# Is the movie Blazing Saddles simply a safe method of overt racism? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2013, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811 "2013-03-24T12:31:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/41 "2013-03-24T23:33:01Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I had almost forgot that one. In the full quote, didn’t Slim Pickens say that they would pull a #6 on them? And a #6 was where they go something like “wamping and wailing, killing and raping everything in town”? Them Interwebs tubes are an amazing way to look up stuff: > [@](#): > > **Hedley:** A “Number 6”? I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that one. > **Taggart:** Well, that’s where we go a-ridin’ into town, a-whompin’ and a-whumpin’ every livin’ thing that moves within an inch of its life… Except the women folks, of course. > **Hedley:** You spare the women? > \*\*Taggart: \*\*Naw, we rape the shit out of them at the Number Six Dance later on. > **Hedley:** Marvelous! How creative! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/42 "2013-03-25T07:34:35Z")
I’m sure it happens, but it’s not a problem worth worrying about. A racist having to hide his views is a GOOD THING. ---
**Author:** ![Frumpy\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Frumpy\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frumpy_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/43 "2013-03-25T07:45:51Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Some racist people will take any chance they can to publicly validate their views. Actually, this is true for any group of disenfranchised viewholder, not just racists. It doesn’t matter that the source really doesn’t support their view… I think this is why brokeback mountain was so well received by republicans… ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/44 "2013-03-25T14:34:42Z")
Tagart: I got it, we’ll kill each first born male child. _comic beat_ Hedley: Too Jewish Not racist, because centuries have passed? I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/45 "2013-03-25T16:43:45Z")
I think it’s fairly clear that the movie taken as a whole is anti-racist, and it is anti-racist throughout rather than an hour and a half celebrating racism followed by a half-hour condemning it. If someone wants to be offended they can say “yes, but look at this one bit,” as one can for many works, but it requires ignoring the moral stance of the movie and how the audience is intended and expected to respond to that one scene, as in many works. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/46 "2013-03-25T17:15:20Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > The Title says it all.. Even my liberal friends laugh at the racial jokes. The movie could never be scripted today in that method. Is it fair to laugh at N word jokes from that movie while understanding that such conduct would be scorned today? > > Is it really white people who can get their racist fears out by telling N word jokes through that movie? Considering that Mel Brooks (Jewish) and Richard Pryor (Black and one of the bluest comedians of his time) wrote it, I saw it as a send up of racism. Not a license to practice it, but seeing how ridiculous racism is. One could draw parallels between Sheriff Bart and President Obama. The movie skewers racism that has been practiced in this country since its inception. But EVERY race/orientation is skewered. Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Methodists, Jews, Rednecks, White Supremacists, Homosexuals…that’s what makes it so funny. ..but, you are correct in that it could not be scripted today…well maybe Quentin Tarantino could…with Spike Lee, GLAAD, the NAACP, and the Tea Party condemning it. Note: It’s playing on the big screen out here in May. And I will be lined up to see it…More beans, Mr. Taggart? ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/47 "2013-03-25T17:28:14Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > …Yes, the movie makes racists look like fools, but in 2013, a person couldn’t simply make a joke outside of the context of the movie without being accused of racism. Some people simply wouldn’t get the jokes, which might contribute to them being thought of as racists. I had to explain the following to some teenagers (who have no historical reference points because, well, they’re teenagers): Lil Von Shtup (Shtup being Yiddish for “fornicate”) as a Marlene Dietrich parody. “Excuse me while I whip this out” (Stereotypes and Porn Tropes) “Laurel and Hardy handshake” (Comedic Pun) Heddy Lamar..That’s Hedley Lamar! (WTF is Heddy Lamar?) William J. Lepetomaine (Well known to Dopers, of course) As an example: What if President Obama, in response to John Boehner’s stonewalling over the budget had said, “You’d do it for George Bush”? And had his aides sing “George H.W. Bush” a beat behind it? I think that most of the old farts in that room would have fell over laughing. The younger ones would have scratched their heads… ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/48 "2013-03-25T17:33:28Z")
