Well, That Wouldn't Work Now: Things From Movies That Are Outdated or No Longer Politically Correct

[raezen]

I can't see a single studio touch the script of Circle of Two with a ten foot pole, even if they had todays equivalent of Richard Burton and Tatum O'Neal eyeing it.

[Which Tyler]

2 hours ago, starri said:

A lot of the early Disney films wouldn't make the cut.  Everybody always mentions Song of the South first, but I've never understood why only that one is worth being locked away (only in the United States, because I guess it's not racist anywhere else).  The minstrel show crow (disgustingly named Jim Crow) is almost worse, and Peter Pan goes for the double-whammy of both racist AND sexism.

 

[starri]

And when we're talking about racist cartoons, there's the infamous Merrie Melodies short Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarves.  It is, by all estimations, a really good cartoon, and pretty significant in the history of film.  But almost all of the characters are minstrel show stereotypes, and to make it worse, the director defended is with a "sorry if you were offended."

I think there are proper contexts to watch those kinds of things in, but I do have issues with it being just dropped into the middle of children's entertainment, as with Dumbo or Peter Pan.  I don't know.

[UYI]

Peter Pan is my favorite Disney movie of all time, but "What Makes the Red Man Red", while a very catchy song, is also cringeworthy, as is the "We're off to see the Injuns" line in "Following the Leader", which is otherwise my favorite song in the movie.

I still have never seen Song of the South, but the thing I've heard a few movie critics who have seen it say is that for the most part, it is actually an ungodly boring movie (the animated musical sequences aside--and those are generally the only scenes Disney even dares to take out of the vault these days). 

[GreekGeek]

2 hours ago, starri said:

The minstrel show crow (disgustingly named Jim Crow) 

I don't recall the crow ever telling his name, or being addressed by name.  I see the crows as modeled on African-American jazz musicians, but not as negative stereotypes. They aren't the bad guys (that dubious honor goes to humans) and they help Dumbo develop his ability to fly instead of ridiculing him.

[starri]

2 minutes ago, UYI said:

"We're off to see the Injuns" line in "Following the Leader"

Worse, it's actually "We're out to fight the Injuns."

Just now, GreekGeek said:

I see the crows as modeled on African-American jazz musicians, but not as negative stereotypes.

They talk like Amos and Andy.  Which is another thing that isn't shown any more.

[Popples]

20 minutes ago, UYI said:

Peter Pan is my favorite Disney movie of all time, but "What Makes the Red Man Red", while a very catchy song, is also cringeworthy, as is the "We're off to see the Injuns" line in "Following the Leader", which is otherwise my favorite song in the movie.

I still have never seen Song of the South, but the thing I've heard a few movie critics who have seen it say is that for the most part, it is actually an ungodly boring movie (the animated musical sequences aside--and those are generally the only scenes Disney even dares to take out of the vault these days). 

That reminds me that they cut the song "I'm an Indian, Too" from the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun. I often find myself humming it, though I prefer Judy Garland's version from the vault than Betty Hutton's that ended up in the film.

I'm a massive Judy Garland fan, but she does a god-awful black-face version of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" in the film Everybody Sing. I love her, but I had to fast forward through that; it made me cringe so badly.

[UYI]

1 hour ago, starri said:

Worse, it's actually "We're out to fight the Injuns."

They talk like Amos and Andy.  Which is another thing that isn't shown any more.

I realized I had it wrong after I posted that. Thanks. :)

The way the Indians are drawn, too, especially the Chief and Tiger Lily, is also pretty racist. 

[Captain Carrot]

8 hours ago, UYI said:

I still have never seen Song of the South, but the thing I've heard a few movie critics who have seen it say is that for the most part, it is actually an ungodly boring movie (the animated musical sequences aside--and those are generally the only scenes Disney even dares to take out of the vault these days). 

I vaguely remember seeing Song of the South when it was re-released in the 80's (I think I was ten at the time), and the critics are correct. My main memories of it were that it had a good song, a live action framing device that was boring and racist, and somewhat entertaining cartoons. (Looking back at it there were racial issues with the cartoons too, just not in ways that were as obvious to a ten year old white boy). Basically the only good thing about it is the zippy doo dah song that I still sing to myself at times. (At least the few lines I remember).

