Posted on 12/22/2020 6:52:16 AM PST by TigerClaws
More old movies could have warnings added about racism and stereotypes, after UK film censors said Ming the Merciless in 1980's Flash Gordon was "dubious if not outright offensive". The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) added a warning about "discriminatory stereotypes" for the film's recent re-release. Ming was of East Asian appearance and was played by Sweden's Max Von Sydow.
Next year, the BBFC will examine how to handle stereotypes in other old films.
The organisation gave Flash Gordon a 12A rating for its reissue - more strict than the A rating it was given on its original release, which is roughly equivalent to a PG today.
BBFC senior policy officer Matt Tindall said that was because the outdated portrayal of Flash Gordon's nemesis, as well as some violence and bad language.
He said: "Ming the Merciless is coded as an East Asian character due to his hair and make-up, but he's played by a Swedish actor in the film, he's played by Max Von Sydow, which I don't think is something that would happen if this were a modern production, and is something that we're also aware that viewers may find dubious if not outright offensive. "The character of Ming of course comes from the Flash Gordon comic strips from the 1930s and the serials, and let's just say attitudes towards the acceptability of discriminatory racial stereotypes have moved on considerably since then, and rightly so of course." 'Not acceptable to modern audiences'
Earlier this year, Gone With The Wind had a warning added on US streaming service HBO Max saying the 1939 film "denies the horrors of slavery".
And the BBFC upgraded 1936 musical Show Boat from a U to a PG for "stereotypes, language and behaviour that are not appropriate at U under our current guidelines".
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
I don’t expect to see it of TCM any time soon.......................LOL!.............
I rate this idea “FFS”.
I already obtained a DVD copy of Blazing Saddles, while it’s still available.
Their warnings about “discriminatory stereotypes” offend me.
“Has anybody see âÂÂFLESH GordonâÂÂ?..................”
Late night on Cinimax, which we jokingly called “Skinamax” though that wasn’t too far off Fri-Sat nights.
By definition, any movie with this song as the theme song cannot be offensive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfmrHTdXgK4
I saw it with about a dozen friends at a double feature around 1976-77 playing with “The Groove Tube”, and I was on a date with an extremely fair complexioned and innocent girl...in “The Groove Tube” when the talking penis appeared doing the...er...public service announcement, I looked over at my date and her very fair complexion was a dark red...:)
Good times...good times!
“He said: “Ming the Merciless is coded as an East Asian character due to his hair and make-up,”
No, he’s an alien who isn’t even from planet earth. Morons.
I remember that the props were a riot.
Hehehe...no kidding!
Ming is an Alien overlord.
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