# "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:** 9
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/161 "2024-06-24T23:05:43Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Ha! SNL touched on this subject when Jason Alexander hosted and he kept making gaffs regarding the identities of some black coworkers he just met. But to answer your question, I don’t know if it’d be better or worse but it’d be more relevant. You go into some far right or far left spaces and don’t say the magic words you might find a lot of anger directed your way. I was just wondering because years ago I once thought of a possible SNL sketch where Pat introduces their co-workers to their similar but hot-tempered cousin, Jamie (played by guest host Joe Pesci). ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/162 "2024-06-25T05:10:11Z")
Pat also had a similarly androgynous significant other named Chris, played by Dana Carvey. There was one scene where they were making out on the couch, and Chris squeals, “Ooh, you’re squishing them!” Women assumed that Chris was a man, and men thought Chris was a woman LOL. I was in college when the “Pat” thing was an ongoing sketch, and I got a blue shirt and brown pants that were several sizes too big, wrapped a beach towel around my midsection, and went to several Halloween parties at Pat, despite my (at the time) long hair. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/163 "2024-06-25T05:12:50Z")
It didn’t have to age badly. The movie was a dud. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/164 "2024-06-25T11:49:24Z")
The movies based on SNL sketch characters has decreased to almost nothing. They quit making money or being rated well. For that matter, there are much fewer recurring sketch characters to make any movies about: > **[List of Saturday Night Live feature films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saturday_Night_Live_feature_films)** > > The American sketch comedy TV series Saturday Night Live, which debuted on NBC in 1975, has been the genesis of 12 feature-length films. These films are based on some of the more popular sketches and characters from the show and have achieved varying levels of success. The first foray into film came with the successful Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi vehicle, The Blues Brothers (1980), which earned over $115 million on a $27 million budget. > In 1990, Lorne Michaels oversaw the writing of a sketch ... > **[List of recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recurring_Saturday_Night_Live_characters_and_sketches)** > > The following is a list of recurring Saturday Night Live sketches, organized by the season and date in which the sketch first appeared. > For an alphabetical list, see Recurring Saturday Night Live characters and sketches (listed alphabetically). ---
**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:** [June 25, 2024, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/165 "2024-06-25T12:11:49Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > That wouldn’t have worked (or at least not in the same way) if Pat had been touchy and lashed out). Right, it would have ruined the joke – which as mentioned was on the whole notion that _everyone else_ was awkwardly wondering, and did not want to misgender Pat _ **but** _ would not dare be so rude as to ask directly. It’s one of those “scenes that wouldn’t work the same in the 2020s” scenarios. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/166 "2024-06-25T14:57:30Z")
Of course it wouldn’t work in the 2020s, now that declaring one’s pronouns is common. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/167 "2024-06-25T15:25:03Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > now that declaring one’s pronouns is common. …and so is demanding to know what kind of genitals you’re packing. “It’s Pat!” today would be just an endless series of MAGA types harassing Pat everywhere they go. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/168 "2024-06-25T16:03:43Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Dad also told my sibs and me not to believe the party line about the JFK assassination. Did your dad give you strong evidence to counter the accepted explanation, or was it just a variation of “Don’t trust The Man, man!”? ---
**Author:** ![bryanmaguire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@bryanmaguire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bryanmaguire)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/169 "2024-06-28T12:51:17Z")
Or Ray Mears. That man has never missed a meal in his life. an ideal companion for a trip into the wild. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/170 "2024-06-28T15:57:06Z")
A contemporary sketch to the “Pat” sketches was “Lyle, The Effeminate Heterosexual.” Which is summarized by the title. Dana Carvey (Lyle) has effeminate mannerisms while consistently showing interest in masculine activities, drinking beer, playing poker, looking at Playboys, getting caught in bed with another woman, etc. But everyone, including his wife (once played by Julia Sweeney) thinks he’s gay anyway. That sketch might be more acceptable today because the landscape there (wrongly assuming orientation) hasn’t changed. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/171 "2024-06-28T16:11:17Z")
