Blazing Saddles makes the idea of racism into a joke - as in āthe people who believe this are dumb as hellā . The joke is that racism is nonsensical and stupid, and so are the people who believe in it. Thatās the joke. (One of the many, many jokes.) It was also written in part by Richard Pryor who was originally supposed to also star in the movie, but the studio wouldnāt insure him. Later on in 1980, Richard Pryor said he swore off saying the N-word altogether- six years after the movie was released. By then, it was already in there forever. Regarding the language, and many of the jokes used in the film, its relationship to the audience was very different in 1974. As one reviewer stated in relation to how Blazing Saddlesā relationship to popular culture has changed since itās release in 1974, āI don't know that we ought to make studying evolution of Richard Pryor a prerequisite to the viewing of Blazing Saddles, but we might all take notice of the fact that works of art are always products of the time in which they are produced. One of the great things about Blazing Saddles is its implicit critique of American racial attitudes and Hollywood's whitewashing of history via Western mythologiesā¦. The racial critique of Blazing Saddles mightn't be the most remarkable thing about it -- it's a postmodern film with a Borscht Belt sensibility that marries the silly to the sublime.ā (The article does contain use of the N-word, in its use of direct quotes.)
When I think of Mel Brooks and his satires on racism (among other topics), I canāt help but also think of Taika Waititi and how he wrote Nazis in Jo Jo Rabbit. Nazis beliefs are shown to be utterly ridiculous and the Nazis in turn donāt become cool heroes or something to be admired like they often do when gentile directors make movies about Nazis. Itās like how Mel Brooks made The Producers. He turns them into a laughing stock. Thereās a really, really good video essay about this by a queer Jewish YouTuber you should absolutely watch, talking about the differences in how Jewish filmmakers portray Nazis VS how gentiles tend to. I think thereās an ongoing conversation there in how filmmakers have conversations about race.
I donāt think you could make Blazing Saddles today. Itās undeniable that it had an impact on popular culture and the film industry, so much so that itās still referenced, often without people knowing theyāre referencing it. (Kind of like when people say āletās turn it up to 11 - how many people do you know that have actually seen Spinal Tap?) When people talk about being offended by Blazing Saddles today, Iām always reminded that our relationship to the subject matter has fundamentally changed, and I think part of the reason is that movies like this brought the conversation into the mainstream.
Interesting to me is that when my dad, a teenager at the time, saw Blazing Saddles in theaters with his brother and dad, people didnāt walk out on account of the racism or sexism or anything like that. The part people did walk out on was a scene where some cowboys are eating beans around a fire and farting and burping a lot. Seriously, he said that was the scene that did it. (At least at the showing he went to.)
Anyway Blazing Saddles does have a place in pop culture history and I donāt think it could be made today. Also if you do choose to watch this, Iām not saying it doesnāt have problems, but I think you also have to consider who wrote it and the audience that received it, and its contribution to the greater conversation about racism thatās being had through the medium of satire.
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