What happened when Gen Z watched classic British films: 20-somethings give their verdict on movies with sex scenes, trans characters and body shaming that would never make it on to screens today

While the Carry On film franchise provided box office hits for more than 30 years, the sexist plots and sexualised depictions of women would certainly never make it on to screens today.
But according to Caroline Frost, the author of Carry On Regardless: Getting to the Bottom of Britain's Favourite Comedy Films, the films - made between 1958 and 1992 - were not sexist at all because it was the female stars who were forced to 'save the day'.
And while the stars of the franchise, including the late Dame Barbara Windsor, Hattie Jacques and Joan Sims, reportedly didn't feel their characters were outdated, Carry On belongs to the same canon as Benny Hill, which was the subject of a recent documentary questioning if it should stay cancelled.
In the show, Gen Z viewers were introduced to his slapstick and risqué sketches for the first time to gague their reactions - prompting the question: What would the same viewers think of movies from the past five decades that they're too young to remember?
The 1970s sex comedy Come Play With Me offered similarly sexualised depictions of women while Monty Python's sex-focused gags left newer viewers squirming.
In the 1992 crime thriller The Crying Game in which IRA volunteer Fergus falls in love with Dil, the girlfriend of a British soldier, was critically acclaimed and nominated for mutiple awards, winning an Oscar for Best Screenplay.
However, the 'twist' that revealed Dil to be transgender - and Fergus' horrified reaction - would be highly unlikely to meet today's standards of sensitive handling of trans issues.
To find out what the modern audience thinks of films that have raised at least a few eyebrows, Gen Z viewers Emily Cooper, 23, Poppy Gibson, 25, Kirsten Murray, 25, and Martha Mccraken, 23, sat down to see if they really deserve the criticism levelled at them.
Carry On Cruising - 1962
The sixth comedy in the 31-strong Carry On film series, Carry on Cruising was a money maker at the box office when it was released in 1962.
With a stellar cast full of classic British comedians including Sid James, Barbara Windsor and Kenneth Williams, the film follows a truculent cruise ship captain dealing with an incompetent crew and a series of bizarre guests.
In a clip watched by the Gen Z viewers, the ship's doctor falls in love with his unconscious patient and finds himself in a sticky situation when she inadvertently embraces him.
As they roll around on the floor in confusion, Sid James, as the cruise ship's captain, enters and demands to know what's going on.
And while the viewers thought the scene, which saw Dilys Laye lying on a bed in an exposing bikini, was hyper-sexualised, the innuendos and jokes generally landed positively.
The four agreed that the humour wasn't too dissimilar to comedies now and that they didn't find anything shocking in the scene.
Emily said: 'I actually did find that quite funny. I think it seemed like it wasn't from as far back as it was - a similar thing could probably still be done.'
And Kirsten agreed, saying that thirty years later similar gags were still being used including in cult favourite sitcoms such as Friends.
She said: 'I've seen similar things like that in Friends, the whole having to explain themselves in a situation thing. That's pretty classic humour.'
Come Play With Me - 1977
The British softcore pornography film from the 1970s was regarded as one of the most successful from the genre and ran at the Moulin Cinema in Great Windmill Street, Soho, London for 201 weeks, from April 1977 to March 1981.
It was the most successful sex comedy of the '70s and holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-running screening in Britain.
The film follows two elderly fraudsters, printing fake banknotes while on the run from their gangster boss.
Holed up in a manor in the Highlands, their secretive operation is brought down when the owner of the manor's dance troupe arrive and open up the mainly disused house as a brothel.
With full frontal nude scenes, topless women in nurses costumes and sex jokes galore, the trailer for the film left the Gen Z viewers lost for words.
The group wondered whether the film was satirical and said it would never be made today or would need an 18 plus rating at the very least.
Emily said: 'Oh! Oh my God. Full frontal nudity. It's just a bit of a jump scare', while Kirsten said, 'Is this a satire? It's just soft porn. Oh, my. Oh, my God, this something. This would be an 18 now, there is no way this would be made now.'
Poppy added: 'I thought it was just really bizarre. It could take me a while to recover from that. That was not what I expected and I've never seen so much whipped cream in places I wouldn't want.'
The Gen Z Goggleboxers also said they weren't sure they could watch it with their parents and were shocked by the plot with Emily adding: 'I think it was a programme that maybe I don't want to watch with my parents.'
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life - 1983
The musical comedy starring John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle followed on from the success of the troupe's previous films Holy Grail and Life of Brian and was a collection of sketches.
The film grossed almost $43 million against a $9 million budget and in the decades since has become a cult classic.
In one sketch entitled Growth in Learning, a class of school boys take part in a sex education lesson which sees them observe their teacher, John Cleese, have sex with his wife while quizzing them on the correct procedures and the scientific terms for their genitalia.
Emily said she enjoyed the sketch and thought it was funny because it was asking interesting questions around sex education and forcing viewers to confront the absurdity of it.
But she did admit that she'd grown up watching re-runs of Monty Python and therefore knew the show's style.
She said: 'I've watched Monty Python, so I guess I have a bit more of the context, but it's just emphasizing how awkward the sex education lessons can be.
