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"Blazing Saddles," a 1970s Western film, has sparked Twitter debate over whether the movie could be made in today's "woke culture."
Many took to Twitter to applaud director Mel Brooks as a comedic genius because his film makes fun of racists and bigots. Others argued that the film's targets don't realize that the jokes are made at their expense.
The film appeared to start trending on Twitter after a user named Miles Commodore asked his followers which comedy they would recommend for a 24-year-old. Retired newscaster Bill Griffith said "Blazing Saddles" because, he wrote, "it couldn't be made in today's woke society - it gores too many sacred cows."
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"Blazing Saddles so the young person can see we weren't always so uptight with each other," agreed user Keith Dorschner. "A movie like that could not be made today."
"Blazing Saddles," another user said. "That movie will probably trigger most 24 year olds today into a coma. It's like a non-stop barrage of race and sexism jokes that wouldn't make it into any Hollywood movie today."
A meme that touted that those "who grew up watching Mel Brooks films and aren't easily offended" was criticized by many as an indication that they did not understand the movie's underlying satire.
One user argued that every time "Blazing Saddles" starts trending it exposes two groups of people: "Those who understood it's a satire on racism and using it as a means to show it's inherently silly and wrong" and "those who enjoy or engage in racism and think it's a trail blazer for getting away with racism as humor."
"Blazing Saddles is trending because everyone on Twitter is smugly telling everyone else on Twitter that it's satire, as if this is surprising to anybody," another said of the Twitter firestorm. "They're all talking about ‘other people’ who don't get it; yet I don't see any those ‘other people’ on my timeline."
HBO Max previously raised eyebrows after slapping a trigger warning on the film with an introduction by University of Chicago professor and TCM host Jacqueline Stewart. In her opening, Stewart warned viewers that the film features "racist language and attitudes."
"Those attitudes are espoused by characters who are explicitly portrayed here as narrow-minded, ignorant bigots," she said. "The film’s real and much more enlightened perspective is represented by the two main characters."
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A few others who responded to the Twitter prompt made the case for "My Cousin Vinny" as the film they'd show to 24-year-olds, suggesting it was the only film that wouldn't "trigger" today's young viewers.