The most poorly aged movie in cinema history, according to science
Cinema is like a time capsule, and there have been many instances in which a film has ‘aged poorly.’ But what does that mean? Politics and widespread societal attitudes and beliefs have shifted over the years, and while there are still plenty of bigots sadly roaming the earth, certain things – like blackface – are considered widely unacceptable within movies.
Yet, for years, blackface and other forms of blatant racism were widespread in cinema, and even when it seemed like the industry was getting more progressive, you could still find many forms of tokenism, colourism, and straight-up racism. Look at Mickey Rooney’s offensive portrayal of an Asian man in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, released in 1961, and then decades later, Robert Downey Jr’s use of blackface in 2008’s Tropic Thunder.
Essentially, if a film doesn’t actively criticise its characters for acting offensively, it’ll probably be deemed as having ‘aged badly’. Examples include movies with an actor pretending to be another race, a slim actor wearing a fatsuit purely for laughs, instances of sexual harassment played off as humorous, and creepy male characters that aren’t scolded for engaging in relationships with underage girls.
However, our standards for what is tasteful and what simply can’t fly constantly changes, and there are always going to be some people who aren’t as bothered as other people. Take the rom-com Never Been Kissed, for example, which sees Drew Barrymore’s 25-year-old character pretend to be a high-schooler, leading her teacher to fall for her, unaware she is actually perfectly of age. We’re meant to root for them, even though he was essentially flirting with one of his students until he discovered the truth.
Most people would say this has aged badly, but has it aged badly enough for people to ‘cancel’ it or stop watching it? The answer is probably no, as many viewers still laud it as a great rom-com and a comforting 2000s classic about self-discovery. However, there are definitely instances where if you were to be caught watching a certain film, not for academic reasons but for pure pleasure, you’d probably be judged quite harshly.
According to Stat Significant, who looked at “films that have seen the greatest decline in average online movie rating” via reviews found on MovieLens – and thus can be deemed as having ‘aged badly’ – it’s The Birth of a Nation that takes the top spot. Released in 1915, the film is arguably one of the most controversial movies of all time. DW Griffiths directed it and even became the first film to be screened in the White House, but it also did something terrible – it sparked a renewed interest in the Klu Klux Klan.
The film, with its white supremacist message, use of blackface, and championing of the KKK, led to an increase in violence against black people in the United States, with riots breaking out upon its release. Despite the vile content that the film contains, it has been praised by many filmmakers for its pioneering use of certain cinematic techniques that had not been used before, like cross-cutting.
Thus, it occupies a very controversial space in cinematic history, although today you probably won’t catch many people watching the film unless they’re forced to be a curriculum.
Stat Significant noted that the film’s average rating between 1995 and 2004 was 3.27, but between 2018 and 2023, this dropped to 2.44, marking a sizable drop of -25.3%. Meanwhile, the racist Disney movie Song of the South came in second place, and the Eddie Murphy film The Nutty Professor sits in third.
