Any movies we ALL like?

[mrbasehart]

Alice in Wonderland is OK.  Dumbo and Pinocchio are better.

The scene in Pinocchio where his friend starts turning into a donkey scares the living crap out of me.

[6079SmithW]

People shouldn't dismiss great art because it has queasy elements, though; even Birth of a Nation, which rivals Triumph of the Will for horrible politics, is worth watching for what makes it good, regardless of all the stuff in it that's bad.

I couldn't agree more.

I also think it's important that the sketchy elements remain in place for their historical value.  If the zeitgeist of the early 20th century was that a little casual racism was perfectly acceptable, it's important that people be able to witness that through the arts.  If it inspires the audience to regret or outrage, all the better.  Whitewashing over the ugly truth doesn't do anybody any good. 

You have to know which direction you came from if you don't want to accidentally end up back there.

Not to mention that old-timey racism is kind of funny at this point (see, for instance, all the Irish jokes on the Simpsons,) and laughing at racism is never a bad thing.

[Minnesota]

^^ might wanna rephrase that

[6079SmithW]

^^ might wanna rephrase that

Huh? Any time people find racism absurd enough to be funny, it implies that they don't hold any of those racist precepts, and is therefore a good thing. Thus, laughing at racism is a good thing.

[Variety of Cells]

I think I understand what you are saying, but be careful, we don't want this to turn into another 9/11 debate.  Jokes about racism in general are funny, yes, because we don't hold those values.  But it's a different thing to laugh at graphic depictions of racism.  People being lynched isn't all that humorous. 

[6079SmithW]

I think I understand what you are saying, but be careful, we don't want this to turn into another 9/11 debate.  Jokes about racism in general are funny, yes, because we don't hold those values.  But it's a different thing to laugh at graphic depictions of racism.  People being lynched isn't all that humorous. 

Oh, ok. I see what you're saying. Yeah, the effects of racism are almost never funny, but the idiotic ideas people used to hold generally are. Fair?

[Pak-Man]

Well look at All in the Family. Archie Bunker was a complete and total racist and the audience laughed. Not because he was right, but because he was so very wrong. It's that kinda funny. :^)

[WouTar]

People being lynched isn't all that humorous. 

Are you saying we should just let the black man rule our world!?



Look at the evil, man, the evil!

... No, lynching is never funny. This mentioning of lynching has rekindled my loathing of the stereotypical "SOUTHERN MAN!".
You know the kind...



"Come on children, come sit around your brother-dad and his wife-daughter. And you, stranger, get off my property!"

[Variety of Cells]

Hmm, fighting racism with more racism.

That reminds me, I find it humorous that the term "fighting fire with fire" is now a legitimate option.  I'm sure it was first used to make a point, because all you are going to do by throwing fire at fire is create more fire.  But now you'll hear generals say "sometimes you have to fight fire with fire", completely ignorant of what they are saying, and everyone goes along with it.  I'm not saying it isn't true for some situations, but pick another phrase already.

[6079SmithW]

Hmm, fighting racism with more racism.

That reminds me, I find it humorous that the term "fighting fire with fire" is now a legitimate option.  I'm sure it was first used to make a point, because all you are going to do by throwing fire at fire is create more fire.  But now you'll hear generals say "sometimes you have to fight fire with fire", completely ignorant of what they are saying, and everyone goes along with it. 

Here's your ticket pack your bag: time for jumpin' overboard
The transportation is here
Close enough but not too far, Maybe you know where you are
Fightin' fire with fire

[Sharktopus]

Hmm, fighting racism with more racism.

That reminds me, I find it humorous that the term "fighting fire with fire" is now a legitimate option.  I'm sure it was first used to make a point, because all you are going to do by throwing fire at fire is create more fire.  But now you'll hear generals say "sometimes you have to fight fire with fire", completely ignorant of what they are saying, and everyone goes along with it.  I'm not saying it isn't true for some situations, but pick another phrase already.

That's an excellent point that I've never considered. It's sort of like "gyp" or "Paddy wagon." Nobody thinks about the derivation of those terms when they use them, which is still pretty frequent. Did you see Clerks 2, and Randall's obliviousness to the meaning of "porch monkey"? I'd bet that we may just forget the conotations of the dreaded N-word within the next century.

[Winterkid]

That reminds me, I find it humorous that the term "fighting fire with fire" is now a legitimate option.  I'm sure it was first used to make a point, because all you are going to do by throwing fire at fire is create more fire.  But now you'll hear generals say "sometimes you have to fight fire with fire", completely ignorant of what they are saying

When they say "fighting fire with fire", they mean lighting backfires and controlled fires to help it burn itself out, I am pretty sure.

To be racist isn't in my nature, I like to think, but I do agree some races are well-known for certain abilities or common traits.

[Sharktopus]

When they say "fighting fire with fire", they mean lighting backfires and controlled fires to help it burn itself out, I am pretty sure.

To be racist isn't in my nature, I like to think, but I do agree some races are well-known for certain abilities or common traits.

I remember some stand-up comic talking about how stereotypes exist for a reason, and they usually have good modifiers tacked on to them. "Asian men mayhave tiny wangs but they're great at math, and black guys may never shut up at the movies, but they've got huge wangs. And yeah, there may be twenty Mexicans in that one truck, but they're all going to work, aren't they?"

[6079SmithW]

When they say "fighting fire with fire", they mean lighting backfires and controlled fires to help it burn itself out, I am pretty sure.

To be racist isn't in my nature, I like to think, but I do agree some races are well-known for certain abilities or common traits.

I remember some stand-up comic talking about how stereotypes exist for a reason, and they usually have good modifiers tacked on to them. "Asian men mayhave tiny wangs but they're great at math, and black guys may never shut up at the movies, but they've got huge wangs. And yeah, there may be twenty Mexicans in that one truck, but they're all going to work, aren't they?"

The ironic thing is that 'postitive' stereotypes are in some ways just as harmful as the obviously negative ones. I had an Asian friend in high school who constantly wound up feeling like shit because he was terrible at math.

I used to worry about the phrase "call a spade a spade", since that's an middling-obscure racial epithet, but apparently it derives from some Latin saying about spoons or something and is safe.

[WouTar]

To be racist isn't in my nature, I like to think, but I do agree some races are well-known for certain abilities or common traits.

Agreed.