After Roseanne Barr’s recent tirade, which went in so many racist, anti-Semitic, and batshit stupid directions, ABC made the decision to put her TV show to sleep. Other networks and streaming networks have followed by pulling reruns of the series. Even before this recent mess, there were problems with the revived iteration of Roseanne. Also, Barr had already said and done things which were outside the boundaries of acceptable behavior for public figures. But since we now live in a day and age where being a raging asshole is being more and more normalized, she was given a certain amount of leeway for posing as Hitler eating “gingerbread Jews” in front of an oven. Today Barr lashed out at her former co-stars and staff, while also blaming her behavior on taking Ambien at two in the morning, leading Sanofi, the maker of Ambien, to tweet that “racism is not a known side-effect” of their medication.
Meanwhile, the raging prick in chief found a way to make this about himself. Given Barr’s support for Donald Trump, and Trump’s embrace of the series in speeches as representing his voters and being “about us,” kinda hard to distance himself now. And who the hell are we kidding? This asshole couldn’t even bring himself to denounce tiki torch wielding Nazis and Klansmen. So I’m not gonna hold my breath about any moral leadership from the White House.
The cancellation of Roseanne predictably became a partisan issue where some of the usual suspects argued this is about free speech, censorship, political correctness, and tried to draw parallels to the situation surrounding the NFL’s new policy over national anthem protests. This sidesteps the fact that no one has shut down Barr’s ability to spew nonsense or be heard. All that’s happened is ABC said they, as broadcasting network, are not going to support it.
All of this got me thinking about other instances where controversy has thrown people off the air, or made them so toxic that their continued presence in media became untenable. It’s also interesting to think about the TV shows and movies which have incited protests over whether their consumption by the public was appropriate, or if their artistic merit is now outweighed by their offensiveness. And, of course, the question of whether they deserve their place in the hall of shame? Or are these instances of an overreaction?
- Since 2014, reruns of The Cosby Show have been yanked from various TV networks after the allegations and conviction against Bill Cosby for sexual assault. As the number of women coming forward accusing Cosby grew, TV Land pulled the show in November 2014, and Aspire followed suit in December of that year. In July 2015, BET’s Centric and Bounce TV pulled the series from their schedule. However, Bounce TV brought the series back to air in November 2016. After Cosby’s conviction in April, the network again pulled the series from the air.
- Peter Greenaway's 1989 film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover begins with Albert Spica (Michaell Gambon) beating up a man, ripping off his clothes, smearing dog excrement on his face and chest, then urinating on him ... and from there, things get worse. Upon release, the film encountered controversy because of its depictions of sex and violence. In fact, it's one of the reasons the MPAA instituted the "NC-17" rating, after it refused to give the film an "R" rating for its release in the United States and the backlash that decision received from film critics. That left the studio which distributed the film (Miramax) with the choice of releasing the film with no rating at all or an "X" rating. This sort of choice is the film industry equivalent of choosing between being shot or stabbed.
- A debate over the word “coward” spelled doom for Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect on ABC. Just six days after the September 11 attacks, Maher and guest Dinesh D’Souza disagreed with President Bush labeling the terrorists “cowards.” D’Souza called the September 11 attackers “warriors,” with Maher agreeing by stating:" We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, [it's] not cowardly." The reaction to this resulted in affiliates and advertisers pulling their support for the show, and then-White House press secretary Ari Fleischer admonished Maher by saying the incident was evidence "people have to watch what they say and watch what they do." Even though Maher offered an apology, Politically Incorrect was cancelled in June of the next year, with many an argument about the free speech implications for the society in the new “War on Terror.”
- Based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange was originally given an X-rating in the U.S. (Stanley Kubrick cut out about 30 seconds of sexual content to secure an R), and was withdrawn from the United Kingdom after some copycat violence and threats against Kubrick and his family. It wasn't officially available in the U.K. again—in theaters or on video—until 2000, a year after Kubrick's death. A Clockwork Orange is generally lauded today as one of Kubrick's masterpieces, with Anthony Burgess' story playing with themes of free will and individuality (even if it's the individuality of a sadist) versus the conditioning of the state toward "goodness." However, the movie's critical acclaim hasn't always been so. Noted film critic Pauline Kael called the film "pornographic" in her review, where she also accused Kubrick of "making the attacked less human than their attackers." The film is also an interesting case of "creator backlash," given the attitude Burgess came to have toward the film and Stanley Kubrick. Reportedly, the story was inspired by the assault and rape of Burgess' wife. Burgess expected the audience to be repulsed by Alex de Large and the Droogs, but instead people began emulating them and made them a part of pop culture.
