Home Truth

Mel Brooks, making a point that should be obvious but isn't said enough:

Society's "stupidly politically correct" sensibilities will lead to the "death of comedy", the veteran Hollywood comedian Mel Brooks has warned.

Brooks, known for his plethora of acclaimed comedy movies, said political correctness was becoming a stranglehold on comedians.

"It's not good for comedy. Comedy has to walk a thin line, take risks," he said.

"Comedy is the lecherous little elf whispering in the king's ear, always telling the truth about human behaviour."

And he makes the obvious point about how things have changed over the last 40 years:

The producer and director said that his iconic western parody Blazing Saddles could not be made in today's political climate.

Most people remember Blazing Saddles for things like the campfire scene or the Mongo character punching a horse, but it was chock full of social commentary. One of my favorite moments of insight is in this short scene, which happens after the Sheriff Bart character is called, well, the N-word:

We all are, at any given moment, morons. To his credit, Brooks has always recognized that home truth. And then there's this image from the film:

Or else

In its own way, the juxtaposition of messaging isn't much different than what we see from these guys:

Or else

At bottom, comedy is about telling the truth. We can, for now.