Everyone’s a critic, andsome don’t have a funny bone at all. That would definitely seem the case with Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood. The long running parody show, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure, has been cancelled for the remainder of the run after a scathing article on Vice called the show homophobic. Universal Studios Hollywood has posted only a simple message on their website.
The show is known for being crude, rude and offensive. In the opening sequence of the show, the audience is told that there may be some things that offend people. The spot in the show that was so offensive was the fact that a wicked witch sprinkled “fairy dust” on Superman, turning him gay. Superman later declared “FINALLY!” after one of the show’s villains, General Zod demanded he get on his knees.
The day is saved with the help of Superman, which is something that the article forgets to publish. The article also uses scenes from the 2006 Bill and Ted Show…from Orlando. This has nothing to do with the 2013 show, with the exception of Superman.
Last year Orlando suffered a similar accusation when the Bill n Ted show was accused of being “Left Wing Propaganda” and “Pro Obama” because it pit Mitt Romney (a white guy) against Barack Obama (a black guy), in a rap battle. In the rap, both actors recited things that both candidates actually stated in their campaigns. It wasn’t skewed one way or another, it was making fun of both in a satirical way. The piece was edited out of the show in the final weeks.
Similarly Knott’s Scary Farm has a show that also roasts celebrities and pop culture icons every year called The Hanging. They are known for being unrelentless and at times very offensive. While many complaints have come up over the years about The Hanging, the park has stood by it’s show.
Is the Bill and Ted show Homophobic? Not hardly, since our sources say that a lot of gay men and women perform and work on the show. Those same men and women have lost their jobs because of this article. It’s not our belief that the Bill and Ted show is homophobic.
No, Bill and Ted being homophobic is like saying Blazing Saddles is racist. You don’t know Blazing Saddles? It’s a 1974 comedy by Mel Brook’s, written by Richard Pryor. It takes place in the old west, back before racial equality. A sleepy old western town had a black sheriff appointed.
This movie uses racial slurs of every kind. But, despite that…it’s not racist. It was made at a time, by a Jewish Director, where racial equality was on the verge. If it went one way, it would go back to the days of racial segregation. Luckily, it went the other way. Blazing Saddles was one of the reasons for that. It was a satire. It showed white people just how stupid their stereotypes of other races were. Just how stupid people can be.
Dare I say.. (Dare! Dare!) that shows like Bill and Ted’s Halloween Adventure is the Blazing Saddles of our generation? While many claim that it’s homophobic, it merely takes the stereotypes that we put on gay people, and shows us just how stupid they really are.
It comes at a pivotal time as well. We are on the verge of seeing the tides turning into a new era. It’s an era where FINALLY everyone could be equal. However, when people go the safe and “politically correct” way, just to make a few dollars more, or to appease what some see as hateful, then we’ve lost that ground.
Comedy is subjective, what you may find funny, others may find offensive. But the point of Bill and Ted is to offend you, because they are the teenagers that never grow up. They are the ones who make us look at what we say and do, and answer “wow…that’s stupid” in the hopes of moving forward and past the negative.
It’s satire, plain and simple, and unfortunately…the stupid people won.
Keep in mind that this is just for the Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights. The Orlando Halloween Horror Nights still has Bill and Ted showing.
Be Excellent to Each Other.
