The movie industry is now in a position where it’s more of a priority than ever to be seen as inclusive and considerate of narratives from minority groups while also tackling social issues head-on. This is all positive. However, it hasn’t always been this way, and many movies from the past now appear so biased, ignorant, or blatantly offensive that they would never be made today.
Let’s take a look at the worst offenders.
White Chicks (2004)
Even though this movie is hailed as an iconic piece of cinematic genius, it could not have been made today.
In the movie, two FBI agents, Marcus (Marlon Wayans) and Kevin Copeland (Shawn Wayans), go undercover as women wearing whiteface in an attempt to protect two socialite hotel heiresses from a kidnapping plot.
The two African-American actors transform into a pair of white Paris Hilton lookalikes, which we’re sure you can imagine has some pretty hilarious consequences.
Racially Insensitive and Offensive
Although it’s generally agreed that this was a funny movie, it’s also generally agreed that the racial connotations of any actors now donning whiteface or blackface for a movie role are considered massive faux pas.
The fact is that this movie just wouldn’t fly in today’s politically correct and racially sensitive climate.
In an interview with GQ, Marlon Wayans, who plays one of the white chicks, spoke out against cancel culture, and while acknowledging the fact that it’s unlikely that a movie like this could ever be made now, he said; “It’s sad that society is in this place where we can’t laugh anymore.”
Tropic Thunder (2008)
According to some, this is one of the best comedies of the 2000s. Still, according to others, it’s one of the worst movies ever made for its exploitation of racial tropes and the promotion of discrimination against people with disabilities.
Ben Stiller directed the movie, which featured some of Hollywood’s biggest hitters, with Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. both playing lead roles.
The movie’s basic plot holds that, due to a random series of events, a group of actors end up in a real war zone and are forced to become the soldiers they were meant to be playing.
Some hilarious and far-fetched escapades unfold, and we see some very unique movie scenes in this film that will most likely never be seen again.
Tropic Blunder
When it was made in 2008, the movie caused protests and boycotts, so we dread to think what kind of response it would garner today.
In some scenes, Robert Downey Jr. can be seen in blackface; in others, a character with Autism called Simple Jack is mocked and belittled with the use of some very derogatory language.
All in all, this type of movie would amount to a tropic blunder in 2024.
The Last Samurai (2003)
In this movie, Tom Cruise plays a washed-up, boozed-up ex-veteran of the Civil War who appears to have lost his purpose until a Samurai Clan takes him in.
As the film unfolds, Cruise devotes himself to protecting and preserving the Samurai way of life and even risks his life to defend them in battle.
Culturally Insensitivity and Historically Inaccurate
The film has since been criticized for presenting an American soldier as the savior of an ancient people. Furthermore, the timelines didn’t match up, and audiences complained about the historical inaccuracies.
If that wasn’t bad enough, in the scenes where actors speak in other languages, primarily Japanese, the effort wasn’t made to add subtitles to the movie, attracting claims of cultural insensitivity.
Despite its flaws, this movie was still celebrated for its other achievements at the time, receiving four Academy Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.
But it still makes the list of movies that couldn’t be made today.
You Only Live Twice, James Bond (1967)
We fully recognize that almost any movie created in the 1960s could potentially make this list due to a plethora of inappropriate, sexist, racist, ageist, and probably everything-ist things that just would be highly inappropriate in today’s society.
But, we think that the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice deserves some special recognition here.
Offensive on Many Levels
Sticking with the Japanese theme, unfortunately, in this film, Sean Connery pretends to be Japanese. If that doesn’t sound bad enough, once you add in the fact that he wears a fake black toupee wig, fake bushy eyebrows, and even sticks on some artificial eyelids, things go downhill fast.
As the movie progresses, it just gets worse. In addition to the typically sexist vibes that most Bond movies emit, the film goes on to exploit almost every Asian stereotype you can think of, including Kimonos, Ninjas, Geishas, and more.
Basic Instinct (1992)
If you haven’t heard about the famous flashing scene in Basic Instinct, then I’m not sure if you’re from planet Earth. Jokes aside, it’s rare that one scene in a movie can have such a lasting and profound impact on audiences for decades, as we are still talking about it here.
The scene in question was called everything from crude to profane and criticized for promoting the degradation of women.
However, it was not as it seemed regarding that famous shot, and it wasn’t the only reason this movie upset many people.
Sexist, Biased, and Allegedly Non-Consensual
This movie gets a lot of ticks in the wrong boxes. As ground-breaking and infamous as it may have been at the time, the film was heavily criticized for how it portrayed same-sex couples, and it therefore received backlash from the LGBTQ+ community.
