# They could never make (Insert old movie or show) today! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894 "2022-10-27T19:33:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![HorribleMutantBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/258eb7/32.png) [@HorribleMutantBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorribleMutantBoy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/61 "2022-10-28T18:19:48Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > I think those types really think there is a conspiracy… Yep, and with all other right wing conspiracies they all end up being blamed on the Jews somehow. One has to wonder where those Jews find the time. ---
**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:** [October 28, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/62 "2022-10-28T18:25:19Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > OK, let’s use a real-world example: misogynistic jerks who don’t like seeing female characters as the leads in action movies (and don’t like female actresses who aren’t stereotypically gorgeous). They have bitched and protested against the Rey and Rose characters in the _Star Wars_ sequels, the “Lady Thor” character in _Thor: Love and Thunder_, etc. > > They’ve made many angry posts on social media, and informal boycotts; they’ve also engaged in severe online harassment of female actors whom they haven’t liked in those films and shows (such as Kelly Marie Tran, who played Rose in the Star Wars sequels, and Moses Ingram, who played Reva in the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series). > > But, on the whole, they are a small (if vocal) group of trolls. I still disagree. Yes, there were men who protested against _Mad Max: Fury Road_. But those protests didn’t stop the production of _The Force Awakens_. And there were men who protested against _The Force Awakens_. But those protests didn’t stop the production of _Ghostbusters_. And there were men who protested against _Ghostbusters_. But those protests didn’t stop the production of _Wonder Woman_. And there were men who protested against _Wonder Woman_. But those protests didn’t stop the production of _Ocean’s 8_. And there were men who protested against _Oceans 8_. But those protests didn’t stop the production of _Birds of Prey_. And there were men who protested against _Birds of Prey_. But those protests didn’t stop the production of _Black Widow_. And there were men who protested against _Black Widow_. But those protests didn’t stop the production of _Thor: Love and Thunder_. There have been men protesting against every action movie with a female lead. And studios ignore their protests and keep making those movies. I feel this illustrates what I said. A protest is a dead end unless it reflects general public opinion. A protest against a movie for being racist is only going to matter if most people are opposed to racism. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/63 "2022-10-28T18:28:25Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > I’m interested in exploring a claim that I see all the time in reference to movies or shows from previous eras that, it is claimed, could never be made today. My exploration has led to the discovery of BALONEY … lots of it! It’s actually the other way around. Many of the movies made today could have never been made decades ago without looking completely ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/64 "2022-10-28T18:43:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I feel this illustrates what I said. A protest is a dead end unless it reflects general public opinion. > > A protest against a movie for being racist is only going to matter if most people are opposed to racism. Or, at least, a significant number (not just a relatively small number of loudmouthed trolls). You don’t feel that “most people are opposed to racism”? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/65 "2022-10-28T19:03:15Z")
For years, I’ve said that they couldn’t make _Blazing Saddles_ today. Then Mel Brooks goes and proves me wrong: _[ Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paws_of_Fury:_The_Legend_of_Hank)_ That movie is SO MUCH a remake of Blazing Saddles that they gave Richard Pryor a writing credit! ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/66 "2022-10-28T19:16:39Z")
I have never heard of this movie, but now I will have to watch it! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/67 "2022-10-28T19:28:25Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > _“Withnail and I”_ has a fair amount of good-natured drinking. There’s a lot of drinking, but “good-natured”? Naah. Withnail is a bitter alcoholic, not a happy drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/68 "2022-10-28T19:38:08Z")
Animated. Blazing Saddles plot with Fists of Fury setting with cute fuzzy animals. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/69 "2022-10-28T19:56:27Z")
I wonder if like in “Airplane!”, a grey haired Peter Graves with his arm around a twelve year old boy asking the questions “Do you like gladiator movies?” and “Have you ever been to a Turkish prison?” would fly today. When I watched the movie as a twelve year old boy myself in the theater in 1980, these jokes went totally over my head, but when I rewatched it with about 20, I was smart enough to get them and found them hilarious. But those were times when the scale of child abuse in our societies wasn’t already generally known, and I think that now it’s a subject you don’t joke about anymore. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/70 "2022-10-28T20:00:37Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > The show’s creators claim to make fun of everyone equally, but still, I wonder why that show is so seemingly offensive but so successful at the same time. I think it’s the success. They’re proven winners and have a large & reliable fanbase. Comedy Central isn’t really taking any risks letting them do what they do (and so well). ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/71 "2022-10-28T20:13:12Z")
