# They wouldn't fly now **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825 "2022-04-14T14:24:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/101 "2022-04-16T02:55:12Z")
I don’t see why Airplane! and Blazing Saddles couldn’t be made now. Blazing Saddles was not a family movie and wouldn’t be considered one now. Airplane! was a family movie and extremely tame. These days there will be a chorus from protesters arguing that the use of certain words and jokes are beyond the pale but then be ignored by all the people who have laughed their asses off when they watched the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/102 "2022-04-16T03:02:28Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Why do [half the respondents](https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgm9vd/republicans-democrats-pedophiles-poll) of one major party answer polls saying they think the leaders of the other party are pedophiles who drink the blood of babies? Hey, 49% of Republicans didn’t say they believed the blood-drinking part, just that “top Democrats are involved in elite child sex-trafficking rings". Nothing insane about that, right? Please tell me that’s actually an Onion story. Bizarrely, the poll found that about 1 in 8 people who identified as Democrats, voted for Biden and/or considered themselves very liberal, _believe the same thing_. “Uh, no, I don’t support that part of the platform, but they’re OK on other issues.” One hopes _a lot_ of people lie to pollsters these days, but one may well be disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/103 "2022-04-16T03:08:35Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I’m a lot of things, but “bitter old man” sure ain’t one of them. Carol, you are certainly _not_ one of the Good 'Ol Boys who bitch about “cancel culture”. And I agree with you on believing that many scenes of both those movies are cringe-worthy now, but to say that no one can make a movie with cringey or “problematic” scenes today… do we really know that? I think we assume that if there were an outcry, that would shut down production… but I don’t think we’ve become that uptight. I believe that if a tasteless Airplane! remake (“Space-EX!” or “Jeffy’s Penis Rocket!”) came out tomorrow, with the line “Ever seen a grown man naked?” (or my favorite “Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?”) that some people would indeed speak out against it. Which would be invaluable publicity for the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/104 "2022-04-16T03:10:04Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > , but I sure can imagine there being an outcry if somehow it was. I’m sure you can. It’s easy for people with a persecution complex to imagine all sorts of scenarios where they’re a martyr. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/105 "2022-04-16T03:28:07Z")
I 100% agree with @digs’s post above. But @Chingon, it’s weird that you’d think I have a “persecution complex.” Dunno what gave you that idea. I’m merely observing. But I’ll opine a little. I’m a big free speech advocate. With the exception of speech that incites hatred or violence, I am strongly in favor of letting people say whatever the hell they want. I feel like “cancel culture” is also part of that free speech. You think something is downright appalling, or just insufficiently woke, and you want to protest by encouraging people to not watch/not buy/write the show’s producers/whatever? Hey, that’s an excellent use of your free speech. Go for it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/106 "2022-04-16T03:41:34Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > When I say that “Airplane” wouldn’t fly now, all I mean is it would not be MADE as a new movie now in exactly the same way. > [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t see why Airplane! and Blazing Saddles couldn’t be made now. _Airplane!_ and _Blazing Saddles_ wouldn’t be made the same way today because they derive so much of their comedy from subverting their audiences’ expectations, and today’s audiences have different expectations (partly because of having seen those very films and many others released between then and now). But people are still making comedies that are shocking or edgy or subversive. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/107 "2022-04-16T03:51:49Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > Thought the movie “Gigi” was disgusting at the time. It’s about Leslie Caron getting the best price for her virginity. No it is not about that. It is about a girl growing up and choosing between commerce (which she had been taught) and love (which she learned by herself). The fact that she was willing to be that particular man’s mistress was not for the loot but because she loved him. Then he found himself disgusted by what she had apparently become, because he loved her too much to treat her as he generally treated his mistresses. It is not a particularly easy story because it is set in a time, a place, and a morality so different from our own. But it is not an immoral story by any standard (setting aside the very experienced great-aunt who tried to teach Gigi how to get the best price for all her assets, and who failed). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/108 "2022-04-16T04:06:03Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > _Airplane!_ and _Blazing Saddles_ wouldn’t be made the same way today because they derive so much of their comedy from subverting their audiences’ expectations, and today’s audiences have different expectations (partly because of having seen those very films and many others released between then and now). Certainly the world is very different from the times the movies were originally made and the movies would need to be completely rewritten within the context of the modern world or have never existed in the first place. In the latter case the world be very different now from the way it is, and that logical incoherence is a good reason to follow the former option. I’m just saying there is no gag or bit or scene from the originals that would have to be censored as socially unallowable or for financial and/or marketing reasons. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/109 "2022-04-16T04:22:07Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I grew up in the '50s, and always called them Brazil nuts. I didn’t hear the other name till I was an adult. I remember during my childhood (1950’s) hearing my grandfather calling them by the “other name” several times. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/110 "2022-04-16T04:34:08Z")
