In the satirical film Blazing Saddles directed by Mel Brooks in 1974 his main objective was to poke fun at the genre of western films. Mel Brooks is famous for producing many other satirical films but Blazing Saddles is considered one of the most comical movies of all time. Every western film contains the same three elements which are a sheriff, gunslinger and a villain. With these elements in mind Mel Brooks decided to add a more modern twist to a western film and that twist was racism. Mel Brooks uses effective satirical techniques to provide an in depth critique of political and racial stereotypes throughout his film. Based in the wild west of the 1870’s, Blazing Saddles incorporates almost all racial stereotypes known to man. The movie
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He was named the sheriff of Rock Ridge because a racist government official by the name of Hedley Lamarr wanted to drive out the citizens of Rock Ridge to make way for his new railroad that is being built. Originally, the people of Rock Ridge were mortified that a African American sheriff came to protect their town but they eventually came to like Bart and his gunslinger friend Gene Wilder because they were the only defense standing in the way of Hedley Lamarr’s thugs that were trying to get rid of the towns population in order to make way for the new railroad. Mel Brooks uses effective techniques to incorporate the effectiveness of a manipulative political structure by adding in subtle jokes about politics. In the town of Rock Ridge the citizens are stuck in their ways, otherwise known as stubborn. They are considered racist and not the least bit interested in developing a more …show more content…
This racism throughout the film is not to make fun of a specific race but it is to poke fun at the stereotypes that were created by the public. When building the railroad Taggart, the head of the operation, orders Lyle, who works under Taggart, to send some African Americans down to check out the end of the track for quicksand and Lyle responds,“ Okay, I’ll send down a team of horses to check out the ground”(Brooks) followed by Taggart responding with, “Horses? Why, we cant afford to lose no horses, you dummy! Send over a couple of niggers”(Brooks). After analyzing this quote one can conclude that Taggard values the lives of his horses over a African American’s life. This quote represents the sterotype that African American lives do not matter nearly as much as a white persons life even though in reality they matter just the same. When Bart first arrived at the town of Rock Ridge he brings a good attitude and tries to possibly win over the town but he quickly realizes that this will be tough due to the fact that the whole town is completely racist. When Bart tries to greet an old woman by saying, “Ah good morning, ma’am. And isn’t it a lovely morning?”(Brooks) she replies, “Up yours, nigger!”(Brooks). Even though the greeting was friendly the old woman didn’t seem to care just because he was African American. This goes to show that no matter how nice an African american was in the town of Rock
He was named the sheriff of Rock Ridge because a racist government official by the name of Hedley Lamarr wanted to drive out the citizens of Rock Ridge to make way for his new railroad that is being built. Originally, the people of Rock Ridge were mortified that a African American sheriff came to protect their town but they eventually came to like Bart and his gunslinger friend Gene Wilder because they were the only defense standing in the way of Hedley Lamarr’s thugs that were trying to get rid of the towns population in order to make way for the new railroad. Mel Brooks uses effective techniques to incorporate the effectiveness of a manipulative political structure by adding in subtle jokes about politics. In the town of Rock Ridge the citizens are stuck in their ways, otherwise known as stubborn. They are considered racist and not the least bit interested in developing a more …show more content…
This racism throughout the film is not to make fun of a specific race but it is to poke fun at the stereotypes that were created by the public. When building the railroad Taggart, the head of the operation, orders Lyle, who works under Taggart, to send some African Americans down to check out the end of the track for quicksand and Lyle responds,“ Okay, I’ll send down a team of horses to check out the ground”(Brooks) followed by Taggart responding with, “Horses? Why, we cant afford to lose no horses, you dummy! Send over a couple of niggers”(Brooks). After analyzing this quote one can conclude that Taggard values the lives of his horses over a African American’s life. This quote represents the sterotype that African American lives do not matter nearly as much as a white persons life even though in reality they matter just the same. When Bart first arrived at the town of Rock Ridge he brings a good attitude and tries to possibly win over the town but he quickly realizes that this will be tough due to the fact that the whole town is completely racist. When Bart tries to greet an old woman by saying, “Ah good morning, ma’am. And isn’t it a lovely morning?”(Brooks) she replies, “Up yours, nigger!”(Brooks). Even though the greeting was friendly the old woman didn’t seem to care just because he was African American. This goes to show that no matter how nice an African american was in the town of Rock