Sexism: An Outdated Fan Favorite

Sex is an essential piece to the composition of theater and motion picture works. Comedy often capitalizes on sexist themes that drive sexual and stereotype humor. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, directed by Richard Lester, is a prime example of sexist comedy. However, even though sexism is a disputed and harshly rejected practice today, it is still worth viewing in older films when sexism wasn't a successful social movement yet. In the film, there are scenes of women being sold as sex slaves and the entire variety of plots are centered around an ancient brothel. While the male characters are understandably clumsy and foolish, the main female character Philia is a very classic portrayal of 'dumb blonde.' These stereotypes saturate the comedy and add to the humor derived from the sexism. As Margaret Malamud says, the Jewish-American humor is the basis of a comedy emerging just as sexual pleasure is entering the film world at unprecedented levels. The sexism in Funny Thing is a step in the overall sexualizing of Hollywood. Therefore it is a piece of film history to be appreciated as such regardless of the latent prejudice. The humor is still funny to men and women both and does not solely objectify women. After all, one of the most terrifying figures, Domina, is a women. Millions will always enjoy Austin Powers and James Bond movies in the future even though their misogynistic tendencies may not be continued in future films. It still happened and it is still good comedy that makes for a good laugh.