If you're not jaded about the corruption that often happens in politics, you probably will be after watching this movie. Mel Brooks takes a lot of shots at a lot of people in Blazing Saddles, but he saves some of his most crushing satire for politicians who care way more about protecting their jobs than they do about the people who've elected them.
And we see this attitude most in Governor Lepetomane, who is literally a cross-eyed buffoon who has no clue what bills he's signing or what his lackeys are doing while he's busy having sex with his secretary. So yeah, let's just sum it up for now by saying that Mel Brooks doesn't consider politicians to be the noblest people in the world.
Questions about Politics
- When do we first get the sense that Governor Lepetomane is incompetent at his job?
- What does Lepetomane like to do instead of his job?
- What does Mel Brooks say about politicians by making Lepetomane cross-eyed?
- Are the parts about seizing Native American land in this movie actually funny, or are they just plain sad?
Chew on This
In Blazing Saddles, we learn that politicians can be way more interested in looking good than in actually being good.
Blazing Saddles reminds us that politicians are just like anyone else—some are bad and some are good.