Could Blazing Saddles or All in the Family come out today?

ALF would be a welcome addition these days...

 

And yet, are we a better society because "All in the Family" isn't a current show? Because we'd label it as some sort of poison?

I watched "Blazing Saddles" a month or so ago for the first time since it came out and it stunned me how much and how casually the N word was used. Mel Brooks was a comedic genius but I doubt he could even get a movie to produce these days.

But "All in the Family" was seen as a spoof then, although most folk loved Archie like he was their uncle. He also had that sensitive side that would come out and he seemed troubled at times by his own world. If understood for what it was, it could return. But then, Archie's dead, so there's no one that could make this show what it was. Hell without the Stiveks, "Archie's Place" wasn't that good.

 

If people want to strike a word from 'Huck Finn' with no regard to context, I'm not sure how you could make 'Blazing Saddles' work.

 

Well-said.

 

As troubling as I find textbook redaction - and the general trend of selective editing of what kids are taught in schools - I think it's a separate issue than pop culture sensibilities.

A more serious one. But a different one.

 

I agree. If they were redacting all copies of the book, that argument would have more credibility.

 

It's illustrative of a difference in mindset, that a particular word can be offensive regardless of intent or context.

 

Is this more prevalent now than in the 1960s though? The entire catalog of Mark Twain is available at any bookstore, for free online and at any decent library. I wasn't alive, but I imagine it was harder to find copies in the 1960s. Bumblefuck, Nebraska might ban the book every once in a while, but I imagine back in the day there were plenty more Bumblefucks, and you had major cities like Boston with official positions like City Censor.

 

Sex was more taboo than racism in the 1970s. It was harder to find Tropic of Cancer than Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

 

Sex was more taboo than racisim then.
I'm not saying it's better or worse.
I'm saying there is a word that is prevalent in 'Blazing Saddles' as it is in 'Huck Finn.' The intent and context in each work is similar. The latter is considered a great work of American art, but that distinction has not stopped people from seeking to redact the word in question. If the word is too dangerous for a great work of American art, it's certainly too dangerous for a movie comedy.

 

Dammit! I'm growing impatient waiting for History of the World Part II.

 

Not to mention "Lady Chatterley's Lover". My father had a copy buried in his underwear drawer.

Remember, this was an era where married couples on TV couldn't be seen sleeping in the same bed.

Sexual repression was everywhere. Racism was alive and well