In comparison movies like Dumbo and Peter Pan are good movies with parts that you need to fast forward through. I'm not defending the racist aspects of those movies, but I believe that most people will watch a good movie with bad horrific moments. However, a bad movie with a few OK moments will be (correctly) forgotten.

Edited January 3, 2017 by Captain Carrot
Proper grammar am good.

[starri]

I know I've seen it, but I don't remember a damned thing about it.  Wikipedia says I would have been about eight when it was re-released, but I would have pegged my very vague memories to about five, so it clearly made a huge impression on my young mind.

I remember going on a school trip to the UK when I was in high school and a friend who owned a PAL VCR bringing home a copy.  I wonder if that seemed kind of fucked up to me then.

[UYI]

1986 is the last time the US released it to theaters (I was born three years later). The first Disney  Sing Along Songs video was built around the song Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, and came out around the same time (although later on it was retconned into being the second video of the series, after Heigh Ho).

[Morrigan2575]

Not a big deal but, I was watching Hatari! last night and, couldn't get over how much smoking was going on. Everyone smoked in almost every scene, some were even chain smoking. 

It just struck me as odd since smoking has become so taboo on TV and movies now a days. I even remember reading an interview several years ago with Marti Noxon where she talked about how only Spike was allowed to Smoke on Buffy because he was evil, non of the heroic characters smoked. 

[BatmanBeatles]

Due to the uproar over Benedict Cumberbatch's character in Zoolender, I wonder if the "Crying Game" scene in Ace Ventura would have been made today. It's the scene where Ace realizes the woman he made out with was a man. He pukes, downs a whole bottle of mouthwash, stuffs a whole package of gum in his mouth...etc.

[starri]

Adam Sandler movies are exempt from repercussions of gay- or trans-panic humor.  I don't see why this would affect anything.

[methodwriter85]

Adam Sandler movies haven't been box office hits in awhile. It's really been the last two years where the transgender movement has hit a fever pitch, and things that were acceptable at the start of this decade aren't acceptable now.

I don't think the entire Einhorn plot would work today, especially the end where everyone starts puking after seeing her tucked bulge. It'd be slammed pretty hard as transphobic.

I don't think, parental permission or not, a wide-release American movie would allow a real 16-year old girl to show her breasts. Could you imagine the fury that American Beauty would have gotten now? Jane would have been cast with someone over 18 if they made the movie today.

Edited January 11, 2017 by methodwriter85

[millennium]

Movies where white guys play black men.     No one would stand for that anymore and I seriously doubt any studio, filmmaker or even actor would consider it, no matter how --

Oh.   Never mind.

[starri]

Cancelled prior to making its debut.  Just saying.

[dusang]

On 1/4/2017 at 4:02 PM, BatmanBeatles said:

Due to the uproar over Benedict Cumberbatch's character in Zoolender, I wonder if the "Crying Game" scene in Ace Ventura would have been made today. It's the scene where Ace realizes the woman he made out with was a man. He pukes, downs a whole bottle of mouthwash, stuffs a whole package of gum in his mouth...etc.

 

On 1/11/2017 at 1:31 PM, methodwriter85 said:

Adam Sandler movies haven't been box office hits in awhile. It's really been the last two years where the transgender movement has hit a fever pitch, and things that were acceptable at the start of this decade aren't acceptable now.

I don't think the entire Einhorn plot would work today, especially the end where everyone starts puking after seeing her tucked bulge. It'd be slammed pretty hard as transphobic.

I don't think, parental permission or not, a wide-release American movie would allow a real 16-year old girl to show her breasts. Could you imagine the fury that American Beauty would have gotten now? Jane would have been cast with someone over 18 if they made the movie today.

In the season premier of Brooklyn 99 this year, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is referenced with Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) summing it up:

"Classic film, one of my childhood favorites, and it only gets overtly transphobic at the very end, so, a win."

[Constantinople]

I never thought much of the premise of The Ring (2002).

What if someone tapes over the contents while filming their kid's birthday party?

