# You consider yourself open-mined, yet (fill in the blank/this old movie)still made you say "WTF?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 5, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385 "2014-04-05T00:06:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/61 "2014-04-08T22:01:06Z")
A lot of classic movies being mentioned here, but my WTF moments are from two relatively more recent films: Brown Bunny, in which even a great oral sex scene at the end of the movie isn’t worth the time it takes to get there. The entire movie is a WTF, as in WTF, Vincent Gallo, were you thinking when you wrote and starred, and directed this excrescence? Even worse, why did I sit through it? Even Rubber was a bit of a WTF, but at least it had the distinction of giving you advance warning! Admittedly, I did rather enjoy this one; I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy a movie about a suddenly sentient, psychopathic car tire? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/62 "2014-04-08T22:17:50Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Or Judy Garland in _[Everybody Sings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Y2Ll24GRU)_. Careful. Cannot be unseen. . . . Intersting to note that the name she give is “[Something] Washington.” Even back then it was noted that that name was more common among Blacks than Whites. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/63 "2014-04-08T23:49:00Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Or Judy Garland in _[Everybody Sings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Y2Ll24GRU)_. Careful. Cannot be unseen. > > Also, _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_. Aside from being, IMHO, a terrible adaptation of the book, WTF, Mickey Rooney? And Audrey Hepburn is way too old for that role; granted, she does the best she can, and plays it the way it is written, but it’s one thing for a 19-year-old to live like that, and another for a 32-year-old. [Judy leaves no stereotype unturned.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzrOMXOJwjE) ---
**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:** [April 8, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/64 "2014-04-08T23:51:53Z")
There’s a trope of the Magical Negro, which explains why so often in films there is no romance between a black and a white main character, even though it might make sense for there to be one in that film: > **[Magical Negro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Negro)** > > The Magical Negro is a trope in American cinema, television, and literature. In the cinema of the United States, the Magical Negro is a supporting stock character who comes to the aid of white protagonists in a film. Magical Negro characters, who often possess special insight or mystical powers, have long been a tradition in American fiction. > A trope, the term Magical Negro was popularized in 2001 by film director Spike Lee, while discussing films with students during a tour of college campuse... Part of it is that he is “a benign figure for whom interracial sexual congress holds no interest.” ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/65 "2014-04-09T01:00:14Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > It’s even more WTF? than that. Very few people had seen a gorilla in 1931 (pre-code), and a lot of people believed what I guess was a sort of UL that they were actually a race of strong, hairy humans. Considering that most white people in the US in 1931 thought black Africans were something fundamentally different from white people, and more bestial, the idea that apes were just hairy types of Africans made sense to some people. The actresses in _Inagi_ were white women in blackface, or it might be the original blaxploitation movie. > > It did inspire\* King Kong\*, which then inspired the rest of those films, so no, it really wasn’t about bestiality, as much as a meme that got thoroughly played out in no time flat. By 1949, a twist on the gorilla movie was the pretty girl in charge of the giant ape, instead of being vulnerable to him. > > FWIW, in 1931, most people’s reaction to _Inagi_ was WTF? On the other hand, DeMille might have been simply doing the traditional Hollywood reworking of an earlier gag, this time with gorillas. Back in 1919 he’d dressed poor [Gloria Swanson](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mmzjubEGIi4) in a wedding dress and chucked her in with a lion. (Links to video of her recounting the experience) ---
**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:** [April 9, 2014, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/66 "2014-04-09T01:31:50Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > On the other hand, DeMille might have been simply doing the traditional Hollywood reworking of an earlier gag, this time with gorillas. Back in 1919 he’d dressed poor [Gloria Swanson](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mmzjubEGIi4) in a wedding dress and chucked her in with a lion. (Links to video of her recounting the experience) OMG, I’d forgotten about that. I’m glad I’m not Mrs. DeMille. He had some strange concept of the purpose of marriage. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/67 "2014-04-09T14:03:32Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > There were those weird _Baby Burlesk_ movies in the 30s. Shirley Temple made her film debut in one of them. Speaking of Shirley Temple, the premise of _The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer_ made me go WTF. A notorious playboy is found with a 17-year-old girl in his apartment late at night and is arrested. The judge, who happens to be the girl’s older sister, “punishes” him by forcing him to date said girl. What the …? ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/68 "2014-04-09T14:06:47Z")
My apologies. Apparently I can’t read, otherwise I would have realized the thread was about older movies and my post was pretty much irrelevant. D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/69 "2014-04-09T16:20:30Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Speaking of Shirley Temple, the premise of _The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer_ made me go WTF. A notorious playboy is found with a 17-year-old girl in his apartment late at night and is arrested. The judge, who happens to be the girl’s older sister, “punishes” him by forcing him to date said girl. What the …? Two other amazing things about that film: (1) It was written by Sidney Sheldon (2) It won the Oscar for Best Screenplay over masterpieces **Shoeshine, Monsieur Verdoux** and **Body and Soul**. And even the other nominee **A Double Life** is exponentially better. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/70 "2014-04-09T16:34:43Z")
I used to be open-mined, but the bismuth vein in my left shoulder blade ran out. Now Asscrack City is all but a ghost town. If it weren’t for the fertilizer plant nearby… ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/71 "2014-04-09T16:52:09Z")
Here’s one you might not have expected: [Häxan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A4xan), aka _Witchcraft Through The Ages_ a Scandinavian film from 1922, a year in cinema not noted for a surfeit of Satanic anilingus. [on Youtube,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La1tzPS1R7Q) 42 minutes in for you NSFW-flouters) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/72 "2014-04-09T17:04:02Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Here’s one you might not have expected: [Häxan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A4xan), aka _Witchcraft Through The Ages_ a Scandinavian film from 1922, a year in cinema not noted for a surfeit of Satanic anilingus. [on Youtube,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La1tzPS1R7Q) 42 minutes in for you NSFW-flouters) Haxan also has a drawing, supposedly an old woodcut, of a naked woman in wrist-ankle bondage, a young a beautiful woman with a really nice body … not the stereotypical haggard crone. I think there were some porny undertones to it, for sure. I’ll put a spoiler-boxed link to the pic I put on my blog, as it’s NSFW … dunno how the hell it got made in 1922, except, you know … European. It was a on TCM several years ago, so apparently almost a century of time made it less objectionable. [NSFW woodcut from Haxan.](http://politicallysexy.blogspot.com/2008/07/firsts-in-bondage-on-mainstream-tv-and.html) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/73 "2014-04-09T17:20:26Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > There were those weird _Baby Burlesk_ movies in the 30s. Shirley Temple made her film debut in one of them. Really, really, weird. Not going to link to anything about them. You don’t want to see one. Just think about the second word for a minute. The clip I watched seems like a [Jeffrey Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Jones#Arrests) wet dream. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/74 "2014-04-09T21:28:39Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Brown Bunny, in which even a great oral sex scene at the end of the movie isn’t worth the time it takes to get there. The entire movie is a WTF, as in WTF, Vincent Gallo, were you thinking when you wrote and starred, and directed this excrescence? Even worse, why did I sit through it? I haven’t seen the film, but I find it quite amusing that (as I understand it) Vincent Gallo made a film that required his ex to give him a blow job. Presumably it _had_ to be written that way, it _had_ to be filmed that way, it _had_ to be real, and it _had_ to be him and his ex in the two roles. He must be able to keep an incredibly straight face. ETA: Looks like she wasn’t his ex after all, but I remain amused. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/75 "2014-04-09T21:37:31Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > The clip I watched seems like a [Jeffrey Jones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Jones#Arrests) wet dream. Oh! I was thinking the other Jeff Jones, the illustrator. And that brings me back to the thread: Jeff Jones “Idyll” is chock-full of WTF humor – and also has depictions of naked children. Awkward! I don’t think he could publish this material today. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/76 "2014-04-10T16:51:22Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Holy Sambo and all the Golliwogs at sea! I should have heeded your warning! Mein Gott, that was abominable! Reading this, I wondered "how could it possibly be that bad? They must be exagerating or something. So, of course, I had to watch. Holy crap! You were both right. I didnt’ expect that!:eek: ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385/77 "2014-04-10T17:00:02Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > There were those weird _Baby Burlesk_ movies in the 30s. Shirley Temple made her film debut in one of them. Really, really, weird. Not going to link to anything about them. You don’t want to see one. Just think about the second word for a minute. I looked it up, of course, and it’s weird, but I’m not sure why you think it’s that bad. I couldn’t understand the dialogs, though, so maybe there’s something there? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-consider-yourself-open-mined-yet-fill-in-the-blank-this-old-movie-still-made-you-say-wtf/685385.md?page=3)