Trigger warnings are the recent normal.
Everything from “Dumbo” to “Goodfellas” has been issued warnings for anyone who comes across the questionable content.
New stories. Classic stories. And after all, “Blazing Saddles,” one in all the most beloved satires of all time, couldn’t go unnoticed without warning.
The Blazing Saddles trigger warning shows that the culture has gone off the rails https://t.co/IUNlOykFOx
— Christina Hoff Sommers (@CHSommers) August 15, 2020
The latest trigger warning from the UK could also be the silliest yet.
Published courtesy of the BBFC, the British Board of Film Classification. The content in query? “Wicked” – a big-screen adaptation of the Broadway prequel “Oz”. The film stars Cynthia Erivo as the green heroine, a young woman ridiculed due to her skin color.
The story touches on friendship, feeling different from peers and, after all, flying monkeys.
The BBFC is worried that a movie that crushes its competition at the box office may ring a bell with select audiences.
Why?
“…the sight of beloved characters being mistreated, especially when Elphaba’s skin color is used to demonize her as the ‘Wicked Witch,’ can be depressing and touching for some viewers.”
Yes, this is a key point of the original series and movie. Should we avoid stories which might be “depressing” and/or “heartbreaking”? That would go away out, well, most of the content.
Even more vital?
If you are frightened about being offended or triggered by this, there are countless examples of flicks and TV shows with similar themes. Should they’ve trigger warnings too?
If not, why not?
The saddest part? The far-left Guardian’s position on the ‘Wicked’ warning. A column full of snark suggests that the real villains are those that I believe it woke up wild.
But that may mean political correctness gone mad, would not it. We mustn’t abolish trigger warnings, even for movies which might be heavily marketed for kids, despite the fact that they’re based on revisionist novels and contain several scenes set in BDSM clubs. Children have to learn that racism and animal abuse occur each day. They must be subjected to this presentation without warning, especially in the event that they are five years old and just want to look at a pleasant fairy tale movie with a number of cute songs.
Smart storytellers trust that children will embrace and accept topics that provoke conversation. No, a idiot shouldn’t watch Fifty Shades of Grey. Many family movies, resembling the recent “The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever,” provide moral tales of wrongdoing and redemption suitable for all ages.
And, quite shockingly, it attracts crowds without warning of a single launch.
