Madeline Kahn Monday: Sweet Mystery of Life -The Toast

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This feels like the spiritual opposite of the “I’m Tired” sequence from Blazing Saddles.

< https://youtu.be/E81ICJywqwg >

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I spent at least a decade believing that this song was written specifically for Young Frankenstein and for Madeline.
Right after this point in the narrative in the stage musical, the Madeline Kahn character sings a song called "Deep Love." You can imagine.
anybodies's avatar

anybodies · 478 weeks ago

Rape as comedy? Really Mallory?
4 replies · active 478 weeks ago
Mallory Ortberg's avatar

Mallory Ortberg · 478 weeks ago

Hoo, boy. On the off chance this is not just a troll who floated in through the filters: this is not a rape joke. This is not played as a rape joke. Reducing Madeline Kahn's (great) role in this film to a rape joke is...well, you have to look awfully hard to see it from this angle. She says "I have a fiance," and then delightedly jumps him, has wonderful sex, leaves her fiance, and has a wonderful time. It's a lovely and a funny part. The joke is not, "Hah, all women change their minds about sex;" the joke is that this tightly wound character who drops into the narrative halfway through becomes more wrapped up in rampaging around destroying things than anyone else does, and switches on a dime from Evil Fiance to Riotously Happy Agent of Chaos. It's also a lovely, wonderful moment of operatic virtuosity from a real talent.
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Mallory Ortberg · 478 weeks ago

Also, my goodness, breaking into song and shouting "Oh, sweet mystery of life, at last I've found you" while rapturously enfolding a lover in your arms is a really great picture of enthusiastic consent! It's as enthusiastic as enthusiastic gets!
The film is great and the role is great, but this scene does read a lot like coerced sex to me? "There was enthusiastic consent once the sex starts" is kind of a terrible moral!
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Mallory Ortberg · 478 weeks ago

I think it's definitely worthwhile to parse the scene! I would not, for example, teach it as a textbook-from-start-to-finish example of enthusiastic consent, but neither would I dismiss it as a rape joke.
I grew up watching this movie with my Dad (on CHRISTMAS, no less!) and I will never forget when i was 17 years old my dad had to skip this scene because SOMEHOW IT WAS SUDDENLY AWKWARD
I've been looking for this song for ages! So funny! ;-)

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