I think a lot of the time it’s Gen Z not understanding context. There was overt racism, but a lot of media that is considered racist now was either depicting the experience of people at the time or making fun of racists.
Blazing Saddles. Took me a bit to understand this when I was younger. When I first saw it, I thought it was simply outdated humor. Then I thought it was edgy. Then I finally grasped that the whole joke is actually directed at racist white folks and that their racism just makes them look really stupid.
I’d say that’s mostly true for comedy. But some of the earlier stuff was definitely like “point and laugh at this race”. Like the original looney tunes and stuff had some that were rough. They got better about it later but those early episodes had a few that were a little…close lol
But that wasn’t in the '90s. The last thing I can actually think of as an example of point-and-laugh at a race was Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). In the '80s there was Dukes of Hazzard, but it wasn’t overtly racist, they just only had black people as bad guys in the deep South. As a kid that went right over my head.
I think most examples in the '90s would be stereotyping races but not making fun of them. Overtly. Kind of like the token Asian or the token black guy to fill out a group of friends. I guess I want more examples to be given because when you’re younger a lot of that stuff goes of your head compared to when you’re older.
I think a lot of the time it’s Gen Z not understanding context. There was overt racism, but a lot of media that is considered racist now was either depicting the experience of people at the time or making fun of racists.
Blazing Saddles. Took me a bit to understand this when I was younger. When I first saw it, I thought it was simply outdated humor. Then I thought it was edgy. Then I finally grasped that the whole joke is actually directed at racist white folks and that their racism just makes them look really stupid.
The quintessential example. Rocky Horror is another.
I’d also include the controversy around “Baby It’s Cold Outside”.
OMG! He’s pressuring her into sex!
Now multiply that misunderstanding by 1 billion.
Yeah, if you find an overly racist character then the joke is probably directed at them being racist.
It’s amazing how many people are offended by Uncle Ruckus. Like, way more than are offended by Uncle Remus, incredibly enough.
I’d say that’s mostly true for comedy. But some of the earlier stuff was definitely like “point and laugh at this race”. Like the original looney tunes and stuff had some that were rough. They got better about it later but those early episodes had a few that were a little…close lol
But that wasn’t in the '90s. The last thing I can actually think of as an example of point-and-laugh at a race was Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). In the '80s there was Dukes of Hazzard, but it wasn’t overtly racist, they just only had black people as bad guys in the deep South. As a kid that went right over my head.
I think most examples in the '90s would be stereotyping races but not making fun of them. Overtly. Kind of like the token Asian or the token black guy to fill out a group of friends. I guess I want more examples to be given because when you’re younger a lot of that stuff goes of your head compared to when you’re older.
Oh yea some of it was definitely just overt racism.
Well Gen Z is quite young. Children understand trigger-words more, subtle context less so.
The very youngest of gen z is 15 right now, and the majority is adults
I’m only just beginning to understand what L.P Hartley meant when he said “The past is a foreign country”