# Dopers of Color: Was "Blazing Saddles" offensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 26, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393 "2003-03-26T23:24:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/21 "2003-03-27T14:27:56Z")
Well, if I’m not too late to chime in, it was a screening of _Blazing Saddles_ at **SkipMagic’s** house that convinced my crotch to like him as much as my head did. 😃 (Well, OK, actually it was the mold in his toilet, but we did watch _Blazing Saddles_ that night, too . . . ) ---
**Author:** ![brainfizz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/da6949/32.png) [@brainfizz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainfizz)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/22 "2003-03-27T14:40:20Z")
I’ve got to admit, I don’t like Blazing Saddles at all, but I’m not a fan of Mel Brooks in general. His humour’s too inane, obvious and crass and it jumps outside of the story too much. E.g. the ending of B.S. when they run out of the film studio, what’s all that about? It’s like writing a story and ending it with “and then I woke up” ---
**Author:** ![greck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ab992/32.png) [@greck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greck)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/23 "2003-03-27T15:40:14Z")
I think the movie was friggin hilarious, gets better every time I watch it. Offensive? Nah, I think what was being sent up was racism itself as opposed to the races. That’s what keeps it clear of being exploitative of any ethnic group or of any people. The jabs are aimed at the attitudes, practices, beliefs rather than the people involved (with the exception of the kkk, I wonder if they were offended?) That’s the genius of Mel Brooks. That and the gucci saddlebags. “what’s a dazzling urbanite like yourself…” ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/24 "2003-03-27T16:01:51Z")
A lot of Mel Brooks’ films are “self\_aware” or ‘self-referential" like that. I find it a little annoying, but _Blazing Saddles_ has got to be one of the funniest damn movies ever. That one and _Young Frankenstein_ (“what knockers”, “nice grouping”, “walk this way”, “put the candle back”, “Blucher!”) ensure Mel Brooks’ place in film history, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/25 "2003-03-27T16:06:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by brainfizz \* > \*\*I’ve got to admit, I don’t like Blazing Saddles at all, but I’m not a fan of Mel Brooks in general. His humour’s too inane, obvious and crass and it jumps outside of the story too much. E.g. the ending of B.S. when they run out of the film studio, what’s all that about? It’s like writing a story and ending it with “and then I woke up” \*\* Just out of curiosity, what did you think about **Monty Python and the Holy Grail**? BTW, I love BS and a few other Mel Brooks movies, but I do agree with your comments on his humor. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/26 "2003-03-27T16:13:57Z")
What’s really sad is that there is no way that movie could be made today, even though it is one of the best at showing how stupid racism is. The PC crowd would have pregnant kittens. Slim Pickins rocked in that movie. “Somebody go back and get a shitload of dimes!” “What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?” ---
**Author:** ![Simbelmyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Simbelmyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simbelmyne)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/27 "2003-03-27T16:15:27Z")
it’s that no matter what tone your skin is, we all fart the same color. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/28 "2003-03-27T16:28:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by auntie em \* > \*\*Well, if I’m not too late to chime in, it was a screening of _Blazing Saddles_ at **SkipMagic’s** house that convinced my crotch to like him as much as my head did. 😃 > > (Well, OK, actually it was the mold in his toilet, but we did watch _Blazing Saddles_ that night, too . . . ) \*\* Yep, for the sheer romantic history of it, that movie is being bronzed as we speak. Your crotch, however, remains, as always, simply golden. 😃 Anybody mentions showers and I’ll send Mongo after you! ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/29 "2003-03-27T16:29:00Z")
Great movie, lousy ending. Funnier than _Young Frankenstein_, and that’s saying something! ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/30 "2003-03-27T16:53:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DaddyTimesTwo \* > \*\*A lot of Mel Brooks’ films are “self\_aware” or ‘self-referential" like that. I find it a little annoying, but _Blazing Saddles_ has got to be one of the funniest damn movies ever. That one and _Young Frankenstein_ (“what knockers”, “nice grouping”, “walk this way”, “put the candle back”, “Blucher!”) ensure Mel Brooks’ place in film history, IMHO. \*\* I’ve seen every Mel Brooks movie except for Young Frankenstein - until my roommate bought the DVD. He pulled me into his room to watch it, and I about peed my pants when we were watching the “Puttin’ on the Ritz” scene. I completely lost it. Proud owner of Spaceballs: The DVD, and Robin Hood: Men In Tights. Ava ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/31 "2003-03-27T17:16:58Z")