It isn’t just anti-racism it is a parody of Western’s that pretty much up to that time white-washed (no pun intended) the racism of the period. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/49 "2013-03-25T19:04:37Z")
One of the fun facts, IIRC, is that the Jewish writers wrote the black jokes, and Pryor wrote a lot of the Jewish jokes. I’ll have to re-check the director’s commentary on the DVD to confirm. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/50 "2013-03-25T19:37:19Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Mel Brooks and company made a movie mocking racism and Hollywood. But it is racist and a Hollywood movie. The movie isn’t racist. Many of the characters are, and the joke is on them because Bart (and Jim, and later the townspeople) outsmart the racists. The bigots lose in every way. The gay jokes are a little different, by the way: there aren’t any jokes at the expense of Bart or the other black characters, but the gay characters are just stereotypes. In hindsight it’s uncomfortable. There are a lot of the same kinds of jokes in the movie-musical version of The Producers, and if you’ve seen that, maybe you know what I mean. It feels dated and not very funny, at least to me. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/51 "2013-03-25T19:45:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The word nigger is a symptom of racism not a cause of it. If you could eliminate the word completely from the English language and never have it spoken or written again, you wouldn’t have eliminated racism. Racists would just use other ways to manifest their mindset. i.e. “Keyan Socialist” > [@silenus](#): > > One of the fun facts, IIRC, is that the Jewish writers wrote the black jokes, and Pryor wrote a lot of the Jewish jokes. I’ll have to re-check the director’s commentary on the DVD to confirm. If I remeber right, Pryor also gave us Mongo! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/52 "2013-03-25T19:55:22Z")
I wonder which of the writers was the conga fan. Probably Pryor as well. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/53 "2013-03-26T12:05:27Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > One of the fun facts, IIRC, is that the Jewish writers wrote the black jokes, and Pryor wrote a lot of the Jewish jokes. I’ll have to re-check the director’s commentary on the DVD to confirm. Who came up with the idea to have the Indians speak Yiddish? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/54 "2013-03-26T12:49:06Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Who came up with the idea to have the Indians speak Yiddish? The Mormon. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/55 "2013-03-26T13:41:33Z")
Mongo straight! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/56 "2013-03-26T13:43:44Z")
Mongo only pawn in game of Life. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_from\_CB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/278dde/32.png) [@Alex\_from\_CB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_from_CB)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/57 "2013-03-26T17:25:13Z")
I think thos line Taggart (Slim Pickens) line would be more problematic than the _N. Word_ if this film were to be released to today… " they were dancing around like a bunch of Kansas City Faggots…" Not sure that line was written in the same spirit as the other lines. Also, wasn’t there another Gay pejorative said by the Dom DeLuise character at the end? Amazing to me this film was made in the same year as\* Young Frankenstein.\* That’s 2 big league projects in a single calendar year. Fun fact… there are Nazi’s in every Mel Brooks movie made. Anyone here speak…Gibberish? ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/58 "2013-03-26T17:40:48Z")
> [@Alex\_from\_CB](#): > > Also, wasn’t there another Gay pejorative said by the Dom DeLuise character at the end? “Sounds like steam escaping” [keeping tempo with foot] “And..Watch…Me…Faggots!” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/59 "2013-03-26T17:56:38Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > “Sounds like steam escaping” > [keeping tempo with foot] “And..Watch…Me…Faggots!” He also called them “Sissy Marys”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811/60 "2013-03-26T18:12:20Z")
> [@Alex\_from\_CB](#): > > Fun fact… there are Nazi’s in every Mel Brooks movie made. Really? I’ll admit it’s been a while since I’ve watched them but I don’t remember any Nazi’s in _The Twelve Chairs_, _High Anxiety_, _Life Stinks_, _Spaceballs_, _Robin Hood: Men in Tights_, or _Dracula: Dead and Loving It_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-movie-blazing-saddles-simply-a-safe-method-of-overt-racism/653811.md?page=4)