- Reruns of The WB drama 7th Heaven have been scarce after the child molestation allegations against star Stephen Collins made headlines. The series is a wholesome family drama where Collins portrays a minister facing modern issues with his loving wife and growing children. However, after a tape recorded by Collins’ estranged wife was published by TMZ in which the actor admits to molesting at least three underage girls during a therapy session, the image projected by the series looked like absolute bullshit. Networks in turn dumped reruns of the series from their schedules.
- Over the years, there have been various arguments about the "unfortunate implications" in various classic Disney films, ranging from the crows in Dumbo to the Indians in Peter Pan. However, only one Disney film has never been released on home video, DVD, or Blu-ray in the United States because of its perceived racial insensitivity. The film is also the origin of the Disney song "Zip-a-Dee Doo-Dah," which won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Song. Set in the Deep South after the Civil War, Song of the South is based on the "Uncle Remus" collection of African-American folktales compiled by Joel Chandler Harris in the late 1800s, which tell of the adventures of Br'er Rabbit and his friends. However, concerns over the subject matter have resulted in the movie being off the market in the United States for years, leaving it locked in the Disney vault.
- Written by Harmony Korine (Gummo, Spring Breakers) and directed by Larry Clark, Kids was extremely controversial upon release. It depicts the lives of New York City teenagers as they deal with the consequences of acts of sex, as well as alcohol and drug use. The movie begins with Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick) convincing a 12-year-old girl to give up her virginity. The movie’s main story follows Jenny (Chloë Sevigny) as she searches for Telly after she tests HIV positive. Kids was called exploitative and borderline child pornography by critics. Feminist scholar bell hooks accused the film of being sexist with abusive behavior towards women. After the MPAA stuck the film with an NC-17, Harvey and Bob Weinstein (then the co-chairmen of Miramax) had to buy the film in order to get it released. At the time, Miramax Films was owned by the Walt Disney Company, and Disney's policy was that they would not release unrated or NC-17 films.
- Triumph of the Will haunted Leni Riefenstahl until the day she died. It is widely considered one of the first and best-known uses of propaganda in film history. Riefenstahl's film chronicles the 1934 Nuremberg Rally, and promotes Germany's return as a global power under the Nazis. For decades Riefenstahl claimed she was just a documentarian chronicling events. However, she could hardly be called anything close to an "objective filmmaker," since Triumph of the Will was financed by the Nazi government, commissioned by Adolf Hitler himself, and completed with the full cooperation of all involved, with the rally planned around Riefenstahl's filming. Triumph of the Will is also notable for its influence. Many of the techniques used by Riefenstahl have been borrowed by filmmakers and political campaigns. For example, George Lucas uses some of Riefenstahl's aesthetics in Star Wars (a.k.a. Episode IV: A New Hope). The ending of Star Wars is a direct lift from the scene in Triumph of the Will where Hitler, Himmler, and Viktor Lutze lay a wreath at the memorial for President Hindenburg. In Ridley Scott's Gladiator, the entry of Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) into Rome mimics Hitler's arrival in Nuremberg in Triumph of the Will.
- TLC has had two reality series rocked by scandals involving child molestation. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, centered around the home life of a child beauty pageant contestant, was cancelled in 2014 after media investigations found June Shannon, mother to the young star of the series, was dating a convicted child molester. One year later, 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled after it was revealed Josh Duggar, the eldest son of the Duggar family, molested at least five underage girls when he was a teenager, some of the victims were his sisters, and there were indications these incidents were hidden by the family to some degree. The entire 19 Kids and Counting series was predicated on the oddity of watching a woman have a "litter" of children, and also appealing to an evangelical audience who wants to see a wholesome family with "Christian values" in all their goodness. Those values usually entail total female submission, chaperoned dating, and clothing restrictions as part of the Quiverfull movement. When Josh Duggar's crimes became known, TLC pulled the series because the conservative fantasy of family values became the reality of a history of sexual abuse.
- Sam Peckinpah's 1971 film Straw Dogs is considered one of his best, but it was a tad controversial upon release—so much so that it was banned in the United Kingdom for a good many years. It tells the story of David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman), a timid American mathematician, who wants to escape what he perceives to be the increasing violence of American city life. Sumner and his wife Amy (Susan George) relocate to her native village of Wakely, Cornwall, in the southwest corner of England. However, almost from the get-go, David and his wife become targets for the locals, which include Amy's former lover. Its most controversial sequence is the ambiguity in a scene in which Amy is raped. After initially resisting, Amy appears to enjoy the rape at points. Because of that and the rampage at the end of the movie, the movie faced censorship bans in England for 30 years.
- Kevin Smith's first film, Clerks, which cost all of $27,575 and was shot in the convenience store where Smith worked, was originally given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA. The NC-17 was based solely on the language used in the film, which includes a memorable scene about “37 dicks,” where a boyfriend finds out his girlfriend’s oral sex number, since there are no acts of violence or depictions of sexual activity.