Then there was the flashing scene. Sharon Stone has since spoken out about how the Director, Paul Verhoeven (who also made Robocop and Total Recall), lied to her and said he would not include the graphic footage in the final cut.
Stone has stated several times that she regrets ever making the film. In her autobiography, The Beauty of Living Twice, she recounts how she was told to remove her underwear because it was reflecting the light but was assured that her privacy was intact.
Thankfully, it doesn’t look like this kind of thing could happen today. According to Sharon, in her own words, “There are new [Screen Actors Guild] rules about that now that have been made and created, but they were made after I, as a young lady, made this film, and so they don’t apply to me.”
The Jerk (1979)
There is no way that this movie, or anything like it, would ever be allowed to be made today, as I’m pretty sure that some of the terms, references, and outright racist scenes could verge on breaking the law.
In the movie, Steve Martin plays Navin, a white man who believes that he was born a poor black child in Mississippi. Whenever Navin discovers that he’s actually a white man, he leaves Mississippi to find his fortune in St. Louis.
Racist and Offensive
It’s hard to say just how awful and offensive this movie is. We see Steve Martin in blackface, pretending to be a black person while exploiting every conceivable racial slur, stereotype, bias, and trope possible.
Never mind that it was not allowed to be made now, we still can’t understand how this movie was ever allowed to be made THEN.
Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (1994)
We have to give Jim Carey credit for some of the fantastic movies that he has made, including The Mask, Lier Lier, and Yes Man, but sadly, in hindsight, we can’t give him much credit for this one.
Gender Identity Bias
Thankfully, today’s society is much more aware of topics relating to gender identity. Although the film industry hasn’t got an excellent record in this area, we are beginning to see better representation of Transgender people and their lives.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, as the movie plot is built around an unfavorable narrative towards same-gender couples and also individuals in transition.
For these reasons, this film could not be made in 2024.
The Toy (1982)
We’re not really sure how to explain the plot of this movie, as it is absolutely unbelievable and would absolutely not be made today.
The film stars Richard Pryor, and the basic premise is about a rich, spoiled white boy who picks out a black man as his new toy. That’s automatically a solid no from me.
Racially Offensive and Super Cringy
If you look up the definition of the word cringy, we’re almost sure that you’d find the trailer for this movie.
Everything about this film is awful; it’s an uncomfortable concept that’s built upon the premise of racism, and we don’t know who thought that it would be a good idea to make this movie.
And it seems that audiences weren’t too keen on it either, as even with a big name like Richard Pryor in the leading role, it wasn’t much of a hit.
The storyline was maybe just a step too far for most people, even in 1982.
Planet of The Apes (1968)
Although this movie gives retro, sci-fi, and Star Trek vibes, it unfortunately also gives racial inequality, bias, and discriminatory vibes.
Racial Inequality, Bias, and Discrimination
Planet of the Apes sees a space traveler from Earth (Charles Heston) crash land on an unknown planet where apes are in charge.
We see humans being harshly treated as slaves by their overbearing ape owners. The movie is presented as a chilling allegory for racial inequality and conflict.
The film highlighted some troubling themes during a very upsetting time in America, and with all of its references to the injustices of the American slave trade, it was a controversial movie when it was made in 1968, and we highly doubt that it would ever be made in the same way again today.
Borat (2006)
Sacha Baron Cohen is known for his off-the-wall and often politically incorrect humor. However, a movie like Borat would never have been made in 2024.
Racial Stereotyping, Sexism, and Alleged Antisemitism
If that headline hasn’t sold you on this movie, good. It shouldn’t, and I don’t think that today’s woke audiences would buy into these themes either, even if they are disguised as thinly veiled satire.
In this movie, Cohen plays a journalist from Kazakhstan who travels to America to make a documentary about why America is such a great country. Cue a barrage of racial stereotypes, sexism, and alleged antisemitic remarks.
This film managed to offend an entire nation, and the government of Kazakhstan actually banned it from showing in cinemas, calling it a “gross misrepresentation” of their country.
Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)
It’s no secret that the earlier Star Trek series has been criticized for highly sexist and culturally insensitive themes, but it was thought that Star Trek had made a good effort to move with the times, that was until this movie in 2013.
Intergalactic Misogyny
It seems that misogyny doesn’t only happen down here on Earth, and women aren’t even safe from it in intergalactic space, according to some distraught fans of this movie anyway.
Star Trek: Into Darkness received a lot of backlash regarding one scene in particular, where we see Alice Eve (playing Carol Marcus) strip down to her underwear for no apparent reason, basically right in front of Kirk. Critics accused the writers of randomly throwing in the scene purely for its testosterone-boosting shock value, and maybe they had a point, as the scene appeared to have no relevance to any part of the movie plot whatsoever.
