# "Problematic" or potentially harmful Film/Television Shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2024, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076 "2024-05-02T17:55:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/41 "2024-05-03T18:18:47Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > On the flip side, Ollie and Andy are voiced by Sarah Silverman and her sister. Most male children in animation are voiced by adult women. Aside from not having to deal with all the hassles of hiring child actors, you can keep Bart Simpson as an eight year old for thirty years without having to recast. ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/42 "2024-05-03T20:19:12Z")
My sister-in-law wasn’t allowed to watch _Hogan’s Heroes_ when she was a child. Her mother’s reason was, “There’s nothing funny about Nazis.” She was right. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/43 "2024-05-03T20:45:31Z")
Colonel Klink was played by a Jew and the son of Holocaust survivors. He took the role on the condition that the Nazis never be portrayed in a positive light. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/44 "2024-05-03T21:12:28Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > But it’s stupid how they wrote it, because this specific time, this was not the case. It’s been a long time since I saw that episode, but I thought that was the point. The crime had nothing to do with race, but the victim was Black therefore it was a hate crime. > [@Horatius](#): > > An episode based entirely around the creators lambasting the viewers for laughing at a racist joke the creators themselves made, and kept pushing for years It may be racist, but the joke is meta. There is one Black character, and that character’s name is Token (sic). They’re making fun of themselves for being racist, even if they’re still being racist by only including one Black character (and later his family). ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/45 "2024-05-03T21:12:38Z")
It’s true that the Nazis were never portrayed in a positive light, but they were always portrayed as inept and often as gullible. Not in the least scary. We ought to be scared of Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/46 "2024-05-03T21:19:22Z")
If only they’d made a spinoff like Mad Magazine suggested: [![](https://i0.wp.com/www.dailycartoonist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/hochmans-heroes.jpg?ssl=1) ](https://i0.wp.com/www.dailycartoonist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/hochmans-heroes.jpg?ssl=1) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/47 "2024-05-03T21:33:45Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Colonel Klink was played by a Jew and the son of Holocaust survivors. He took the role on the condition that the Nazis never be portrayed in a positive light. Werner Klemperer wasn’t the son of Holocaust survivors, although he almost certainly lost family to it. His parents moved to the US in '33, when Klemperer was ~13. However, Robert Clary, who played LaBeau, was in Buchenwald. Also, John Banner, who played Sgt. Schultz, was an Austrian Jew who was fortunate enough to be touring when Hitler annexed Austria, and was able to escape to America. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2024, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/48 "2024-05-03T21:38:26Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > It’s been a long time since I saw that episode, but I thought that was the point. The crime had nothing to do with race, but the victim was Black therefore it was a hate crime. Is that what a hate crime is? If it’s not, and that’s “the joke”, then their argument against hate crimes is based on a strawman of what a hate crime is. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/49 "2024-05-04T00:19:36Z")
I do appreciate that! And like **scabpicker** said, that’s why I chose her as my avatar. She’s smart and she’s hot. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/50 "2024-05-04T00:28:21Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > But in the show the folks who spend time speculating about whether she’s genetically a woman are generally presented as idiots. On the other hand, she is presented as an incredibly capable person and sexually attractive to a lot of characters. She’s a great character. And for anyone who hasn’t seen the show, while I refer to it as a running gag it’s infrequent and not a particularly important part of the character. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/51 "2024-05-04T00:39:03Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > > [@DocCathode](#): > > > > Colonel Klink was played by a Jew and the son of Holocaust survivors. He took the role on the condition that the Nazis never be portrayed in a positive light. > > Werner Klemperer wasn’t the son of Holocaust survivors, although he almost certainly lost family to it. His parents moved to the US in '33, when Klemperer was ~13. However, Robert Clary, who played LaBeau, was in Buchenwald. Also, John Banner, who played Sgt. Schultz, was an Austrian Jew who was fortunate enough to be touring when Hitler annexed Austria, and was able to escape to America. Leon Askin who played General Burkhalter was also an Austrian Jew who fled Europe. His escape was pretty harrowing. Howard Caine who played Major Hochstetter was also Jewish but he was a banjo playing Tennessean. Banner, Askin and Caine were all WWII U.S. veterans. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/52 "2024-05-04T00:40:29Z")