Even in 2002, videotape seemed a little outdated.  It should have at least been DVD.

There's a sequel coming out this year called Rings.  I don't know if they updated it so it's now something you watch on-line or on-demand, or if it's on blu-ray.

[AimingforYoko]

1 hour ago, Constantinople said:

What if someone tapes over the contents while filming their kid's birthday party?

Samara would kill them. Or the kid. She's definitely killing somebody.

[Bill1978]

I find today's thrillers aren't as exciting as thrillers of the past because of the existence of mobile phones. So many of the pre-mobile phones thrillers work because of the lack of easy way to contact a person. These days, the thrillers have to go out of their way to show the phone dying or some other crazy plot point to keep the whole thing believable.

[BatmanBeatles]

18 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Samara would kill them. Or the kid. She's definitely killing somebody.

And you would still have to watch it to see if there is anything on it.

[methodwriter85]

8 hours ago, Bill1978 said:

I find today's thrillers aren't as exciting as thrillers of the past because of the existence of mobile phones. So many of the pre-mobile phones thrillers work because of the lack of easy way to contact a person. These days, the thrillers have to go out of their way to show the phone dying or some other crazy plot point to keep the whole thing believable.

See: the remake of When A Stranger Calls, where they say that Jill lost her cell phone because her parents were pissed about her overage charges. (Although even that is pretty dated now- most people have unlimited calls now.)

Or Nocturnal Animals, where they just happen to be driving in an area where there's no cell phone reception.

There was also this bit in this thriller called P2, where our heroine can't use her cell phone because she's in an underground parking garage with shitty reception.

[paulvdb]

On 11-1-2017 at 7:31 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I don't think, parental permission or not, a wide-release American movie would allow a real 16-year old girl to show her breasts. Could you imagine the fury that American Beauty would have gotten now? Jane would have been cast with someone over 18 if they made the movie today.

That certainly would not happen. I remember the Dutch film Schatjes from the 1980s which had a girl show her breasts. At the time I didn't know how old the actress was (I didn't really follow entertainment news back then) but not too long ago I read in an interview that she was 14 at the time. I remember being surprised by that because I had always assumed that they used a young-looking 18+ actress for the role. Not only did we see her breasts in the movie, but they were also touched by an adult man in a shower scene. That would certainly not happen today. If that movie was remade today they would cast an 18+ actress to play the role of the daughter.

[proserpina65]

On ‎01‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 5:04 AM, Bill1978 said:

I find today's thrillers aren't as exciting as thrillers of the past because of the existence of mobile phones. So many of the pre-mobile phones thrillers work because of the lack of easy way to contact a person. These days, the thrillers have to go out of their way to show the phone dying or some other crazy plot point to keep the whole thing believable.

They could be like me and forget to charge their phone.  Of course, that only works if they don't use it much normally.

[Captain Carrot]

On 1/22/2017 at 5:04 AM, Bill1978 said:

I find today's thrillers aren't as exciting as thrillers of the past because of the existence of mobile phones. So many of the pre-mobile phones thrillers work because of the lack of easy way to contact a person. These days, the thrillers have to go out of their way to show the phone dying or some other crazy plot point to keep the whole thing believable.

That reminds me of the end of Collateral. Jamie Foxx steals a random person's phone to warn someone that the assassin (Tom Cruise) is going to kill her. Of coarse he stole the one cell phone with 5 seconds of power left.

I'm also reminded of the comic 'Velvet' by Ed Brubaker. He specifically set it in the 70's so that he could do all the fun spy stuff that would be unrealistic in today's world.

[scarynikki12]

The phone thing is why I wish more horror movies would have the killer be tech savvy.  Then our heroine would have a legit reason to ditch the phone out of fear that he'll trace her signal and find her. 

[Lugal]

On 1/23/2017 at 6:38 PM, Captain Carrot said:

That reminds me of the end of Collateral. Jamie Foxx steals a random person's phone to warn someone that the assassin (Tom Cruise) is going to kill her.

I think they should use the plot twist of stealing a random person's phone with an unknown number means the potential victim won't answer it.

