So, it’s not the stupidest thing I’ve heard of even this week (there are so many contenders for that title on a weekly basis these days, including a sitting President trying to steal an election by defunding the Post Office), but it is stupid.
I like Stewart, and as I have noted here I strongly agree with her intro to Max’s GWTW. But as Specifically noted in our discussion of that topic, the rationale for inserting a contextual explainer into the start of GWTW is completely undermined by putting it into something like Blazing Saddles. GWTW *is* racist, and it sentimentalize sand apologizes for racism. Continuing to present it as an acceptable part of popular culture in the 21st century requires some explanation and justification. BS is not racist, it is in fact anti-racist, and a biting satire every bit as relevant and meaningful today as when it first came out. It needs no justification, and this introduction is as welcome as any attempt to explain a good joke - especially one given before the joke is even told. This is the kind of thing that *maybe* would be justified if a junior high school teacher was going to show the film in class, probably ending with the exhortation to “please don’t use the N-word on the playground when teasing your friends.” If HBO really felt the need to cover their ass something like this would have come better after the film, perhaps longer and less insulting, with a focus on the legacy of racism in Hollywood Westerns, and a discussion of “White Flight” in the 1970s. On Sun, Aug 16, 2020 at 6:40 AM Joe Hass <[email protected]> wrote: > This is the stupidest thing I've heard in a very, very long time. > > (Also, to be pedantically correct, it's a "n-word *work* song".) > > > On Sat, Aug 15, 2020 at 10:14 PM Mark Jeffries <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> The famous Mel Brooks comedy and race relations satire has been on the >> streamer for a month, but now has an introduction from TCM's Jacqueline >> Stewart similar to her introduction to HBOM's presentation of "Gone With >> the Wind"--and I can personally vouch for it, since I saw it today before >> settling back to hear Cleavon Little croon that "N-word song" written by a >> white gay man in the first scene: >> >> >> https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hbo-max-adds-proper-social-context-intro-blazing-saddles-1307351?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=THR%27s%20Today%20in%20Entertainment_now_2020-08-14%2007:38:41_ehayden&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_tie >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> >> >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> >> >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/54f597c7-6aa5-4b4e-82d9-4d6cf147dafbn%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/54f597c7-6aa5-4b4e-82d9-4d6cf147dafbn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> >> >> > > > > > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > > > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CABru7%2BeJHQ%3DSa1wpzL-Bqy%3DM8m4g0CoxxxeRLrtK3noGULFNSQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CABru7%2BeJHQ%3DSa1wpzL-Bqy%3DM8m4g0CoxxxeRLrtK3noGULFNSQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > > -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKAYUaQTqdfa1c2L9wUcR4QX_wBJy8SGTWhV0hX4zBWfw%40mail.gmail.com.
