Not so long ago, there was a time when movies and TV shows were created to entertain and enthrall audiences. TV shows like Family Guy, South Park, and Seinfeld were equal-opportunity bashers – no one was safe. Audiences laughed and cried, but they never claimed to be offended.  

In a world where even Dr. Suess is criticized, the entertainment industry looks far different. Woke culture has permeated every new show or movie created today, and there is no escape. 

Or is there?  

Let’s get nostalgic and revisit some of the “most offensive” movies ever. It’s important to remember that you don’t have to condone all the elements of a film to enjoy it, which is why some of these movies may be simultaneously both offensive and classic. 

Let’s get our weekend binge list started with Freaks, the 1932 cult classic deemed “exploitive” to those with physical disabilities. A closer look reveals the movie’s themes are far more profound than “exploitation.” It focuses on a traveling circus and its performers’ romantic entanglements and conflicts under the Big Top. The movie remains popular for its bold portrayal of marginalized characters and its daring subject matter. It’s a horror movie that is both unsettling and fun to watch. 

Released in 1946, the Song of the South follows the adventures of young Johnny on his grandmother’s Georgia plantation during the Reconstruction Era. He befriends former slave Uncle Remus, who shares stories that impart valuable life lessons. But be warned, the language and inflection of the characters in this movie appear to be lifted from a Black slang book that white filmmakers should never have read, much less tried to incorporate in a film. Despite its controversial use of over-the-top racial stereotypes, the film offers a wholesome storyline and an unforgettable soundtrack.  

The Birdcage, released in 1996, stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as gay cabaret owners whose son becomes engaged to the daughter of a Republican senator. Knowing that the senator would never accept them as a gay couple, the couple pretends to be heterosexual, with Lane as the mother figure. A series of comedic misunderstandings and mishaps unfold as they try to maintain the facade during dinner with the senator and his family. Despite its comedic tone, LGBTQ+ critics argue that the film relies on stereotypes and caricatures of gay men. Looking past this, however, the film explores themes of family, love, and acceptance while delivering hilariously memorable performances. 

Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know where the nuts are hiding. Many of these nuts have criticized 1994’s Forest Gump for…well, a whole host of absurd reasons, from depicting autistic individuals as innocent and kind to the somewhat obvious inference that Forest was a conservative. In addition, Jenny is slut-shamed in the film, and critics feel that Gump’s appearance in many historical events “trivializes” them. Get past that, and you have a wonderfully entertaining and wildly innovative film that rightfully earned six Oscars and several BAFTA and Golden Globe awards. 

Hold on to your horses because Mel Brooks’ 1974 classic Blazing Saddles is next on your must-see list. Brooks manages to offend everyone and everything in one ultimate laugh-fest guaranteed to leave you in stitches. The film’s humor, however, relies on over-the-top racial stereotypes to portray their absurdity. Sexual innuendo, potty humor, and more await those brave enough to watch Bart, a smalltown Black sheriff, and his washed-up drunken sidekick Jim (played by Gene Wilder) take on an evil band of villains intent on running the townsfolk out of their village and take over their land.  

Tropic Thunder is a 2008 comedic action film about a group of actors who are dropped into a real jungle in Southeast Asia to film a war movie. When the actors inadvertently stumble upon a drug cartel’s compound, they believe it’s all part of the movie they were sent to film. Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Tom Cruise, and Robert Downey Jr, Tropic Thunder found itself on the critics’ hit lists by featuring a character who underwent skin pigmentation to play a Black character in the film’s movie. 

The Tropic Thunder theme is a repetition from the 1986 Steve Martin film The Three Amigos, where a trio of silent movie actors is mistaken for real-life heroes while believing they are filming in a Mexican village. Hilarity ensues as they help the villagers face an evil villain, but critics claim its deliberately exaggerated stereotypes of the Mexicans were offensive. Still, it’s an amusing romp, and…it’s Steve Martin. 

Take a break and enjoy these movies in the spirit in which they were intended. Applying today’s woke culture to yesterday’s movies is a waste of time.