[methodwriter85]

I was watching a clip of Flashdance, and it made me think that people nowadays wouldn't be cool with watching a movie about an 18-year old girl who becomes a stripper at night while falling for her 30-something boss. They'd age up Alex to 21, I think. They'd probably also age down Michael Nouri's character, or have Alex be played by a 25-year old.

Edited January 29, 2017 by methodwriter85

[starri]

Speaking of 80s movies, the Breakfast Club.  Brian brings a gun to school and gets detention.

Yeah, no.

[SeanC]

On 1/25/2017 at 6:14 PM, Lugal said:

I think they should use the plot twist of stealing a random person's phone with an unknown number means the potential victim won't answer it.

Plot twist:  Jamie Foxx steals somebody's cell phone, but realizes he doesn't actually know the number of the person he wants to call, because he's used to it being in his phone.

[Browncoat]

3 hours ago, starri said:

Speaking of 80s movies, the Breakfast Club.  Brian brings a gun to school and gets detention.

It was a flare gun.

[starri]

Still. 

[BatmanBeatles]

Bryan would have been expelled.

[raezen]

Yeah, a bazillion school shootings later,,, it wouldn't fly.

[Constantinople]

West Side Story, at least if they set it in the present.

Knives seem a little quaint, but what really got me thinking about this was the name of one of the gangs, the Jets.  The (football) New York Jets are so hapless its hard to imagine a self-respecting gang sharing a name with them unless they get the Sharks to laugh themselves to death.

I don't know NYC well enough to know if the story takes place in a location that has since become too gentrified for the story to seem realistic.

[Bruinsfan]

On 1/21/2017 at 3:57 PM, Constantinople said:

What if someone tapes over the contents while filming their kid's birthday party?

Either Samara is mollified by being in the midst of a fun kids' birthday party like she probably never had up in her attic dungeon, or she becomes even more murderous after having to pop out of a birthday cake like a stripper.

[starri]

15 minutes ago, Constantinople said:

I don't know NYC well enough to know if the story takes place in a location that has since become too gentrified for the story to seem realistic.

A generic Upper West Side neighborhood?  Oh, yes.  Around the time that the musical was written, a lot of the area was razed to build Lincoln Center.

[Danny Franks]

On 23/01/2017 at 3:26 PM, paulvdb said:

That certainly would not happen. I remember the Dutch film Schatjes from the 1980s which had a girl show her breasts. At the time I didn't know how old the actress was (I didn't really follow entertainment news back then) but not too long ago I read in an interview that she was 14 at the time. I remember being surprised by that because I had always assumed that they used a young-looking 18+ actress for the role. Not only did we see her breasts in the movie, but they were also touched by an adult man in a shower scene. That would certainly not happen today. If that movie was remade today they would cast an 18+ actress to play the role of the daughter.

I'm pretty sure that Keira Knightley was only 15 when she showed her breasts in The Hole. I have no idea what the laws are on this kind of thing.

[Bruinsfan]

I vaguely recall something about Brad Renfro's mom having to be on set when he did a nude shower scene for Apt Pupil. Which, I suppose, was for legalities, but I can't help thinking that at age 16 there was no person on the planet I'd have been more mortified to be seen naked by than my mom.

[GreekGeek]

On 2/2/2017 at 0:31 PM, starri said:

A generic Upper West Side neighborhood?  Oh, yes.  Around the time that the musical was written, a lot of the area was razed to build Lincoln Center.

Speaking of gentrification, I'm thinking that the yuppie who moved into Bedford-Stuyvesant in Do the Right Thing back in 1989 was spot on in anticipating that the neighborhood would gentrify. At the time, he was treated as a joke. And it's been a long time since I've seen urban teenagers hauling huge radios around, like Radio Raheem (R.I.P. Bill Nunn.), unless they're performing on the subway. The Korean fruit vendors also seem outdated. Come to think of it, I'd love to see a new urban character study film centering on contemporary race relations.

Twelve Angry Men has been re-made a couple of times, but the attempts to diversify that all white male jury never seem to work particularly well.

[Amethyst]

The final twist in Soapdish.  It was played for laughs but there's no way they would film it that way today, even if Montana Moorhead was the villain of the film.  I'm wondering if that's the reason that the reboot has been in development hell for years.

