This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
A torch to light the way
Plot Overview
“He rode a blazing saddle
/ He wore a shiny star / They need a man who's brave and true
/ Yes, his name was Bart,” crooned Frankie Laine with all his
heart—nobody told him it was a comedy. “He conquered
fear, he conquered hate / He turned dark night to day / He made his
blazing saddle / A torch to light the way,” played the
music by John Morris. Director Mel Brooks wrote the lyrics to the
“Blazing” theme song. The crack-the-whip
sounds were dubbed in afterwards.
Working men are seen laying railroad tracks in 114° heat. They're in two groups: one whose skin is prone to sunburn and one not. The white ones request a slave song of the others who offer instead, “I get a [kick] out of you.” The whites for their part can't quite master a slave song either. Their foreman Taggart (Slim Pickens) shows up miffed. “What's a-going on here?” he demands. “I hired you people to get a little track laid, not to jump around like a bunch of Kansas City faggots!”
The year is 1874. The word faggot didn't come to mean homosexual until 1914. In the movie's time it would have been just a pile of wood.
Per Taggart's instructions the crew boss Lyle (Burton Gilliam) sends a couple men from one of the groups to check on reported quicksand farther down the line. Sure enough, they find it and almost lose their handcar in the process, but their bosses pull it out.
The track must be rerouted through the town of Rock Ridge. The State Attorney General Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman), in the know, wants to speculate on the land so he sends some henchmen, managed by Taggart, to clear out the town. The townsfolk respond by petitioning Governor William J. Le Petomane (Mel Brooks) for a replacement sheriff. The Atty General covers his own interests by suggesting a new sheriff who will be ineffectual in this white town: “a sheriff who so offends the citizens of Rock Ridge that his very appearance would drive them out.” He turns to the camera and adds, “But where would I find such a man?” Then he muses, “Why am I asking you?”
That's the crux of the matter. The movie is not so much bigoted as a vehicle to explore the bigotry of the audience, real or imagined.
Let's do a little thought experiment. The movie town of Rock Ridge is a facade, the buildings being but fronts supported by framing. Pull back and you may see it as a set on a Warner Bros. lot. Adjacent to it, say, is an all-gay musical set where some bizarre director is criticizing his performers, calling them faggots. He's using a disparaging term because he doesn't like their performance, although he's all in favor of gays in principle. Go from there down the street to the movie theater where “Blazing Saddles” is playing, and now when you hear the remark about “Kansas City faggots,” you'll be thinking disparagingly of gays. See. In fact if we travel to Grauman's Chinese Theater, we'd find footprints in concrete of famous actors casting the march of history in stone. That's how we have to understand this film.
As for the new sheriff, when the watchman on the roof sees him ride into view, he announces to the town, “Hey! The sheriff's a nig…”—a clock bell drowns out the word. So what kind of a sheriff is he that “his very appearance would [cause] them [to] drive [him] out”? I'm going to leave it to you to guess the nig-word.
Ideology
The camera lingers on the faces of the
astonished townsfolk when they see their new sheriff Bart
(Cleavon Little) who's in Dutch now. It is a priceless scene about
to turn ugly when the parson holds up his Bible and says, “I
implore you to pay heed to this good book!” Instead, they use
it for a target.
Having regrouped at a
town meeting, Reverend Johnson tries again: “We will now read
from Matthew, Mark, Luke … [stick of dynamite crashes
through window] … and DUCK!” Some part of the Bible
has been seriously neglected. Let's try to supply it. (1Timothy 6:1) “Let as many
servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of
all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not
blasphemed.” Former slaves are still working for whitey. Bart
and his fellow honor their bosses to the point of indignity at
which point Bart whacks Taggart on the head who then hollers
“Ow!” Later with a sore bandaged head he lets
loose with a “God darnit.” To dishonor their
masters is to curse their Maker.
(1Timothy 6:2) “And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.” The townsfolk are portrayed as good but ignorant folk, “the white, God-fearing citizens of Rock Ridge.” Bart serves them by working his way up to sheriffing, first by playacting a victim, then serving as a messenger boy, and finally as sheriff. He didn't get to his appointed duties all at once but served in other capacities first.
(1Timothy 6:3-5) “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.” Sounds like political correctness gone amuck—which I shall get to—and as if material gain were a virtue of itself. For example, “The bill that will convert the state hospital for the insane into the William J. Le Petomane memorial gambling casino for the insane” is characterized as “a giant step forward in the treatment of the insane gambler.”
(1Timothy 6:6-8) “But
godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing
into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And
having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”
Riding off into the sunset and leaving even your horse behind. The
good guys and bad had enough food to be satisfied (“A man
… don't eat, he is going to DIE”). There was a pie for
the sheriff, not to mention Lili Von Shtüpp's fare
(“Fifteen is my limit on
schnitzengruben”), beans for the farting
cowboys, Taggart in “the great pie fight” loaded
with “Yankee bean soup, coleslaw, and tuna
surprise,” and the chewing gum for everybody rule.
