MovieChat Forums > Blazing Saddles (1974) Discussion > worst line: 'I like rape'

worst line: 'I like rape'

posted 17 years ago by davidmmiller
205 replies | jump to latest

I'm talking about the scene where all the outlaw baddies (and bikers and klansmen) are lining up to get a job on Hedley's gang, and one of them is asked by him to explain why he wrote "rape" twice on his resume, and the outlaw smiles and says "I like rape."

Of all the edits BS has undergone over the years, this line is the one I first noticed to go. In 1986 I watched this for my millionth time on video with my white flatmates in New Zealand (I'm a Yank), and the whole movie was met with a studied silence. When the "I like rape" line was delivered, my female flatmate turned to me and said "That's a joke?"

And as much as I hate to see movies get sliced to ribbons, that line always did make me wince. Call it politcal correctness or whatever, but I don't miss it. Fortunately the rest of the movie is hilarious. Side note: I ushered during this movie in the early '80s. We were showing Woody Allen's "Stardust Memories," and apparently it wasn't a big enough draw, so they added "Blazing Saddles" and made it a double feature--kinda like pairing wine with grits!

[–] DrugLordKai 16 years ago

Looking over a lot of this thread, I have to say...wow.

While a few people got the point, a LOT of people seem to be missing the forest for the trees.

Yes, the guy saying he likes rape is kind of a tacky line...but look where it's being said, and by whom.
Hedley's hiring people for the express purpose of running Rock Ridge into the ground (memory serves, when he's listing off people for Taggart to round up, doesn't he actually mention rapists. I definitely remember buggerers in there, which is roughly in the same area anyways.)
But yeah. We're talking about a line-up that includes, but isn't limited to, bandits, outlaws, Arab movie villains, the Ku Klux Klan, and Nazis.
With a crowd like this, is it really so appalling that one guy in the crowd would say something like "I like rape?"
Besides, as someone already pointed out, half the humor in the line comes from Hedley's simply responding "...Charming."

Looked at on its own, yes, it comes across as random and tasteless. Within the full context of the scene, it fits.

"Try as they might, human beings just can't be gods."
--Kai Shiden, Mobile Suit Gundam III

[–] makiki-2 16 years ago

I want my mommy!

Serious...this PC stuff is so out of hand nowadays.

Saw this in '74...at 14...my parents took me...

Funniest movie I ever saw than...and still a fond memory of a "family night out".

Never even thought of that line till it was mentioned here...get a grip people...this is a comedy.

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[–] crabapple86 16 years ago

The whole sequence is the establishment of being rediculessly "evil". As in "stupid". The whole thing is about just how dumb it is to be that kind of person.

Bleu Cheese Salad Dressing is made on the Moon! My Uncle from Mars told me, so I know it's true!

[–] jokeco68 16 years ago

A lot of humour is based on poking buttons on very touchy subjects, look at Sarah Silverman today, although I don't really find her funny at all just kinda weird. I suppose the basis of making a joke about something gravely serious could be that if it's not made fun of then it's never mentioned at all, as in we like to pretend that those things never happen at all. At any rate, comedy is about pushing buttons and bringing out topics that the moral majority would like to believe don't exist.

Everyone gets everything he wants.

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[–] nosnojsirhc 16 years ago

Borat made quite a few rape jokes about Kazakhs... all of the screechy hype about 'oh my garsh the PC world has censored us' is about as silly and overblown as the PC movement was to begin with.

[–] Alees67966 16 years ago

Imagine porky pig raping elmer fudd and tell me a joke abouit rape can't be funny!

[–] nosnojsirhc 16 years ago

um.

for some reason, that made me think about foghorn gettin tagged by roadrunner. beep beep!

[–] Dcoil03 16 years ago

If anyone finds this movie offensive, they completely missed the point.

This movie is not meant to be taken seriously in any way shape or form.

...And if you WERE offended, please destroy your television set, your computer and cancel any periodical subscription you may have. Then, go sit in a chair in your living room, with your hands placed squarely in your lap, and sit there for the rest of your life. You obviously cannot handle satire, the real world, or "bad things" in general. Have your food delivered, and don't communicate with others in the outside world, because I don't believe you can handle it.

[–] MuchToBeGratefulFor 16 years ago

It's your post that can't be taken seriously in any way shape or form.

