A brouhaha has been started because the Brooklyn Bridge Conservancy wants to have a public showing of Breakfast at Tiffany’s which contains Mickey Rooney’s mocking and over the top portrayal of a Japanese-American. The over done makeup, squinting eyes and Rooney’s accent are clearly racist, but this alone is not reason enough to not show the film. It has many redeeming qualities and the depiction of the Mr. Yunioshi character is telling of attitudes of the time and allows us to get a glimpse into the mindset of what film makers thought was appropriate at the time, which was 1961.
The following are all films that have overt racism, sexism, classism or other offenses but that you should still see. Continue reading
