In today’s cancel culture climate, our 20/20 goggles are wondering which movies and TV shows could get made today. With recent comments from Mindy Kaling, who said The Office couldn’t get made today, another comedy is on the burner: Blazing Saddles.
On a recent episode of The View, the panel discussed Mel Brooks’ classic 1974 comedy Blazing Saddles, which Whoopi Goldberg immediately leapt to the defense of, saying it is absolutely not racist and could be made today. “It deals with racism by coming at it right, straight, out front, making you think and laugh about it…It’s not just racism, it’s all the isms, he hits all the isms…Blazing Saddles, because it’s a great comedy, would still go over today. There are a lot of comedies that are not good, OK? We’re just going to say that. That’s not one of them. Blazing Saddles is one of the greatest because it hits everybody.”
Goldberg added, “Leave my Blazing Saddles alone, don’t make me come for you.”
In 2020, HBO Max added a disclaimer to the beginning of the movie, stating, in part, “as the storyline implies, the issue of race is front and center in Blazing Saddles. And racist language and attitudes pervade the film. But those attitudes are espoused by characters who are portrayed here as explicitly small-minded, ignorant bigots.” This should be clear to anyone who has seen the movie, yet there it is…
Blazing Saddles is generally considered one of Mel Brooks’ best movies, in addition to being cited as one of the funniest ever. The American Film Institute ranked it as the 6th funniest movie ever, while Bravo ranked it at #8 on their own list.
What do you think? Is Blazing Saddles racist or are people misinterpreting it? Where does it rank on your list of funniest movies? Let us know!