A thread wherein we discuss Mel Brooks' film Blazing Saddles

[Nuclear Unicorn]

While I'm 101% in favor of treating everyone with full dignity and respect and being sensitive to their physicial, emotional and psychological well-being that film made a powerful statement and it made it powerfully albeit with humor.

But I don't think you could make that film these days because too many voices would shout down the intent behind the words that are actually spoken and are admittedly very upsetting in nature.

Maybe it is because the job Blazing Saddles wanted to accomplished has, to a greater extent, been achieved. Certainly racism exists today but maybe not to the extent as when the film as made.



Has vigilance turned to hypervigilance?

Has the film essentially succeeded in (re-)shaping our culture and a similiar effort is simply unneeded?

Could you make such a film again?

Or is Mel Brooks simply one of a kind?

Your thoughts please.

[AnArmyVeteran]

1. The FUNNIEST movie of all time.

And magnificently done. From the infamous 'bean scene' to how racism was portrayed it was a masterpiece. That movie slipped out without any outcries, but today it would be attacked savagely before it was even released. There are no other Mel Brooks.

[Joe Fields]

27. Yep, THE funniest movie of all time!

I also thought it was classic, the way Brooks broke the fourth wall at the end of the movie and let us in on the joke that this was just a movie about making a movie, with the fight scene boiling over into another movie set, then Harvey Korman going into a movie theater to watch Blazing Saddles.

But to the OP's point. The movie discussed, through humor some seious stereotyping and broke right through it. No, that movie could never be done today. Way too much sensitivity these days, and the public would take offense.

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. Same as All in the Family

I don't think you could have an Archie Bunker today anymore than a Sheriff Bart.

That movie put out SO many taboos it was off the charts. The German Wienerschnitzel scene, Mongo, the crosseyed governor talking into his secretary's breasts, the crack about Indians and paddleballs, "dock that chink a days pay for nappin on the job" - all on top of the overt racism themes.

No, I don't think for a minute that this movie could be made today and even then, only Mel Brooks could have pulled it off.

[HopeHoops]

5. Totally different. O'Conner was one of us. He played Archie to poke fun at bigots.

I heard him comment on how sad he was that Archie became a folk hero of the very people he was making fun of. They obviously didn't catch the irony. He said flat out that if he had even thought that would happen that he never would have taken on the role.

[slackmaster]

15. Archie Bunker was a bigot and a racist, but he was never depicted as evil

Just misinformed and ignorant. That's the difference between how bigots were portrayed then as compared to now.

A revived Archie Bunker wouldn't get much traction with audiences, because the character has a good heart underneath his obnoxious attitudes and behavior. That's not what people want or expect to see now, I believe.

[HopeHoops]

19. Well, to be fair, the "hero status" was with pre-teabaggers. Hate wasn't nearly as bad as it is now

Still, he regretted that the character became a folk hero. The one line that pretty much summed up the character was when he was talking to Meathead and said something about the "preverts on the subway". That really summed up how FOX handled the "safe" travel arrangements for people going to the BecKKK hate-fest - "if you're already within walking distance, you're pretty safe".

[HopeHoops]

3. If you haven't seen his commentary on the matter, you should. Mel said, "No, we couldn't"

There's no way in hell they could make that film today. One of the main purposes was to offend EVERYONE! Remember the scene near the end where the mayor says, (language is as close a quote as I can remember and NOT intended to be pejorative) "Okay, we'll take the chincs and the niggers, but NOT the Irish!" - the mayor was clearly intended to be Irish. They even pulled one on the gay community with Dom DeLouise (sp?) as the director of the dance number that the fight scene breaks into. If you didn't find a way to be offended by that movie, you weren't paying attention. But DAMN is it funny. I've got it on LaserDisc and it is one of my favorites.

And then there's the fart scene....

[Nuclear Unicorn]

4. Yes, my hubby told me

...when he was in the army they tried ardently to recreate that scene.

boys!

[HopeHoops]

7. "Beans, beans, they're good for your heart. The more you eat the more you fart...."

"...The more you fart the better you feel. So eat your beans with every meal."

I learned that in second grade and never forgot it.

[hedgehog]

12. I beg to differ - the scene was a reminder that the Irish were at that time

as feared and hated in some quarters as the Asian and African-Americans.





http://www.haverford.edu/engl/faculty/Sherman/Irish/19thc..htm

[HopeHoops]

14. Not the point at all, and exactly the point - at the same time.

The Irish WERE in the same situation in the north-eastern states. That was pretty much the tie-in that Mel used. In the presentation, it was the humor of an Irish mayor saying he wouldn't take the Irish. In reality, they were in the same boat as the Asians and Blacks at the time, but without a good comprehension of history, most people wouldn't realize that.

[hedgehog]

17. The Mayor's name was Olson Johnson - hardly an Irish name .

http://www.chacha.com/question/who-plays-the-mayor-on-blazing-saddles


It's been a while since I've seen the movie, but IIRC, the mayor has a nice set of sideburns which is probably why you think he was meant to be Irish.

[HopeHoops]

20. There was his accent too. And EVERYONE in the town was named "Johnson" - including Gabby.

[hayu_lol]

6. Brooks is just what you asked...

one of a kind.

