shel

The Transsexual Chofetz Chaim

Mutant, librarian, poet, union rabble rouser, dog, Ashkenazi Jewish. Neuroweird, bodyweird, mostly sleepy.


I write about transformative justice, community, love, Judaism, Neurodivergence, mental health, Disability, geography, rivers, labor, and libraries; through poetry, opinionated essays, and short fiction.


I review Schoolhouse Rock! songs at @PropagandaRock


Website (RSS + Newsletter)
shelraphen.com/

People always say you can't make a movie like blazing saddles anymore but I do kinda feel like "sorry to bother you" pushes boundaries in equivalent ways that resonate with the modern zeitgeist in the way blazing saddles did. It's not so much that you can't make blazing saddles so much as there isn't even a market for it not already filled by blazing saddles. You can't just make the same movie and have it come off as provocative or funny because it's already been done and that completely changes how we parse it.

But there are other movies that have done and do comedy which pushes the boundaries of the current zeitgeist in original ways and because they are original we don't think "this is a movie like blazing saddles." It can only work if it's original.


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in reply to @shel's post:

You're right, but also

What they really mean when they say that is that Blazing Saddles has the n word in it, and they want more movies to have the n word in them, and they're ignoring the context of how it was actually used in Blazing Saddles.

Because they're racist

There have, in fact, been movies produced in recently memory, by Black directors and writers, which contained the N word. So. Like. even that part isn't true. but yes I know what you mean

well that's just it, right, that mel brooks directed that movie and the people saying that are saying "as a white person, i couldn't make a movie where i said the n-word in it". except tarantino's right there so, setting aside any discussions of whether tarantino's movies are good or if his use of that language is advisable or appropriate, they're wrong on their own premise too

I always assumed they meant like, "in a hypothetical world in which blazing saddles was never made, you couldn't make it today" which...I'm just not sure is correct in the first place, but also your point is still correct in that hypothetical world. plenty of movies that are not blazing saddles are still made, even today