- The original 1978 iteration of I Spit On Your Grave was, and arguably still is, a very controversial grindhouse film, having been banned in a lot of countries. The controversy largely stems from a very graphic rape scene, and how you interpret the film. Is it a movie portraying the horrors of rape, and the revenge of a strong woman that's not going to take it? Or is it misogynistic trash that titillates its audience with sadism against a female protagonist? This has long been the dichotomy of the ‘70s/’80s-era exploitation films. Some feminists saw sexism in the T&A or the acts of violence directed at the female characters. However, the other side of the argument is some of the exploitation films were also the first to have strong female characters that weren't dependent on men to "save" them. A 2009 Los Angeles Times article on Feminism and Exploitation films quoted feminist scholars discussing how in 1970’s exploitation films some of the first aggressive, assertive female characters are found. However, not everyone agreed. For example, with I Spit On Your Grave, Roger Ebert wrote a scathing review, calling it "an expression of the most diseased and perverted darker human natures.” Back in 1980, Ebert and Gene Siskel devoted an entire show to "Women in Danger" films. During it, Siskel proposed the theory that these films were a reaction to the gains made by the women's movement, and fulfills a fantasy for some men of seeing a woman cowering and being "punished" whenever they have sex or do something un-lady like.
- There is a reason the word "Sadism" is derived from the Marquis de Sade's name. Salo (or The 120 days of Sodom) is from Italian poet, novelist, painter, and director Pier Paolo Pasolini and based on the novel "Les 120 journées de Sodome," written in 1785 by the Marquis de Sade, which tells the story of four libertines who kidnap a group of teenagers, take them to a chateau, and subject them to four months of the most depraved torture the libertines can imagine. The film has been controversial from the time it saw the light of day, and is still banned in many countries. However, the film does have fans. A 2001 Village Voice critics poll ranked it as the 89th greatest film of the 20th century.
- In 2013, the Food Network severed their relationship with Paula Deen after she admitted to using the “N-word” in the past and once contemplated a “plantation style wedding” for her brother staffed by African-American waiters posing as slaves. Deen conceded these things in a deposition, where a former employee was suing her and her brother claiming abuse. This incident had a profound affect on Deen’s ability to market herself and her brand, with various endorsement and merchandising evaporating in its wake.
- When you think of epics about the Roman Empire, the brain trust of Penthouse magazine is exactly who you want in charge of the film. Caligula is primarily infamous for trying to straddle the line between being high art and a porn film, and failing miserably at both. The original script was written by Gore Vidal (who later disowned the film) and was directed by Tinto Brass. However, the film was produced by Bob Guccione, the founder of Penthouse magazine, who had final cut. Unhappy with Brass' product, he brought in someone else to recut the film and added in hardcore sex scenes (with some of them not making any sense to what little plot the movie had). This led to many different versions of the film. There are reportedly nine different cuts of Caligula out there somewhere, and with each of them you're still left pondering how a movie with good actors (Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud), and gratuitous amounts of sex and violence can be so damn boring?
- This is the official trailer for Todd Solondz' film Happiness. It is quite possibly one of the most misleading film trailers ever made, since you would think the movie is a romantic comedy from what's presented. It is most decidedly NOT that. The film is actually a pitch black dark comedy that revolves around the lives of people connected to three sisters (Jane Adams, Lara Flynn Boyle and Cynthia Stevenson), and is about the pursuit of happiness. Except the happiness the characters pursue involves the fulfillment of their various psychological (and criminal) dysfunctions. The most infamous scene in Happiness is one in which a pedophile father (Dylan Baker) confesses his crimes to his young son, and it's ambiguous as to whether Solondz is going for the creepiness of the scene or trying to get laughs out of child molestation.
- Warriors! Come out to plaaaaaayyyy! Based on the Anabasis by Xenophon, Walter Hill's The Warriors tells the story of a Coney Island street gang trying to get back home after being framed for the murder of a gang leader ("Can you dig it?"), and being hunted by every other gang in New York City. The film became controversial after release because of acts of vandalism and three murders associated with viewers who had seen the movie. In response, Paramount pulled advertising for the film, and allowed some theater owners to get out of their contractual obligations to show the movie.
- The Last Temptation of Christ is probably the ultimate "we haven't seen it, but we're going to protest it" film. Based on the 1960 novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, Martin Scorsese's film tells the story of Jesus Christ's life and crucifixion, except in a much more human way than is normally done. What is the last temptation of Christ? A "normal" life with a human family. Fundamentalists objected strongly to the film, calling it blasphemous. However, the film is a fairly flattering depiction of Christ's story. It still recognizes Jesus as the son of God, but instead of treating Jesus like a comic-book superhero, the movie treats Jesus with the dignity of being a real person.