Big Business' whole plot is contingent on mistaken identity.  In modern day, the hospital in Jupiter Hollow would be sued into oblivion for the screw up, especially with Bette Midler's character (or one of them) being filthy rich.

[ribboninthesky1]

16 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

Come to think of it, I'd love to see a new urban character study film centering on contemporary race relations.

I think Dear White People is meant to be just this, but it's centered on college students. 

[starri]

Just about any 80s teen comedy.  Partially because of the sex content, and partly because "fag" is often every other word.

[Shannon L.]

The scene in Parenthood where Kevin's father has a nightmare about being so bad at parenting that Kevin ends up in a bell tower on a college campus firing a weapon at the students.  It was played for laughs and got them, but I highly doubt they'd be using the same scene if they made it again today. 

[adhoc]

Around 1970-ish, I saw the 1967 movie that made Dustin Hoffman a star: The Graduate. A few years ago, I decided to watch the movie again. Yikes, it totally did not age well.

When I first saw this movie, Benjamin Braddock (Hoffman) was the new kind of anti-hero--not handsome or suave or dashing, but rather aimless and awkward. Benjamin is a recent college grad with absolutely no direction in life, and, as I recall, movie goers like myself had sympathy for him and rooted for him when he fell in love with and pursued Elaine (after first having an affair with her mother).

Forty years later, all I saw when I re-watched was a stalker-y, aimless loser who never gets a job, never goes back to school, never does anything to prove to Elaine that he really is a good man and a good catch.  Today, I'm mystified as to what Elaine sees in him, other than his endearing (if annoying) persistence in pursuing her. Today, that would not be enough.

[methodwriter85]

Well, the problem with updating the Graduate is that it's very, very tied into upper middle class Baby Boomers and their parents (the G.I. Generation's) social mores in the mid-1960's. Elaine represents the last cohort of women who were expected to marry right after college and then become housewives, which gets broken down and then fully blown away by the 1970's.

If the movie were made now, Elaine wouldn't be getting pushed by her mother to marry at the age of 21/22. Hell, if the Graduate took place now. Mrs. Robinson would have had Elaine sometime in the mid-1990's, and by that period having children out of wedlock was no longer taboo. Mrs. Robinson could have had Elaine and not been forced to marry Mr. Robinson. (More likely, Mrs. Robinson either would have been on the Pill or she would have gotten an abortion.)

Edited February 6, 2017 by methodwriter85

[kiddo82]

7 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

The scene in Parenthood where Kevin's father has a nightmare about being so bad at parenting that Kevin ends up in a bell tower on a college campus firing a weapon at the students.  It was played for laughs and got them, but I highly doubt they'd be using the same scene if they made it again today. 

I saw Scrooged for the first time this past Christmas and the scene at the end where Bobcat Goldthwait's character is shooting at Bill Murray's character in the office because he got fired does not play now.  

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 1/4/2017 at 2:02 PM, BatmanBeatles said:

 I wonder if the "Crying Game" scene in Ace Ventura would have been made today. It's the scene where Ace realizes the woman he made out with was a man. He pukes, downs a whole bottle of mouthwash, stuffs a whole package of gum in his mouth...etc.

Hell, The Crying Game, period.

[methodwriter85]

On 2/4/2017 at 8:28 PM, Amethyst said:

The final twist in Soapdish.  It was played for laughs but there's no way they would film it that way today, even if Montana Moorhead was the villain of the film.  I'm wondering if that's the reason that the reboot has been in development hell for years.

Soapdish would need to be filmed as a telenovela or something. Big-budget soaps don't exist anymore in the United State. All of the soaps in New York City are gone (which is where Soapdish took place), and the remaining ones look pretty cheap.

And yeah, the Montana Moorhead plot just wouldn't work. It would be slammed so hard as transphobic. It's also really hard to believe that no one would figure it out what with social media and all that. Milton's former classmates would recognize her.

I think an updated version of Soapdish could be the filming of a reality t.v. soap, that slams how constructed everything is on those "real" shows.

Edited February 9, 2017 by methodwriter85