This year’s production of “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure” at Universal Studios Hollywood proved to be more offending than entertaining, including jokes about rape, women, minority groups and homophobic stereotypes.
Even though the material for the show is presented in a satirical way and meant to be light hearted and funny, the explicit content did not come across as simply a joke.
On Oct. 22 the Hollywood show was canceled after receiving much criticism from multiple media outlets, according to thehuffingtonpost.com. The “Bill and Ted” show at Universal Orlando, however, was not cancelled, as the two shows are completely different.
A statement released on Universal’s website said, “After thoughtful consideration, Universal Studios Hollywood has made the decision to discontinue production of the Halloween Horror Nights’ ‘Bill and Ted’ show for the remainder of its limited run.”
Although their intention was not to offend anyone, Universal’s decision to cancel the show was a smart move. According to an article on Los Angeles Times, people were warned of its adult content before the show started.
But as a business, Universal couldn’t spend time arguing that they didn’t do anything wrong by letting that kind of content appear in the show. Deciding to remove the show demonstrated their desire to adhere to their customers’ concerns.
New York Daily News listed some of the show’s offensive scenes, which included Superman “turning gay” after being sprinkled with “fairy dust” and the main character from Disney’s Wreck-it-Ralph who beat up actors portraying Amanda Bynes and Nicki Minaj until they were unconscious. Wreck-it-Ralph then throws Nicki Minaj over his shoulder and says, “I’m gonna wreck it,” while pointing at her backside. This material is a bit explicit for a show with a sole purpose of entertaining a diverse audience with all kinds of viewpoints.
The show was called “super homophobic and racist” in an article on vice.com. “Don’t worry if you’re not gay. There’s plenty of other s**t in there for you to be offended by,” the article continued. “For instance, if you’re Asian, the Kim Jong-un character is unable to pronounce certain words with HILARIOUS results. If you’re latino, there’s a killer zinger where Bill tells Ron Burgundy that the Munchkin Land is ‘a very colorful place filled with lots of unemployed people who barely speak English.’”
Some people are going to let these scenes slide, but that doesn’t mean the more sensitive people should have to just get over it. This is why Universal’s decision was such a good one. Some people think the show’s content was a bit extreme and that those who were offended were just overreacting.
In response to a huffingtonpost.com article reporting the shows cancellation, Stoned in EPCOT tweeted, “Change the name of @GLAAD to “The No Fun Homos” Shutting down Bill and Ted over a gay superman joke? Really? It’s a f*****g joke!”
Rich Ferraro, the vice president of GLAAD (Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) made a statement in an Los Angeles Times article against the show. “This type of content should be removed,” he said. “Many have voiced strong concerns regarding the decision to include such outdated stereotypes and this outcry should inform future programming as well.”
Universal needs to draw a defining line that will not be crossed when it comes to deciding on the content for the “Bill and Ted” show. There is a way to be funny and entertaining without offending people.
Universal Studios tried to cover their bases when they warned guests at the beginning of the show that it will include adult humor. If you are someone who is easily offended by such jokes, then the “Bill and Ted Show” definitely isn’t for you. Its overall goal is to entertain people and make them laugh. However, if many people are getting offended, then obviously that goal is not being met and the content needs to be altered.
Audrey Eig, a spokeswoman for Universal, said in an article on advocat.com that the show “is specifically intended to be shocking and satirical in tone, focusing on adult themes. The show lampoons across all areas of our culture and it was not our intention to offend or upset anyone. We know there are a range of opinions on this issue and we will respect them as we consistently review and refine the show’s content.” Starting in 2014 and onward, according to New York Daily News, Universal will be overlooking the content of this show’s production to avoid offending customers with their material again.
Hopefully this year’s incident will not affect the show’s attendance in coming years. Rumors of the offensive show even affected Orlando attendees.
Taylor Valentine, a junior film major at UT, attends Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando every year and always makes a point to attend the shows, including “Bill and Ted.” But not this year. “The times were off and they seemed to be having trouble getting a crowd,” she said. “Heard it was a bit offensive too, so maybe I didn’t waste my time.”
Horror Nights guests like Valentine, thinking the two shows were the same, seem to have been turned off from the Orlando show even though the complaints of offensive content came from Hollywood.
No longer will it be acceptable to speak of certain stereotypes or minority groups in a joking manner. The jokes presented in the show received the same disapproving reaction that comes with telling a joke about the Holocaust or letting the “N-word” slip.
Universal made a bold move by allowing this year’s production of “Bill and Ted” to have such strong, questionable content, and, unfortunately, they had to face the consequences.
Cailtlin Malone can be reached at caitlin.malone@spartans.ut.edu