His masterpiece of spoof was '12 Chairs.' The humor, over time, became more raucus and brutal but was always hilarious. Always surprises in his stuff.

Much of his sense of humor was aimed at the pompous and righteous whose bubbles deserved popping anyway.

In his early works, he had the board of censors to get by. Blazing Saddles was just his way of keeping the audiences awake. When first released, it was an awesome effort.

[HopeHoops]

8. And he ALWAYS, ALWAYS at least makes a cameo appearance.

[racaulk]

9. "Somebody's gotta go back and get a shitload of dimes!"

:rofl:

I love this movie. While I agree that some of the language is definitely hard to take, I also believe Brooks effectively used humor to help diffuse racism through showing people (especially white people) just how ridiculous and unnecessary racism really is. I think a number of Norman Lear's TV shows (The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, etc.) helped in this regard as well.

I don't think a similar movie could be made today, and if it were, it wouldn't be nearly as successful.

[slackmaster]

10. "Doggone near lost a four hundred dollar handcar."

[Nuclear Unicorn]

11. Hmmmm...an unrec. I'm not complaining, merely noting

Why would someone unrec the thread?

It's a strictly academic question.

If you unrec'ed the thread PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take a moment and explain why. I won't be mad or hurt or offended. I want feedback from all angles and your voice is just as valid.

Thank-you

[pintobean]

13. I didn't unrec until I read this reply.

You're better off ignoring it, rather than drawing attention to it.

[seabeyond]

16. colbert is the closest i get to blazing saddles today. it is amazing what he gets away with

reading your post, and these replies, i gotta say, .... i am really tired of so many, working so hard to offend and saying, lighten up, a laugh, tis funny. no, really isn't, just offensive. and old. and tired.

but colbert is successful at it. on par with blazing saddles and i think why is it is so contrary to who he is and so extremely obvious in the offense, clearly a slap down to the 'ism.

where as many of the comedians that do it today, and the people that enjoy it, though they say a joke, .... there is a reality of them believing, a feel of cruelty, a need for superiority. so the humor isn't there. it isn't funny... anymore. it is old and tired.

[jaded_old_cynic]

18. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned

That the late, great Richard Pryor helped to write the screenplay. Hilariously funny movie that could have never been made today.

[Ruby the Liberal]

32. This I did not know!

I LOVE Richard Pryor, God rest his soul. Just watched Here & Now (New Orleans taping) last night. Theme tune is still in my head.

I have bought exactly 3 movies on DVD. Blazing Saddles is among that 'vast' collection.

Mel Brooks is a comedic genius, IMO.

[blondeatlast]

33. Pryor was also Brooks' choice for Balck Bart, but the studio put the kibosh on it. IMHO,

Cleavon Little was much better than Pryor would have been; Pryor didn't have the charm that Little did (besides, I had a MAJOR crush on Cleavon Little!) Probably mine is an unpopular opinion, but I stand by it--the movie couldn't have been much better, now, could it? ;)

Also, Gig Young was the first choice to play The Waco Kid. He committed suicide in 1978.

[Initech]

21. Mongo like candy!

[VMI Dem]

22. Mel Brooks attended VMI.

Little known bit of trivia.

[mimitabby]

23. we don't need no stinkin' badges.. nt

[Reader Rabbit]

24. Did anyone watch the Kennedy Center Honors last year?

Ben Stiller: Mel Brooks!!!! You're like the Barack Obama of short, funny Jews!!!



Mel Brooks is a friggin' genius.

[ixion]

25. "Lamar, I told you to wash your hands after cross burning..."

"There, see. It's coming off." :rofl:

[KamaAina]

26. That's Hedley!!

[MgtPA]

28. Mel Brooks himself said, at one point, that he could never make "Blazing Saddles" today.

[Bucky]

36. More to the point, if a non-Mel Brooks made it today, they'd be excoriated here on DU

[edbermac]

29. "Mongo only pawn in game of life."

[CanSocDem]

30. The 3 things...

...that made this film great were intelligence, humour and a political message.

While such a convergence of abilities may not happen again in the film industry, the Sunday 'toons by print artists like Garry Trudeau are a valued alternative.

And one cannot discuss this genre without heralding the best thing on TV....The Simpsons.


.

[racaulk]

31. I've been with thousands of men, again and again, they promise the moon

They always coming and going, going and coming, and always too soon.

Right girls?

[blondeatlast]

34. I think the studios would put the kibosh on the very idea, not the public.

Of course, Mel Brooks has the reputation that would allow the un-PC ness to be okay--people would likely know he was spoofing all that bigotry--and few groups escaped unharmed in that flick.

But the studios would not even allow it today; they'd be terrified. And it's a damn shame.

[fishwax]

35. yes, I think it could be made today, but it wouldn't make much sense

It's brilliant, and I still find it hilarious, but the movie was addressing a set of attitudes, etc. particular to its time.

Incidentally, there were a few stories earlier this year that Mel Brooks was in the process of writing new songs for a Broadway stage adaptation of Blazing Saddles.

[Bucky]

37. There's two film makers who "made a Blazing Saddles" today

Team America: World Police. Much as I disagreed with their politics, it was a hilariously offensive movie.

[MilesColtrane]

38. "Iyeee...get no kick...from champaaaaaagne."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H2W1lK7P-I