And the more recent counterpart to Lyle might be the sketch where a group of burly, tough-talking men at a body shop reveal themselves to be huge fans of _RuPaul’s Drag Race_, despite their efforts to deny it: > Yeah, my girlfriend loves that show. I think it’s on VH1 now? It used to be on, Logo, I think? > Yeah, I like Trinity Taylor. But she’s on the pageant circuit and those bitches never win it all. Or, I heard someone say that once, I think. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/172 "2024-06-28T17:19:45Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > A contemporary sketch to the “Pat” sketches was “Lyle, The Effeminate Heterosexual.” Which is summarized by the title. Dana Carvey (Lyle) If we’re talking “problematic” Dana Carvey recurring characters, it’s hard to top Ching Chang (i.e. “chicken make lousy house pet”). It was a jaw dropping racist caricature even for the time, yet they ran the character on at least four episodes. NBC seems to have gone out of its way to burn the clips from existence. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/173 "2024-06-28T17:52:37Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > If we’re talking “problematic” Dana Carvey recurring characters, it’s hard to top Ching Chang (i.e. “chicken make lousy house pet”). It was a jaw dropping racist caricature even for the time, yet they ran the character on at least four episodes. NBC seems to have gone out of its way to burn the clips from existence. I had to stop listening to the “Fly on the Wall” podcast, the one with Carvey and Spade about SNL, partly because they told the same stories every other episode, but also because they were doing way too much “They couldn’t do THAT sketch today!” horseshit yelling at clouds. At one point that awful character came up, and I think Carvey did a whole “Oh, no, I really shouldn’t, I’d _totally_ get cancelled, oh twist my arm…” and launched into it. Yeah, I’m done with those two. Their completely uncritical showcasing of Rob Schneider didn’t help either. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/174 "2024-06-28T19:05:01Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > And the more recent counterpart to Lyle might be the sketch where a group of burly, tough-talking men at a body shop reveal themselves to be huge fans of _RuPaul’s Drag Race_, despite their efforts to deny it: This amuses me. That’s a better way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/175 "2024-06-29T02:07:57Z")
Do you remember “Brain Injury Guy”? If you don’t, keep it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/176 "2024-06-29T02:11:47Z")
If you mean Massive Headwound Harry, ugh. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/177 "2024-06-29T02:19:11Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > At one point that awful character came up, and I think Carvey did a whole “Oh, no, I really shouldn’t, I’d _totally_ get cancelled, oh twist my arm…” and launched into it. The couple of times I’ve seen Carvey asked about “Ching Chang” in interviews, it’s clear he knows he’s supposed to disavow the character but he can’t for the life of him understand why it’s offensive. For those who haven’t had the pleasure I did manage to find a video: https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7257653285425794346 ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/178 "2024-06-29T02:59:58Z")
The 2008 film “Swing Vote” couldn’t be made today but that’s entirely because it was a dumb premise in the first place. Kevin Costner plays a guy who’s vote in a fictionalized 2008 US Presidential Election gets corrupted and apparently literally the entire US Election is a tie literally everywhere, and he has to cast the tie-breaking vote to determine the President since apparently his was the only vote that wasn’t properly tabulated. What was depicted as a wacky political comedy today would be a film about everybody trying to blackmail or kidnap Kevin Costner to try to get his vote. Can you imagine if a single man’s vote could throw the election in the 2020 Presidential Race and EVERYBODY knew it? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2024, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/179 "2024-06-29T14:14:46Z")
I think the upcoming film [_Fly Me to the Moon_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_Me_to_the_Moon_(2024_film)) is just going to gain more followers for the Moon landing conspiracy. It concerns an attempt to have a backup fake Moon landing staged in case the real one fails. _Capricorn 1_ (despite being about a Mars mission) also fed this nonsense. It’s not a documentary folks. The whole point is that it’s a comedy, you know, a joke. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076/180 "2024-06-29T18:07:09Z")
I saw this previewed, and wondered how they will handle the notion that there are incredulous people oir there, if they do at all. Great example for this thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problematic-or-potentially-harmful-film-television-shows/1001076.md?page=10)