is in a place where you can’t laugh anymore.”

“You know who loves ‘White Chicks’ more? White chicks,” Wayans previously told Entertainment Weekly in 2020. “That’s how you know it’s a good movie. A good joke in a comedy is when you’re making fun of people. Laugh out loud. And the best part is that we’re equal offenders. It’s an exploration of gender, race, pop culture, and kids. ‘was a brilliant piece of research done with gloves on that everyone could laugh at. It’s a cult classic to this day.’

Honorary titles

Christian Toto, a conservative film critic and editor of HollywoodinToto.com, suggested that Steve Carell’s 40-Year-Old Virginia is going to fall apart today.

“The 40-year-old Virginia, one of the best comedies of the last 20 years, is struggling today,” said Toto. “The film features a bit where two friends call each other ‘gay’ and give reasons why. The cast is predominantly white, which could lead to accusations of ‘white privilege.’ called sexist and racist. reaction today.”

‘REAL LOVE’ DIRECTOR HAS TO APOLOGIZE FOR STARRING: ‘DID NOT GET THE MEMO’

Toto says the joke is aimed at subverting the culture at the movie studios because most audiences want old comedy.

“There’s a good reason we haven’t seen many big, ridiculously successful movie comedies in recent years,” Toto said. “Abolish the culture. Screenwriters understand the extreme limitations placed on themselves when writing comedies, and some either blow it, resulting in mediocre films, or they don’t even bother. he directed ‘Joker’ because there are so many rules in modern comedy.”

Failla and Foster suggested a few holiday classics that they say won’t even be safe from the cancellation culture crowd.

“It’s crazy to think that A Christmas Story will play live for 24 hours this year, because it could never be MADE this year,” Failla told Fox Digital. “The story revolves around a kid named Ralphie who wants a BB gun, which is a big NO-NO. It doesn’t help that he tortures a BORK named Scott Farkus and beats up Ralphie’s friends. The gun crowd and the social justice crowd for there is NO WAY Ralphie is going to get his gun or let the bully beat him up.

Foster joked that the coach in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer would also offend some viewers. The trainer who oversees the flying training of the young deer has been accused of bullying in recent years.

“It’s a classic, but I remember watching it a few years ago and being like, ‘Wow, yeah that coach — he’d be fired right now if he had the guts to say that to anybody,'” Foster said.

“A lot of people dream of a comedy like this, and they don’t overanalyze every gag along the way,” said Toto, “Plane!”

“The King of Comedy, David Zucker, ‘Plane!’ Fame said it best — “They’re killing comedy because of the 9 percent who have no sense of humor.”