Hollywood, Media Silent as ‘Crocodile Dundee’ Gets Censored

by

There’s concern among Hollywood and media outlets that President Donald Trump could trigger a wave of increased censorship.

According to Deadline’s Peter Bart, there could be a fresh Hollywood blacklist if Trump 2.0 emerges, as the cast of “The Apprentice” voiced concerns about a potential suppression of free speech when their movie faced difficulties in finding a distributor due to its anti-Trump stance.

Spoiler Alert: It eventually did, and the film flopped.

In the meantime, both Hollywood and media personnel focusing on the industry chose not to intervene while sensitivity readers edited classic literature, popular films disappeared from major streaming platforms, and cautionary statements were placed on a variety of works ranging from “Peter Pan” to “Goodfellas.

No outrage. Often silence.

The latest censorship attack is drawing crickets from the usual suspects.

1) The ’80s comedy “Crocodile” Dundee” became a franchise sensation and surprised many as one of the decade’s biggest successes. In this film, Paul Hogan portrayed a tough Australian character who experienced familiar “fish-out-of-water” scenarios during his American adventures.

The film earned Hogan, the film’s co-screenwriter, a Best Original Screenplay nomination.

Seen today, a few sequences are now considered “problematic” to the Woke Left.

For instance, consider the example: Hogan’s Mick Dundee character physically grabs someone identified as transgender, who was dressed as a woman, in an area typically associated with gender, revealing male genitalia. At that time, this event didn’t spark significant backlash, but it aligned with Mick’s rough and insensitive personality traits.

As in, he lacked any. That’s part of his character, for better and worse.

In that instance, it’s one of numerous sections omitted during the latest re-release of the movie. The “Crocodile Dundee” encore version, screened at the OpenAir Cinema in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens last month, excluded several crucial scenes from the film.

That includes the film’s most iconic line.

“That’s not a knife. THAT’S a knife,” Mick says, flashing his personal blade to a startled mugger.

In another instance, Mick queries the origin of a person unknown to him, an action considered racially insensitive by some circles.

Over two weeks have passed since these events unfolded. As reported by the Daily Mail, even the veteran actor from the movie submitted to the progressive censorship, expressing his approval of the edits. A revised edition of the timeless comedy was aired on British TV in December.

More contemporary controversies garnered limited attention in Australian media, but barely made a ripple in U.S. outlets. The Daily Mail and Midnight’s Edge YouTube Channel were among those who covered the story.

What about the Hollywood press stateside?

  • Deadline
  • The Hollywood Reporter
  • Variety
  • The Wrap

As a dedicated film enthusiast, I thoroughly scoured reputable sources like Google, but alas, I found no coverage on the topic from the usual suspects such as The New York Times, CNN, or established media outlets.

It’s no surprise.

In 2023, the same media outlets largely chose not to cover “The French Connection” after it underwent a modernization or reinterpretation with a focus on social issues (often referred to as ‘woke’).

It’s understandable that we might have underestimated the concerns of actors and traditional journalists regarding Donald Trump’s influence on the arts, given our initial skepticism.

They’ve already shown they couldn’t care less.

NOTE: There’s an “Encore Cut” trailer on YouTube. The comments section has been disabled.

Read More

2025-02-08 01:03