Movies- Aged Stereotypes/Major Payne

    In a world where improvements are constantly being made to make people feel more included and comfortable in their own skin it's interesting to see what becomes taboo. In many cases it's obvious things like offensive words or portrayals of other races. So when we look back at older films is it fair to judge them by current standards? Yes and no. While we acknowledge that some of the content in films is offensive it's better to take it as a learning experience than disregard it completely. One example that sticks out in my mind is the depiction of Native American characters in the Disney film Peter Pan. As someone with Native family and heritage I can certainly see where the mistakes where made but instead of condemning whats otherwise a beloved childhood film I choose to use it as a teaching aid on what not to do and how far we've come. As a child the scene made me uncomfortable but I wasn't exactly sure why. Only later did I find out the true nature of just how offensive it was. While I only share a few qualities with my Apache and Caddo family I found myself studying my own face, my wide nose, my large lips, my furrowed  brow, even the braids in my hair and wondering why this was funny to people during that time period. Disney+ has even put a warning label in front of the film. 1953 was a very different time and while stereotyping has lessened it still pains me to see scenes like in the Adam Sandler film the Ridiculous Six where he essentially made a joke out of an entire race of people. Racism or ostracization towards certain groups is often overlooked and while there have been strides made recently we still see things that can be improved upon. The Washington Football team is a good example of mistakes being rectified whereas the Cleveland Indians stalling a name change is a sign of work still to be done.

        I take the previously mentioned information into consideration when I watch older films. As a child I thought Major Payne was a very funny film and when my friends and I sat down to watch it last week I was a bit nervous to see how it had aged. The film came out in 1995 which doesn't seem like that long ago to some but keep in mind I was born in 1999. The Wayans brothers don't have the best track record for being politically correct. To be fair they do satirize many different races including their own but some people still don't see it as just good fun. The movie White Chicks is considered a bit controversial to some people given that the Wayans brothers use prosthetics and makeup to portray other races in the film as part of the plot. Speaking as someone who is considered 100% wonder bread white by most everyone I encounter I'll say that I saw nothing wrong with the film and it was rather funny. Much like Robert Downey Jr.'s character in Tropic Thunder it's not as if these actors were pretending to be another race. They were portraying people in disguises of sorts. The films White Chicks is essentially just a satire about average hard working African American cops interacting with affluent white people in funny ways to solve a mystery. The reason any of this is relevant is because the film I watched recently (Major Payne) stars none other than Damon Wayans, on of the Wayans brothers. 

    Major Payne is a bit of a comical twist on a classic tale. A hardened veteran has no interest in civilian life. As he famously said "Killing is my business ladies and business is good" (Megadeath reference)  After eradicating any and all threats to freedom and democracy Wayans character Major Benson Payne is discharged from the Marines and struggles to live a normal live. He tries his hand at being police officer but even that proves to be too far out of his norm. He ends up tossed in jail for slapping a man senseless during his failed police training and his former superior comes to him with an offer to reenlist for a special mission. Payne eagerly accepts but shows up to his assignment to find that he's in charge of the cadets in the JROTC program at a private school. The kids are a rambunctious bunch and have disregarded all the people put in charge of them before Payne. He quickly and hilariously asserts his authority while spouting off an old western quote "What we have here is a failure to communicate" ( from Cool Hand Luke) he batters the boys with a variety of insults and forced exercise. Cadet Stone, the oldest boy and ring leader of the group arrives late and tries to laugh off Payne and his authority which results in all of the boys having their heads shaved. The beautiful school counselor played by Karyn Parsons (formerly Hillary Banks on the Fresh Prince) comes to scold Payne and there's an obvious love interest forming. She advises he take a more supportive and gentle approach which goes against every fiber of his being. As the boys try desperately to find some way to get rid of the overbearing and tough Major they try every trick in the book from blackmail to hiring someone to beat him up. After weeks of grueling training and failed attempts to sabotage Payne's job the boy are given an ultimatum, steal the annual military games trophy from the rival school undetected or deal with Major Payne for the foreseeable future. The boys are discovered and beaten up only furthering their disdain for Payne. Eventually parents day rolls around and Stone's drunken and disgraced military step-father (played by Michael Ironside) comes to hassle him. He roughs Stone up and insults him until Payne comes to the rescue embarrassing and sending the step-father away. This earns Major Payne Stone's respect and in turn the other boys as well and a fire is fueled inside them to win the upcoming military games. Payne slowly implements the more caring methods suggested by the counselor who he is now smitten with and the combination seems to work surprisingly well with his usual style. Everything seems to be going great as the boys are confident they will win the games. Payne's superior shows up and offers him active duty again at the rank of Lieutenant and he eagerly excepts much to the disappointment of the cadets. Led by Stone the boys make it all the way to the finals but encounter a number of setbacks. Payne realizes the woman he loves and the kids he's come to care for are more important and he returns just in time to help devise a strategy to take the final competition on. They boys win led by the youngest of the group and Payne decides to stay on to mentor more future generations of potential soldiers.

    Overall this movie has aged fairly well as far as the comedy goes. There were a few spots that concerned me as far as some language used to refer to people with mental and physical disabilities. There is also a scene in which the boys try to get Payne fired by taking a picture of one of them sleeping in his bed with him while wearing a dress, this was slightly uncomfortable due to the the implications they were trying to create. There was also a scene in which he makes the boys run through the school in dresses which might be seen as something transphobic or insulting to certain viewers. All in all I think that it is fairly tame aside from mainly outdated language. The film has a heartwarming story and a host of quotable and hilarious scenes. I enjoy goofy movies and that's the perfect word to describe Major Payne. It takes a serious Rambo-like character and turns him into a goofball which provides a nice break from all the serious and often depressing films revolving around military veterans and active duty servicemen and women. It has a charming blend of references, physical humor, and one liner jokes. Wayans knocks this comedic role out of the park with what has become a cult icon of a character among people my age.