Here’s one that wouldn’t fly today. Anybody who even attempted to air something like this would be crucified for “being misogynistic” or some such idiocy. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3_a6JQ0QwDk/maxresdefault.jpg "Al Hires A Woman To Repair The Fridge | Married With Children") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_a6JQ0QwDk) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/111 "2022-04-16T04:40:05Z")
Pepé Le Pew ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/112 "2022-04-16T09:00:23Z")
That’s pretty tame for Married…with Children. The show runs repeatedly on LOGO, the LBGTQ+ inspired channel. I’m sure they air that episode. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/113 "2022-04-16T09:39:55Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > Anybody who even attempted to air something like this would be crucified for “being misogynistic” or some such idiocy. You say that as if people weren’t saying it about Married With Children _while it was on the air_. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/114 "2022-04-16T11:28:07Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > setting aside the very experienced great-aunt who tried to teach Gigi how to get the best price for all her assets, and who failed And the male dialogue. I do admire your positive attitude. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/115 "2022-04-16T17:24:52Z")
I keep getting confused thinking ya’ll are talking about “Gigli.” And I did have a teacher who used a breadboard on “bad” students quite frequently. This was in 1982. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/116 "2022-04-16T17:27:04Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I keep getting confused thinking ya’ll are talking about “Gigli.” Didn’t fly then, still won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/117 "2022-04-16T19:53:22Z")
Two from the UK. Banzai! - a spoof Japanese gambling show with caricaturish Japanese presenters. Awful racial stereotypes, really, but passed off as a bit of fun at the time (and it could be extraordinarily funny; different times, y’know?). Minipops - where to start? > **[Minipops](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minipops)** > > Minipops is a television series broadcast in 1983 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. Designed primarily for younger viewers, it consisted of music performances on a brightly coloured set featuring preteen children singing then-contemporary pop music hits and older classics. The children were usually made to look like the original performers, including clothing and make-up. Controversy over children singing songs that often contained a subtext of adult content (in adult costumes and make-up) l... > Though the series was a success for Channel 4 (gaining 2,000,000 viewers), little thought was given to the ethics of child performers singing songs originally written for older artists and dressing and dancing in a provocative style (often influenced by the original performance). Whilst embraced by children who loved the idea of ordinary children singing and dancing (as they did) along with their favourite songs, the show sat uneasily with some adults; this was capped by a performance from Joanna Fisher, who covered the Sheena Easton song “9 to 5” in nightclothes and included the lyrics “night time is the right time, we make love”. To be fair, the show received quite a kicking at the time. This from The Observer: > Is it merely priggish to feel queasy at the sight of primary school minxes with rouged cheeks, eye make-up and full-gloss lipstick belting out songs like torch singers and waggling those places where they will eventually have places? The final act of last week’s show featured a chubby blonde totlette, thigh-high to a paedophile, in a ra-ra skirt and high heels; her black knickers were extensively flashed as she bounced around singing the words ‘See that guy all dressed in green/He’s not a man, he’s a loving machine.’ Kiddie porn, a shop-window full of junior jailbait? And does the show thrust premature sexual awareness onto its wide-eyed performers? You can find clips of both online, but I’m not going to link to them. There is also a sort of mini documentary on Minipops (a couple of minutes long) which explains what happened at the time (but which does contain clips from the show) that it might be helpful to link to - if a passing Mod reads this I’d be happy to take guidance as to whether making the link is a good idea. j ---
**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:** [April 16, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/118 "2022-04-16T19:58:16Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Banzai! - a spoof Japanese gambling show with caricaturish Japanese presenters. Awful racial stereotypes, really, but passed off as a bit of fun at the time (and it could be extraordinarily funny; different times, y’know?). Banzai! Ran for a little while in the USA on Fox. I don’t remember any outrage. It just didn’t get good ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/119 "2022-04-16T20:01:52Z")
Like I said, different times. j ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825/120 "2022-04-16T20:04:21Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Hey, 49% of Republicans didn’t say they believed the blood-drinking part, just that “top Democrats are involved in elite child sex-trafficking rings". Nothing insane about that, right? Thereby , by the rule of “Whatever the GOP is accusing the Dems are doing, they are actually doing themselves”… 😱 🤪 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/they-wouldnt-fly-now/962825.md?page=7)