The most popular movie of all time is going back to the shop for a tune up. First, the new streaming platform HBO Max announced it was removing “Gone with the Wind” from its content lineup. Now, we’re learning the film will return … with a catch.
The beloved drama starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh will be accompanied by a lecture saying how wrong the material is and how to interpret it properly.
Who knows if those conditions will be enough to satiate the woke mob? They smell blood across the cultural landscape, and they’re moving with ruthless speed. We’ve already seen the long-running “Cops” get the ax. So did “Live PD.”
Heck, “Paw Patrol” could be in trouble, too.
What’s next? The following films are considered deeply “problematic” or share messages deemed untenable to the Modern Left. And make no mistake, it’s the Left tearing down statues, rioting nationwide, and erasing history wherever it can.
Will these nine films soon be “Gone,” too?
Cultural observers have had this Mel Brooks classic on their list for some time. The film liberally uses the “n-word,” features stereotypically gay characters, and employs slurs now considered taboo. Brooks himself repeatedly tells us he couldn’t make “Blazing Saddles” today, a toxic reality all by itself.
“Comedy is the lecherous little elf whispering into the king’s ear, always telling the truth about human behavior,” Brooks famously said about his approach to humor and, more specifically, his classic comedy.
“Blazing Saddles” mocked racists, not black people, leading some snarky liberals to mock conservatives for worrying it could get canceled next. Nuance is often ignored by the woke mob, alas.
2. Soul Man
This forgotten 1986 comedy might make a comeback, but not the kind that’s flattering in any way. C. Thomas Howell stars as a teen who wolfs down tanning pills to darken his skin. Why? He wants to go to Harvard, and by pretending to be black he can access a minority scholarship deal.
Does it matter that Howell’s character gets a crash course in racism as a result? Of course not. The film could be canceled for featuring a white actor in “blackface.”
This Ben Stiller comedy is only 12 years old, but it went from cutting edge to “problematic” in record time. Why? Lines like “you never go full retard,” for starters. That inspired sizable outrage from the disabled rights community at the time.
More importantly, Robert Downey, Jr. donned blackface to play an Aussie actor playing a black character in the film.
Downey, Jr., who earned an Oscar nomination for the role, has tried to massage the subsequent outrage over the film. That might not be enough if the cyber pitchforks circle back.
4. Unplanned
There’s nothing R-rated about this pro-life drama. No one mocks people of color, and the language is suitable for the entire family. The movie’s attack on Planned Parenthood, though, could put it in the Left’s crosshairs. The woke mob doesn’t approve of messages like this. Art is meant to promote progressive ideals. It’s why reviewers and film scribes alike savaged the film upon its debut last year. The current frenzy to erase art offers a chance to redouble their efforts.
5. 16 Candles
Elle Magazine called this John Hughes classic an “outdated nightmare.” Molly Ringwald stars as a typical teen with an atypical problem. Her family forgot her birthday. Along the way we get some clunky Asian stereotypes, a nerd who wields a girl’s panties as a sign of conquest, and other bawdy teen behaviors. Ringwald herself turned on her own Hughes films in recent years.
If the film’s star thinks it’s troublesome, imagine what some keyboard warriors have to say about it.
6. Dirty Harry
The Woke Mob could get a twoer here. Not only would they love to see this “fascist” cop thriller memory-holed, they could strike a blow against its star, conservative legend Clint Eastwood. “Dirty Harry” took down minority criminals, going so far as to mock their dialects in the process. The Left loathes white male vigilantes, too, while often cheering women who take the law into their own hands.
7. Animal House
Can you imagine a movie set in the early 1960s where the characters act … like they’re living in the early 1960s? Even worse? The film’s antiheroes are pledging a boozy, bawdy fraternity. That means racial insensitivity, anti-social behavior, and women treated as sex objects.
Once hailed as a comedy masterpiece, “Animal House” is under assault these days for its problematic plot points. “Is it OK to laugh at ‘Animal House?‘ one USA Today headline asked. Soon, we may not be able to even watch it.
Judd Apatow’s early comedies epitomize “white privilege,” to use the Left’s verbiage. Maybe that’s why he’s gone woke on steroids in recent years.
His first comedy, a brilliant car crash of raunchy humor and sweet asides, has two scenes that drive Social Justice types off the cliff. The first finds Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen in dueling, “You know how I know you’re gay” mode. That’s enough to cancel the film alone.
What about another sequence where Steve Carell’s co-workers try to hire a prostitute to relieve him of his virginity. The “she” turns out to be a trans female, and the fellas recoil in disgust.
This one ran afoul of the PC Police before we even used that term. Gay groups protested “Lambs” during its initial release for its negative portrayal of a trans figure. At the time GLAAD dubbed the villainous Buffalo Bill a “walking, talking gay stereotype.”
“He completely promotes homophobia,” a GLAAD representative said.
The 1992 version of Cancel Culture lacked the cultural clout to stop the film from dominating that year’s Academy Awards presentation. Now? Hollywood is deathly afraid of Cancel Culture, so who knows if this first-class shocker will survive 2020.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.