#248 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Friday January 14)
Good morning and Happy Friday!
MOVIES THAT COULD NOT BE MADE TODAY
In light of the Dave Chappelle controversy late last year, regarding his comedy show that apparently makes humor of some aspect of transgenderism, I was thinking of the nature of humor. Today, one must tiptoe around some of the funniest and most objectionable humor. So sensitive have we become that the likes of Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld won’t appear at a college campus, for fear of retribution.
One of my favorite comedians was Don Rickles. Those who recall him know that he was merciless in teasing people for their looks, height, girth, and accent and playing on stereotypes that were generally not too flattering. It reminds me of the adage that “all humor is essentially mean.” Humor often is found in describing unfortunate events, embarrassing circumstances, or uncomfortable interactions. Sometimes it may lean into stereotypes. I understand that we don’t want to perpetuate these, but I suspect that making jokes in the open may actually reduce the likelihood that prejudices and stereotypes are shared and magnified in secret whispers. This controversy does beg the question of whether comedy is, of its nature, fundamentally illiberal.
This got me thinking of movies that could not be made today (not racist staples that obviously are unacceptable, like D.W. Griffith’s morally indefensible Birth of a Nation, nor flattering depictions of an unacceptable way of life, like Gone With the Wind)—just comedies. Here are a few that probably couldn’t be made today:
Airplane. Barbara Billingsley speaking “jive” and slapping a poor nun silly to “snap out of it.”
Animal House. Where to begin? “Taking liberties with the ladies” would be a good start. It gets more profane (and funnier) from there
Tropic Thunder, because, well, “full retard,” Blackface, and Tom Cruise as a characterization of an obnoxious Hollywood agent… But man, is it funny.
Zoolander and Dodgeball (yet, to my mind, both classics…)
American Pie. You know the scene I’m thinking of right now.
Naked Gun, Police Academy and their progeny. O.J. going down the Coliseum steps in a wheelchair is so wrong on so many levels (particularly after the White Bronco chase.
Silver Streak (which, other than Gene Wilder sneaking back onto the train as an elderly Black man, is otherwise tame). While the presence of “Blackface” is unacceptable, its use here was insulting not to Black people, but to Wilder’s character, who is incapable of being “cool enough” to play the part.
Anything by Monty Python, for its brazen sacrilege
Blazing Saddles. If you need to ask, you haven’t seen it.
Tootsie, because cross-dressing is no longer may be a source of humor.
But there is hope. Some comedies have been able to thread the needle of irreverence that doesn’t offend (at least not too greatly) one group or another. Easy targets are North Korea’s government, the Soviet Union, and Kazakhstan (which seems undeserved) and others who don’t yet have interest groups in the U.S. objecting, like Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm, the great The Interview and the even greater Death of Stalin. And one can still make fun of nerds and slackers and sexually mildly-uncomfortable movies, a la The Big Lebowski, the Harold & Kumar series (although beware of racial stereotypes), Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Superbad, Knocked Up, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
By the way, Dave Chappell suggests he will meet with anyone who wants to take him to task, or otherwise debate the merits/appropriateness of his comedy special; provided, they agree to first watch it in its entirety. It seems fair that one should first watch or read a work prior to debating its perceived content… What a concept! I feel the same about all the folks looking to ban books for perceived inappropriateness.
In these days of offense, I hope I’ve offended no one by citing these selections!
WORDS OUT OF STYLE
Some words and phrases people believe claim are out of style, from a list that was forwarded to me:
Old School
Etiquette, Manners, Discipline, Respect
Bogus
Snafu
Bitchen
Fiddle-de-dee
Shall
Whippersnapper
Jumpin’ Jehosophat
Gag me with a spoon
No talk…silence
Jive turkey
Everything’s copacetic
Dynamite
Manual labor
Male/female
What in tarnation
Cruisin’ for a bruisin’
Respect (this one was mentioned by many people…)
Have a great weekend,
Glenn
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