'And obviously that didn't happen at school, but the reaction of the boys is exactly what would happen in school.'
Poppy revealed she didn't find particularly funny but she didn't find the humour outrageous either and said she could see how it would be a product of its time, commenting: 'I don't think I found it crazily funny. I didn't find it shocking.'
Kirsten added that she thought it was the uncomfortable nature of the jokes that was funny and compared it to The Inbetweeners, a Channel 4 teenage comedy about a group of four school friends, but noted that the joke went on longer than she had expected.
'Making you uncomfortable, that was part of what made it funny,' she said.
'But yeah, I do I do think that if it was going to happen nowadays, the wife would walk in, they'd start taking off their clothes off and then the scene would cut.
'With all the school boys it is like The Inbetweeners.'
Emily agreed that the scene went on for far too long, saying: 'The joke's done, right. Cut it off there. But it just kept going.'
Martha added that it might have seemed 'normal' in the 80s, but today it would have been 'such a short scene'.
The Crying Game - 1992
The 1992 crime thriller stared Stephen Rea as IRA volunteer Fergus, who kidnapped a British soldier.
The Irishman and his victim bond and the soldier asks his captor to find his girlfriend Dil in London if he doesn't make it out alive to which he dutifully does.
The pair fall in love but Fergus rejects Dil after discovering they are transgender and he reveals his role in the killing of Dil's partner - a crime he serves time in prison for.
In the scene watched by the four Gen Z viewers, Dil and Fergus are kissing and undressing before Dil reveals their body in a full-frontal nude shot and Fergus shoves Dil before running to the toilet to be sick.
The Goggleboxers were shocked at the reaction with Poppy saying she though Fergus's vomiting was too much.
She said: 'I feel like that was such an extreme reaction or a misunderstanding. I feel like it's playing on the idea that, like, being gay or being attracted to man or anything is really horrible and shocking. And there's this idea that he's being tricked in some way.'
Emily agreed and added that she thought such an early representation of a transgender person had been handled poorly and wouldn't be treated like that now.
She said: 'I can imagine people at the time probably thinking, "oh my gosh". But we've got trans actors in loads of films, it's far more represented. So I can imagine maybe in the context of the time, that being really quite shocking but for me I wasn't really.'
Martha said that she felt the film was trying to send a message that 'people need to be careful' of situations like this, adding: 'Really, it's not a "thing". There would be more sensitivity towards the trans person than just towards the other person.'
Fat Slags - 2004
The gross out comedy was based on a hugely popular comic strip of the same name and starred Fiona Allen and Sophie Thompson as two friends who enjoy drinking and eating kebabs in a little northern town.
After leaving their humdrum lives for the lights of London, the duo are picked up by an American businessman who falls in love with them and gives them starring roles in his London fashion show leading to fame and fortune until jealousy drives the friends apart and back to their ordinary lives.
In the scene shown to the Gen Z viewers, the two friends are presented to the French designer in charge of the catwalk who is horrified by their plus-size bodies and elaborately scolds the businessman for ruining his artistic vision.
The four viewers were surprised by the representations and noted they all adhered to stereotypes: the stupid American, the camp gay fashion designer and the country bumpkin Northerner.
Poppy said: 'I think this is very stereotypical. There's this silly American man, the two larger women have these northern accents, and they are country bumpkins. And there's the flamboyant camp French fashion designer.'
Emily also noted that there was less sexualisation and that all the characters were fully clothed and it was interesting to see how humour had changed since the film from the 1960s.
She said: 'I don't think it would be made in the same way today. It's interesting that the jokes weren't sexualized, everybody was fully clothed but it was still outrageous. '
They didn't enjoy the film but weren't shocked either other than by the title which they thought was offensive.
The group said they thought it was interesting to see how the films had changed over the decades and said the focus had shifted away from hypersexualised depictions of women but there was still a focus on their bodies.
Emily said: 'The first clip we saw of the 60s it was sexualized but it was funny and the premise was of a scene that you weren't expecting and you have to get yourself out of that.
'And then in the 70s and 80s, then the humour was based on the nudity and I can see why in the context of the time, it was funny'
She added that while the films raised a few eyebrows she could see links to the types of films made today, explaining: 'I can see echoes of that today in skits and movies but it is really interesting to see how it has changed over time.
Poppy said she would happily watch Carry On Cruising because it was 'lighthearted and silly', although she admitted it probably wouldn't be made now.
Kirsten and Poppy both agreed that the 1970s film made them uncomfortable and were shocked at the level of nudity and they felt The Crying Game could have handled the controversial topic of transgender romance more sensitively.
Kirsten added: 'It's interesting the way the film industry broaches more sensitive topics and, and how their approach to that has changed.'
Emily revealed it had ignited a spark and she wanted to explore older films revealing: 'I think it's made me want to watch more films. I'm going to ask my parents for recommendations because I feel like there are some gems out there.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Sun