In the Mel Brooks film _Silent Movie_ there were sound effects but only one word was actually spoken onscreen. That was the “No!”, from Marcel Marceau of all people. Hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/32 "2003-03-27T17:24:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kalhoun \* > \*\*Heh, heh. Eve said “weisenheimer.” Heh. \*\* If we all prod her, she’ll use more Yiddish and completely win each and every one of us over. Oh wait… 🙂 I loved the movie, I the white Jew. My cousins the half-blacks reported to me that they wept into their popcorn with laughter at some of the scenes. My kids, the full-blooded Koreans are too young to see such things as of yet. I’ll check back in about 6 years and let ya’ll know. It was very hard to go to the Howard Johnson’s across the street from Beaver College for ice cream, after seeing that movie… Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/33 "2003-03-27T17:45:39Z")
A slight hijack: There is possibly no better way to show your age than to break out with “I was born a poor black child” when asked to say a few words about yourself, and then suffer as teenagers look at you (a white person) in confused discomfort. I speak, sadly, from personal experience. What ever happened to the classics, people? ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/34 "2003-03-27T18:04:18Z")
Classic Mel Brooks! I love _Blazing Saddles_. I’m not black (another white Jew checking in here), but I think you’d have to work pretty hard at being offended by it. Aside from the Gene Wilder character, the black characters are the _only_ ones who _aren’t_ portrayed as either stupid, racist, power-hungry, cowardly, or all of the above at the same time. They’re uniformly the more heroic characters in the film. Where would the offense come from? ---
**Author:** ![bayonet1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bayonet1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bayonet1976)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/35 "2003-03-27T18:23:42Z")
The OP reminded me of a Bloom County strip with Steve (during his “sensitive man phase”),and his Mother, it went something like this: Mother:…colored people, blah blah Steve: Mom! Don’t say colored people, that’s offensive! Mom: Really? Sorry, Negroes then. Steve: No, no! That’s even worse. Mom: Blacks? Steve: Nope. Mom: Afro-american? Steve: People of color mom, people of color. Mom: Right, colored people. ---
**Author:** ![\_Deep\_F\_ied](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/7cd45c/32.png) [@\_Deep\_F\_ied](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Deep_F_ied)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/36 "2003-03-27T18:35:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by delphica \* > \*\*A slight hijack: > > There is possibly no better way to show your age than to break out with “I was born a poor black child” when asked to say a few words about yourself, and then suffer as teenagers look at you (a white person) in confused discomfort. I speak, sadly, from personal experience. > > What ever happened to the classics, people? \*\* Isn’t that from “The Jerk?” ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/37 "2003-03-27T20:23:59Z")
Not at all offensive, but not particularly funny. I have to admit it’s funnier than _The Producers_ or _Young Frankenstein_, though. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/38 "2003-03-27T20:35:22Z")
> [@](#): > > _chigger says:_ Now Buster Keaton - that dude makes me laugh. > > I guess I just march to a different beat. Hey now! There are some of us who love both! Mel was certainly no genius like Buster was, but he had one great year (1974) and, like **Weirddave** said, it’s gutsy and outrageous enough to not hedge one little bit like any “remake” would today. Hilarious film. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/39 "2003-03-27T20:56:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bayonet1976 \* > \*\*Steve: People of color mom, people of color. > Mom: Right, colored people. \*\* Good ol’ Berke Breathed. I think the message of this strip was that the whole ‘people of color’ thing is just a tad ridiculous. Mel Brookes manages to produce some great movies, and then a series of the worse dross imaginable. Some genius is very hit and miss, and more often the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393/40 "2003-03-27T21:01:18Z")
> [@](#): > > What ever happened to the classics, people? Lord loves a workin’ man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-of-color-was-blazing-saddles-offensive/164393.md?page=3)