_Family Guy_ still plays a pedophile for laughs. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/72 "2022-10-28T21:16:43Z")
The Hays Code was the Comics Code Authority of movies 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/73 "2022-10-28T21:50:16Z")
Three things worth nothing regarding _Birth of a Nation_: 1. The KKK was pretty much dead, and this film caused its revival, much to the shock of the director, DW Griffith. 2. Other people in Hollywood thought Griffith was unforgivably naïve not to have foreseen a, to put it mildly, bad outcome, and the accusations of racism began way back in 1915, so it’s not a recent phenomenon. 3. The “Sheesh, guys, it’s a freaking _movie_” defense goes back just as far. And even carried some water then, because no one took “flickers” very seriously in 1915, and this was the first one to move people to some kind of action. These are just historical footnotes, and are not to be construed as me defending the film. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/74 "2022-10-28T22:29:30Z")
Like all things, it’s all about punching up or punching down. Blazing Saddles is about punching up. But there’s a lot of older movies that punch down, especially movies featuring a gay/trans-panic plotline. Take Ace Ventura. It’s a silly movie about a very silly man. Except that everyone kinda forgets that the climax of the movie is Ace finding out that the real killer is a transgender woman posing as a police captain. Which he reveals by showing that she still has a penis. Cue multiple male characters acting in disgust because they “kissed a dude”. Hardyharhar. Never would get made today. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/75 "2022-10-28T23:00:41Z")
> [@ArtBeforeScience](#): > > The chant “Gooble gooble gobble gobble, One. Of. Us” will live in my memory forever Today I learned what the Ramones song “Pinhead” is all about. Thanks for the education. ---
**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:** [October 28, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/76 "2022-10-28T23:54:01Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > You don’t feel that “most people are opposed to racism”? I feel most people are opposed to racism. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/77 "2022-10-29T00:00:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I feel most people are opposed to racism. Fair enough; as you had, earlier, replied to me with: > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A protest against a movie for being racist is only going to matter if most people are opposed to racism. Do you still feel that, in this hypothetical situation, there would not be effective / large-scale protests against the studio and financiers? It seems like you and I are in agreement that the “protests” by a small minority of misogynistic trolls against films and shows that featured females in leading roles weren’t effective. Do you see how, at least IMO, this would be a different kind of situation? ---
**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:** [October 29, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/78 "2022-10-29T00:23:16Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > > A protest against a movie for being racist is only going to matter if most people are opposed to racism. > > Do you still feel that, in this hypothetical situation, there would not be effective / large-scale protests against the studio and financiers? > > It seems like you and I are in agreement that the “protests” by a small minority of misogynistic trolls against films and shows that featured females in leading roles weren’t effective. Do you see how, at least IMO, this would be a different kind of situation? I feel this is the distinction I’ve been making. A company’s decision whether or not to finance a movie isn’t based on their assessment of whether the content of the movie will draw protests; it’s based on their assessment of whether there will be widespread public disapproval of the content. As we’ve noted, people have protested against female representation in movies without it having any substantial effect of what movies are made. I feel that’s because these protests aren’t backed up by public opinion. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/79 "2022-10-29T00:25:23Z")
But if I’m understanding your position correctly, you hold that protests can affect movie making, even when the protesters do not have the support of public opinion behind them. And that’s the position I question. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2022, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894/80 "2022-10-29T00:29:12Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But if I’m understanding your position correctly, you hold that protests can affect movie making, even when the protesters do not have the support of public opinion behind them. Nope, you still aren’t understanding what I’m saying, and I honestly think that you and I are in agreement. I’m saying that, if a big studio made an overtly racist film, they would be roundly criticized and protested against, _and_ that those protests would have an impact, _because_ those protests reflect the majority of public opinion. And, yes, that’s why no major movie studio would make an overtly racist film – not just because it would appeal to a relatively small audience, _but_ because it would also be a PR nightmare for the studio, due to _widespread_ public outrage. All of those protests that you and I have both mentioned, from misogynistic trolls, _didn’t_ have a significant impact on the studios, or the choices that they’ve made on films and shows to produce, because they _didn’t_ have the weight of wide public support. (However, those trolls absolutely did, and still do, have a horrible impact on the actors and creators whom they have targeted for harassment.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-could-never-make-insert-old-movie-or-show-today/973894.md?page=5)