- D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation is a supremely innovative and influential film from the silent era. Considered by almost every film historian to be a seminal work for innovations in movie-making, the 1915 film is also a movie which makes excuses for every degradation white southerners employed in denying their black neighbors basic human dignity, while defending the Ku Klux Klan. Per Roger Ebert, it’s a great movie which literally “argues for evil.”
- During the "porn chic" period of the 1970s, it was thought porn films might one day become as mainstream as any other genre of film. One of the porn films that caught the public's attention was Deep Throat, starring Linda Lovelace (the pseudonym of Linda Susan Boreman). It centers on a woman (Lovelace) who learns that her clitoris isn't where it's supposed to be, but inside her throat. She can only achieve orgasm by performing the act named in the film's title. The film made a huge profit for its investors (who may or may not have been the Colombo crime family). And the notoriety of this and other porn films led to something of an alliance between cultural conservatives and some feminists who led a backlash against the genre as immoral and misogynistic. Years later, Boreman would testify before the Meese Commission denouncing the film. It should be noted that the after-effects of the Reems prosecution still exist in some ways. The prosecution was brought in Memphis, Tennessee, on charges of conspiracy to distribute obscenity across state lines. As recently as a few years ago, many of the online porn distributors would not ship products to Memphis or any of the surrounding zip codes.
- Paul Verhoeven's Basic Instinct was controversial not only for Sharon Stone's "crotch shot," but also with gay groups who disliked the portrayal of a bisexual woman as a psychopathic serial killer. Some protesters stood in front of movie theaters with signs giving away the identity of the film's killer.
- Rated X upon its release, Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris tells the story of an affair between an American widower and an engaged Parisian woman (Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider). Brando received a Best Actor Academy Award nomination in 1973 for this film, and Bertolucci was nominated for Best Director. The film's depiction of sexuality, and the turmoil (I guess that's a good word for it) of the relationship made people argue whether it was erotic art or pornography—and whether it mattered. Probably the most controversial scene deals with Brando’s character using a stick of butter to anally rape Schneider’s, which according to Bertolucci himself was planned by him and Brando and NOT done with the consent of Schneider, who was only 19-years-old when the movie was shot. Schneider in 2007 stated she felt “humiliated and raped” by Brando and Bertolucci, and since Bertolucci’s admission that he wanted to get Schneider’s reaction as “a girl, not an actress,” opinions about the director and Brando, and the film have worsened.
The sex in Last Tango In Paris has generally been described as “simulated.” But that’s a hard concept to parse when a 19-year-old actress is being talked into an off-script, “simulated” rape scene—involving her pants being ripped off and her face pressed into the floor—by two powerful older men, working together to conceal information from her to maximize her humiliation and pain. “I felt humiliated, and to be honest, I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci,” said Schneider, who refused to do nude scenes after her experience shooting Last Tango and who died of cancer in 2011. “After the scene, Marlon didn’t console me or apologize. Thankfully, there was just one take.”
- Heaven’s Gate was an infamous debacle that contributed to the collapse of United Artists and basically ruined director Michael Cimino's career. Cimino was coming off the success of The Deer Hunter, which had won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director in 1979, and decided on a Western epic loosely based on the Johnson County War. What was originally a film budgeted for $12 million eventually ended up costing $42 million which, if adjusted for inflation, would be well over $100 million in 2014 dollars because of blown schedules and production delays. A street built to Cimino's precise specifications was torn down and rebuilt because it "didn't look right." Cimino wanted the street to be six feet wider. When the set construction boss said it would be cheaper to tear down one side and move it back six feet, Cimino insisted that both sides be dismantled, moved back three feet and then reassembled. Cimino shot more than 1.3 million feet (nearly 220 hours) of footage, costing approximately $200,000 per day. Heaven's Gate earned less than $3 million domestically when it was released. The original cut of the film Cimino delivered to the studio was more than five hours long. Executives at United Artists cajoled Cimino into delivering a version of the film that was a little under four hours for the movie's premiere. After the premiere was met with disastrous reviews, UA pulled the film and Heaven's Gate was cut again for a final theatrical cut of about 2.5 hours. Of course, if you cut over 50 percent of a film's initial run-time, there's probably gonna be pacing problems and plot holes. Heaven's Gate is also the reason why the American Humane Association (AHA) monitors animal activities on all movie sets. In Cimino's pursuit for authenticity, four horses were reportedly killed and others seriously injured while shooting the battle scene, as well as allegations that other animals were slaughtered for various scenes. The AHA picketed the film and asked the public to boycott it. The uproar led to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) authorizing the AHA to monitor the use of animals in film production.