TMS Discussion: The Misunderstandings of Blazing Saddles

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

For some reason, I usually prefer to enjoy Mel Brooks’ classic farce/spoof Blazing Saddles (1974) during the summer season. It might be because summer is considered the most fun time of year, and Blazing Saddles is definitely a blast to watch. Brooks was at the top of his game in 1974 between Saddles and the horror romp Young Frankenstein only 10 months later. The comedian-writer-director already had a Best Original Screenplay Oscar by this point for his musical-comedy The Producers (1968), and would continue modestly with parodies like Silent Movie (1976), High Anxiety (1977), Spaceballs (1987), and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). But nearly everyone agrees his best is tied between Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. There was no comic more in their prime in 1970s cinema than Mel Brooks, save for probably fellow Jewish New Yorkers Woody Allen and Neil Simon.

When people talk about Blazing Saddles, what’s commented most regularly is along the lines of: “This movie could never be made today.” But what does that statement even really mean? That you can’t use any of the offensive slurs uttered by the racist characters throughout Blazing Saddles anymore? Well, not necessarily. Movies set over 50 years ago can still use the time period as an the excuse for characters to appropriately have casual bigotry and closed-mindedness. If you want to find a semi-modern movie that includes [arguably even more] ‘n’ words than Blazing Saddles, you only need to look toward Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained (2012) and Spike Lee’s BlackKklansman (2018). [Of course, there’s quite a bit of difference regarding the latter, which is written and directed by a black filmmaker.] Brooks’ comedic western—which is really just an amusing send-up of George Marshall’s Destry Rides Again (1939)—is almost 50 years old itself. And like most old movies, nothing is going to age perfectly. There are some aspects of the classic that still hold up pretty well, such as Madeline Kahn’s spot-on impression of movie star Marlene Dietrich’s on-screen persona. As well as any of the gags that take shots at movie cliches and film studio politics; Cleavon Little’s stellar lead performance as Bart the Sherriff; Harvey Korman’s, Slim Pickens’ and Burton Gilliam’s hilarious supporting roles; memorable cameos by professional athlete Alex Karras and comedian Dom DeLuise; and the infamous campfire farting sequence [if you can believe it, this was the scene that was the most edited on TV back in the late ‘70s].

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

But this is a comedy from five decades ago. So naturally, even when Mel Brooks and his screenwriting partners—including Richard Pryor—are making fun of racism through the western genre, we also get a few outdated elements as well. Like Brooks himself appearing as not only a bumbling governor, but also a Yiddish speaking American Indian chief during a flashback, with brown make-up and all. With offenses like this, it’s personally easy for me to be like, “Well the movie is literally half a century old, obviously times have changed since then, including subversive brownface.” For the most part, a lot of the social commentary of Blazing Saddles still rings true to hypocrisy and political incorrectness in the world, and it likely helps that the screenwriters were a part of minority groups. I also find it a little ironic [and fitting], the most well meaning white male character in the film is played by regular Brooks collaborator Gene Wilder, who is also Jewish. The thing is, when you laugh at the jokes that involve the ‘n’ word or other slurs, which character are you laughing at? My favorite bit in the movie is when Bart greets a white old lady, and her response is flippantly, “Up yours, n*gger,” which instantly cuts to one of the best reaction shots of all time. The punchline 100% relies on Bart’s reaction for it to work. I’ve often wondered what the white equivalent of that scene could be. The closest thing I’ve been able to come up with is the St. Louis scene in Harold Ramis’ Vacation (1983), when the Griswold family ask for directions in a seemingly bad neighborhood. But even then, the joke is at the expense of the black characters as much as it is to Chevy Chase’s Clark. Harold Ramis is a naturally funny filmmaker, but it’s not surprising he was already disowning this whole scene while Vacation was still in theaters.

The way Brooks reflects about his own comedies is interesting to me. In interviews and his own 2021 memoir, All About Me!, Brooks talks about how nervous he was making Blazing Saddles, worrying he and Pryor were going to be blacklisted and kicked out of Hollywood. I can only assume he’s referring to the fact that the racial slurs are being spoken at all [and so many times], and not the actual context, which of course, isn’t endorsing offensive insults. The use of satire in the picture is both quite clever and silly. Korman’s Hedley Lamarr [no, not Hedy] tricking Brooks’ Le Petomane into approving Bart as Sherriff by distracting him with toys and a half-naked, pretty secretary still resonates with how politicians are easy targets for comedy. One of the funniest lines in the feature is when the townspeople agree to respect the black and Chinese locals, but still don’t want the Irish. Frankie Laine’s theme song of the same title is catchy, as is Kahn’s Lili von Shtupp’s number ‘I’m Tired,’ which shows how the comedienne earned herself a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Any movie that ends with a custard pie battle and fist fight in the middle of a Warner Bros. studio lot is alright by me.

The problem with “You could never make Blazing Saddles today” is that it’s too broad to tell what exactly people are suggesting. To me, it sounds like someone either hasn’t seen the movie in a long time or doesn’t keep up with contemporary filmmaking. YouTuber Lindsay Ellis made a video in 2017 on The Producers, where she suggests people who say Brooks wouldn’t have a career today are misunderstanding his intent and unintentionally admitting they miss when society was politically incorrect. I’m not sure if that’s the case for every single person who says Blazing Saddles couldn’t exist today. But looking up comments on social media or the comment sections of scenes of the movie on YouTube; I can see where she’s coming from. It’s hard to pinpoint with just text which fans are being sarcastic and which are being intentionally offensive. It’s like looking up fan edits or posts of Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993) or Tony Kaye’s American History X (1998) on social media; and discovering you have to dig through a disturbing amount of white supremacy supporters who enjoy both movies. Or all the middle school boys who probably like Eric Cartman from Trey Parker & Matt Stone’s “South Park” (1997- ) unironically.

At the end of the day, I don’t think you can ever accuse Mel Brooks of using people of color for cheap laughs, when he himself has been a victim of bigotry and would know how it feels to be belittled. If anything, the lack of warnings and bans on his films in a world where we can’t even find Disney’s Song of the South (1946) should answer your question if Blazing Saddles could get released today.