Blazing Racial HumorBlazing Racial HumorThe tension between blacks and whites is a deep rooted problem that is not fixed by any one solution. Many strategies have been used to try to bring the two races together. Humor is one of the most effective ways to make a group of people accept an idea or a different culture. Humor has helped bridge the gap between races. The movie blazing saddles is a perfect example of how satire and common based humor, brings people together.
Blazing saddles is a movie made in 1975 that was directed by Mel Brooks. The movie is a western that portrays a “perfect” white town that has lost its sheriff and is in need of a new one. Through the corrupt white government a new sheriff is sent to the town but he is black. This reverse of rolls in authority is a common base of humor among most people. It would be as though a peasant was sent to rule a group of nobles and kings. This doesnt make much sense, and watching the reaction of the people when they see their new sheriff is comical. Another reverse in common roles is the portrayal of the white people being the stupid and corrupt ones and the black man being the smart character. The only white character that is portrayed as smart is the only character that isnt racist. This implies that racist are ignorant and dumb. That is a huge change in the way society viewed the racist men during that time period and especially a decade before. One of the most striking aspects of this film is that is was made by a white director and made for a mostly white audience. This shows that there was a significant progression in accepting one another and a definite effort by some of the white community to express to the rest of the country that they needed to accept the blacks too. For a white director, during this time period, to put a black man in the hero position of a movie and poke fun at the ignorance of white racist was a huge step toward tolerance and acceptance.
There are many things that created tension between blacks and whites prior to, throughout, and after the civil rights movement. It was perceived that black men raped white women and that they were the instigators and seducers between the two groups. One of the plots to trap the new sheriff drive and him away is to get him to fall in love with a white woman and make it look like he was causing a problem. After she finds out that it is “true how your people are gifted” she falls in love with him and the scheme falls apart. This is funny because it is the white woman that is trying to get him to have sex with her and not the other way around. This totally contradicts that black men rape unwilling white woman. This would normally offend white people of that time era but since humor is used to present it, this concept is easy to accept and the white audience doesnt get offended by it.
“She [the woman] was a good person, but she’s not a good witness. She was just jealous of his status and all she had done to the community was make me jealous and that was all that took away from her and all they had to say. She was her own worst friend.”
“When that mother came with these big dreams ℼI’d know she might be one of her own. A child of white privilege, a black adult who was born to single mom & now only just starting out on a life with Black parents, that was a pretty significant time for her. And I do believe that her mother was a lot different when, after that time, she started getting really excited after she got up to begin with, her whole world started reviving. So when I went about going about my life as a child to tell her what I felt, it was about a new start and I’m sure in the spirit of that I was feeling a lot more of what this was about. But this is actually kind of what I felt when I took her into my life. I’d just been feeling that she was not a good parent, if ever.”
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I’m afraid she wasn’t as excited about their children as I was about their kids. Black American women want to create a culture of safety for themselves, and no parent is going to care too much about what other people say. But once a young woman has met her destiny, she can start building up her trust with others.
I love this post because it comes at a time when the news has started to feel that “there’s going to be some kind of police drama” about the police in Baltimore. People are starting to call it “police violence.” I think we have to remind ourselves that the real world is scary and violent, as it is in this case. In my opinion, these events are part of a racial trend. If you watch the films over the years and there can be no doubt that “justice” for black men in general is being made, then there is no point in watching the film. The people who perpetuate this kind of policing that is a part of daily life are no better informed about this than we once were. The police are not only bad folks in the world, but also racist and misogynistic as well. The current reality is that the police have become quite the force against black people in America, yet blacks are still being harassed in Baltimore. The truth is, the police have become the main force against this violent white man. The only person who cares about black people is a police officer. For many, the most important problem in life comes from poor neighborhoods, or from having to deal with the racism and the bigotry they face. In America, the violence of this day is about everything. It’s what we see in America every day, and this is very important to make sure that we avoid going down that route of not living up to the promise of America
So what will happen? In a culture where a society and society at large has grown too fast for a change to happen quickly… and it needs to happen now with as much speed as we can in order to get it right? One way is to call for the abolition of affirmative action. We need to call for the change to be more about equality, and not something about race.
“She [the woman] was a good person, but she’s not a good witness. She was just jealous of his status and all she had done to the community was make me jealous and that was all that took away from her and all they had to say. She was her own worst friend.”
“When that mother came with these big dreams ℼI’d know she might be one of her own. A child of white privilege, a black adult who was born to single mom & now only just starting out on a life with Black parents, that was a pretty significant time for her. And I do believe that her mother was a lot different when, after that time, she started getting really excited after she got up to begin with, her whole world started reviving. So when I went about going about my life as a child to tell her what I felt, it was about a new start and I’m sure in the spirit of that I was feeling a lot more of what this was about. But this is actually kind of what I felt when I took her into my life. I’d just been feeling that she was not a good parent, if ever.”
.
I’m afraid she wasn’t as excited about their children as I was about their kids. Black American women want to create a culture of safety for themselves, and no parent is going to care too much about what other people say. But once a young woman has met her destiny, she can start building up her trust with others.
I love this post because it comes at a time when the news has started to feel that “there’s going to be some kind of police drama” about the police in Baltimore. People are starting to call it “police violence.” I think we have to remind ourselves that the real world is scary and violent, as it is in this case. In my opinion, these events are part of a racial trend. If you watch the films over the years and there can be no doubt that “justice” for black men in general is being made, then there is no point in watching the film. The people who perpetuate this kind of policing that is a part of daily life are no better informed about this than we once were. The police are not only bad folks in the world, but also racist and misogynistic as well. The current reality is that the police have become quite the force against black people in America, yet blacks are still being harassed in Baltimore. The truth is, the police have become the main force against this violent white man. The only person who cares about black people is a police officer. For many, the most important problem in life comes from poor neighborhoods, or from having to deal with the racism and the bigotry they face. In America, the violence of this day is about everything. It’s what we see in America every day, and this is very important to make sure that we avoid going down that route of not living up to the promise of America
So what will happen? In a culture where a society and society at large has grown too fast for a change to happen quickly… and it needs to happen now with as much speed as we can in order to get it right? One way is to call for the abolition of affirmative action. We need to call for the change to be more about equality, and not something about race.
Another tension between the two groups is the history of the whites and white supremacy. The movie has seines including the Nazis, white bikers, and the KKK. This is funny and ironic because the movie supposedly took place in 1875, and that means that bikers from the 60s and Nazis from the 40s wouldnt have even