> [@anny\_m](#): > > My sister-in-law wasn’t allowed to watch _Hogan’s Heroes_ when she was a child. My dad didn’t want us watching HH either, for the same reasons. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/53 "2024-05-04T02:30:11Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > If it’s not, and that’s “the joke”, then their argument against hate crimes is based on a strawman of what a hate crime is. I think I didn’t explain well.\[1\] The way I remember it, and I could be wrong, the authorities in the show, police, school, etc, think it was a hate crime because the victim was Black, even though his race was unrelated to the motive for the crime. Therefore Cartman is punished for committing a hate crime. The writers may be creating a strawman and knocking it down, but the writer’s point is that hate crime laws are stupid. It is a similar theme to the one where the kids don’t understand why the flag is racist. It’s some sort of “not seeing color” brand of white “I’m not racist” sentiment. Not saying I agree with the themes, and I’m certainly not going to defend it, just that is my understanding of what Parker and Stone are trying to say. * * * 1. what is it they say about explaining jokes? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/54 "2024-05-04T02:41:09Z")
Aww crap. I remembered incorrectly. Slink away, Doc. Slink away. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/55 "2024-05-04T03:39:30Z")
In comments on reactions to the film Falling Down there is sometimes an uncomfortable amount of hero worship for Michael Douglas’ character who is clearly not mentally stable. But there are plenty of folks out there who think that you should be able to pull out a gun when you miss your fast food breakfast by one minute. For similar, real-life toxicity, see any comments section on anything to do with the Killdozer story. So many people think that guy was one hundred percent correct to go on a rampage. They completely miss the idea that perhaps this was not the best solution to his problems. ETA: see also Joker. I have not seen that movie but oh boy have I seen a lot of angry incel shit inspired by it. I have nothing against people with mental illness but I feel like hero worship of people who lash out violently because they’re mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore is not a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/56 "2024-05-04T03:56:11Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > In comments on reactions to the film Falling Down there is sometimes an uncomfortable amount of hero worship for Michael Douglas’ character who is clearly not mentally stable. But there are plenty of folks out there who think that you should be able to pull out a gun when you miss your fast food breakfast by one minute. _Falling Down_ is one of those movies that immediately comes to mind when I think about trailers that are a bait & switch. i.e. The movie I went to see seems very different from what I expected based on the trailer. From watching the trailer, I expected Douglas’ character to be just a normal guy who finally reached his breaking point. But as I was watching the movie this didn’t appear to be a good characterization of Douglas at all. Dude was unhinged before the movie started, there was a reason his wife left him after all, and while Douglas thought he was the good guy he finds out at the end he was a bad guy. It boggles my mind that anyone could watch that movie and think Douglas was the good guy. But then some people watch _The Boys_ and think Homelander is the good guy. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/57 "2024-05-04T04:29:21Z")
Ok. I don’t understand what you’re objecting to with my original point. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/58 "2024-05-04T21:44:56Z")
> [@anny\_m](#): > > My sister-in-law wasn’t allowed to watch _Hogan’s Heroes_ when she was a child. Her mother’s reason was, “There’s nothing funny about Nazis.” Leonid Kinsky (most famous as Sasha the bartender in _Casablanca_) played a Russian prisoner in the pilot, but declined to become a regular when it went to series. He had a similar reaction: “Nazis were rarely stupid and never funny.” ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/59 "2024-05-04T23:47:43Z")
Just curious if you and others feel the same way about other media dealing with Nazi’s like **JoJo Rabbit** , or **The Producers**? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2024, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/60 "2024-05-05T00:55:44Z")
I haven’t seen JoJo Rabbit (Though I’d like to). I’ve seen the original producers and the musical version. Both are hillarious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076.md?page=4)