I wasn't offended, but the line makes me cringe. It doesn't mean that I need to destroy my TV etc. It means that I have empathy for those who would have good reason for being traumatized by that line. If you really can't fathom why someone who was raped would have a problem with that line, you're the one who should be shut off from the rest of the world.

You must be the change you seek in the world. -- Gandhi

[–] guer0071 16 years ago

Murder is worse than rape, but isn't comparable because the chances of a murder victim being offended by a movie in it are slimmer than the ugly Olsen twin.

Mel Brooks does well in making light of Nazis and the Inquisition in his movies. At least I think it's funny, but I'm sure there are some people someone on this board whining about it.

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the Slim Pickens line "We'll rape the *beep* out've them!!!"? I think it's much funnier and more controversial.

[–] stevenackerman69 16 years ago

That could be that maybe the person who brought this up only heard the line "I like rape" and not Taggart's line. Maybe the former wasn't edited out of tv while the latter certainly was.

[–] Crevan1986 16 years ago

OP, the "female friend" sounds like a real blast to hang around with.

And, while yes, a rape victim MIGHT find that offensive, what about a family member of someone who's been murdered? My father was murdered when I was 7. If someone says the word murder in front of me I don't throw a hissy fit that the world doesn't conform to my feelings.

Tell your friend to grow up.

[–] darmandom 16 years ago

I wouldnt look at the film if i thought it was censored for the benefit of the holier than thou brigade . If someone cannot decipher between a joke about a a heinous act and a heinous act , then they need to be pitied .

I reckon the OP's female friend is probably residing in a convent know because if she finds that offensive in 1986 , God only knows what she would think of the subsequent decline in "good taste" since

[–] wel_da_war 14 years ago

nd, while yes, a rape victim MIGHT find that offensive, what about a family member of someone who's been murdered? My father was murdered when I was 7. If someone says the word murder in front of me I don't throw a hissy fit that the world doesn't conform to my feelings.

Epic post is epic!

And I agree whole heartedly. Hell, Mel Brooks is a freaking JEW for crying out loud, and yet he included NAZIS in the group of "evil-doers", and only 30 years after the HOLOCAUST.

If he can get over that and joke about it, you idiots screaming about one or two throwaway rape lines need to seriously STFU.

The world is yours & everything in it. Its out there; get on your grind & get it.

[–] Joe_in_Seattle 16 years ago

What are you talking about? That was one of the funniest lines in the movie. When your female flatmate asked "That's a joke?" You should have replied, "Of course it's a joke, you stupid b i t c h."

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[–] Quarkt_98 16 years ago

Who cares? Who really cares if a guy from a move made over 30 years ago uses the line, "I like rape". If you don't like it, don't watch the movie. It's a Mel Brooks movie, what do you expect?

I like how you were fine with all of the n-word usage in the movie, but heaven forbid someone jokes about rape, good lord. A black guy was being lynched in the movie and you could care less, but ohhhhhh no, someone joked about rape.

Good lord.

[–] BJKitsTRUE 15 years ago

QUOTE from original poster: "I watched this for my millionth time on video with my white flatmates in New Zealand (I'm a Yank), and the whole movie was met with a studied silence"

You dont like the film...but...BUT...you've watch it a million times? You dumb ass troller.

The fact that you watch it with your "WHITE" flatmates tells me that you're a bit of a racist...blacks not allowed to watch TV with you? You Politicly Correct Yanky Redneck Troller.

[–] scotbpens 15 years ago

The fact that you watch it with your "WHITE" flatmates tells me that you're a bit of a racist...blacks not allowed to watch TV with you? You Politicly Correct Yanky Redneck Troller.

The OP may have mentioned that his flatmates were white because race was a relevant issue. I don't know much about the people and cultures of New Zealand, but it's possible that whites, Asians, Maori, and other groups may have different ideas of humor.

All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

[–] bob-1402 16 years ago

But the whole film is offensive and your saying about that line but what about the *beep* word being spoken all the time in the film. And the scene with the old lady getting beaten up. Its all offensive but its done in a very funny way. Times like these people take things way too serious and they should lighten up.

[–] carehm 16 years ago

I just watched the movie on CMT. They kept that line in, but whenever the N* bomb was dropped, the soundtrack went silent for a second. Which, in this movie, happened quite often.