Adequate clothing included “Holy underwear!”,
mens' suits—dragged through the
street—(“Well, that's the end of this
suit”), KKK robes, the classy sheriff's duds, and his Gucci
saddle bags.
(1Timothy
6:9-10) “But they that will be rich fall into
temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts,
which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money
is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred
from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
That's Hedley Lamarr out to “snatch two hundred thousand acres of
Indian land,” which caused him all kinds of trouble.
I believe the start of political
correctness, as far as the n-word is concerned, is Martin Luther
King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail. In it he lists
various grievances including “when your first name becomes
‘nigger’ and your middle name becomes ‘boy’
(however old you are) and your last name becomes
‘John’.” We get a “Blazing” response
on the big screen.
In olden days (Acts 13:1) “there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger.” Niger is Latin for black and is the root word for nigger & Negro. If Simeon was a respected prophet or teacher with that appellation, then other blacks can wear it, too, with respect if they act respectably. Indeed their progenitor, Noah's grandson was named Cush being Hebrew for black. Something happened to its status through history, which did not befall the respected name John who was an apostle. The townsfolk in the movie are all named Johnson—son of John. What's so wrong with John? Lili Von Shtüpp (Madeline Kahn) sings that “Stage door Johnnies constantly suwwound me.” It's as (Eccl. 2:17-19) “I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.” The blacks somehow inherited the n-word designation, which hasn't made anybody happy; it's all vanity. As Tim Johnston writes:
“That's that waitress's car,” said the pimpled boy. “The one that got that nigger daughter.”We have to watch what we say, what we used to say naturally.Grant stepped closer to the boy. … “You need to watch your mouth, son.” (121–2)
When “Blazing Saddles” was made in 1974 the preferred term was black; African-American came later. The Italian and Spanish and Portuguese word for black is negro, as well as the French word nègre. The word black has so many negative connotations that it was left to modify things, while a foreign term was applied to people to soften it (I think the French one was carried over for more familiar situations).
As for boy, Lili Von Shtüpp interrupts her act with, “Hello, cowboy” and in typical southern usage the term boy is sprinkled throughout the movie: “Come on, boys!” , “Oh, boys!” , “Where you headed, cowboy?” , “me and the boys” , “Now, come on, boys!” & “Boy, is he strict!”. Bart's honorary black deputy (“Are we … black?”) has his own peculiar moniker: “Well, my name is Jim, but most people call me … Jim,” as in calling a spade a spade. He's the famous Waco Kid for whom it's an honor to be recognized (“You are The Kid.”)
The movie seems almost to dismiss MLK's long list of grievances by pointing out that the [blacks] have fared better than the Indians who were summarily slaughtered even though their skin wasn't nearly as dark.
Bart's farewell speech:Work here is done. I'm needed elsewhere now. I'm needed wherever outlaws rule
the West, wherever innocent women and children are afraid to walk the streets,
wherever a man cannot live in simple dignity, wherever a people cry out for justice.
It sounds rather like MLK's “I Have a Dream” speech, only here the crowd's response is, “BULLSHIT!”
Production Values
Mel Brooks who directed the R-rated “” (1974), also flowed into the parts of governor, Indian chief, and a couple minor roles. The actors were in general so good that a lackluster performance by the lead Cleavon Little was little noticed. Count Basie w/orchestra put in a cameo appearance where one doesn't normally find musicians. There were several songs played in the background to elevate the mood above sheer madness. Humorous tropes were used throughout, as well as lower kinds (“I love it when you talk dirty.”) It was as if Mark Twain's tall tales met Monty Python's twisted ones. Homage was paid to other westerns, although I was only vaguely aware of it. It was shot in Panavision. Runtime is 1½ hours.
According to IMDB, “The standard cable and commercial broadcast versions omit racial slurs and some bad language. Extent of the editing is contingent on whether the TV-PG, or TV–14 version is being shown.”
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
When I heard someone was showing “Blazing Saddles” on a Wednesday, I marked my calendar, skipped my regular Tues. night movie class—I had seen it's movie before—and went dancing instead. A girl I know at the dance also told me about the “BS” flick she was looking forward to seeing. The next day she walked into the room right at the time the projectionist was issuing his strong cautions about content. I vigorously advised the girl not to see it, but that only cracked her up more; it's for the controversial content that she came. “Blazing Saddles” is so funny that once you've seen it, you'll start laughing before it even starts. Or if it doesn't appeal to you, you'll be leaving soon enough.
Personally, I thought it was profound the way it put MLK in his place. At the end of the movie, a woman in the row behind me remarked, “It's beyond stupid.” I think different people will take it different ways.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Well done action flick. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Five stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Johnston, Tim. Descent. Copyright © 2015 by Tim Johnston. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, First paperback edition, 2015. Print.
King Jr., Martin Luther. Letter From Birmingham Jail. 1963. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org