29 minutes ago

• The Sun

Cruz Beckham slams online trolls who questioned his musical talent and confused him with brother Brooklyn

CRUZ BECKHAM has shown he has both a good voice and a vicious tongue after sharing a video of himself singing on TikTok. David and Victoria Beckham's youngest son is fighting to prove his musical chops and has hit back at his critics in a series of sassy messages after a string of comments questioning his ability. 11 And his estranged brother Brooklyn also inadvertently found himself in the firing line, after someone mixed them up and made a joke about Cruz's older brother's moves into photography, cookery and racing. They wrote: 'Are you going to stick with this job or going to become a race car driver next or something?' Cruz replied: 'Wrong brother mate.' He wasn't so polite with others though. Another critic commented: 'He has the talent of an average teenage boy that just recently started learning guitar.' Cruz, who has, to be fair, spent years working on his musicianship, said: 'It's easy to comment on TikTok isn't it. U think I care what you think darling x.' Mocking his mum Posh Spice's vocal ability, one woman named Julie wrote: 'Definitely got his talent from his mam. I'd try football like ya dad.' To many laughs from his followers, he hit back: 'Julie mate have u seen what u look like, maybe sort it out.' I can't blame Cruz for getting short in the comments, given people have been so judgmental before even hearing what he has to offer. I've heard very exciting things about his music after he worked with The Kooks' Luke Pritchard. Watch sweet moment Cruz Beckham and girlfriend Jackie perform at dad David's 50th birthday amid feud with brother Brooklyn And this snippet he posted, which he suggested is from a song called For Ya Love, shows he has plenty of swagger. In the short clip, he sings: 'Call me if you're looking for some fun,' before adding: 'Love's a ride that money cannot buy.' With Glastonbury approaching at the end of the week, I'm keeping my fingers crossed Cruz will be finding a stage to perform on. I'd love to see what he's got. 11 MOST celebs shy away from controversy – but not Chris Brown. On the second night of his sold-out Breezy Bowl XX world tour at Tottenham Hotspur stadium, a friend told me he showed footage of himself at Manchester Magistrates Court on big screens as fans waved placards which read: 'From the cage to the stage.' The rapper, who has pleaded not guilty, will stand trial next October for an alleged attack on a music producer in London in 2023. Cardi copies Bey CARDI B gave Beyonce a run for her money when she turned up to her Cowboy Carter tour in an outfit even more extravagant than half of those which the superstar wears on stage. The rapper wore a tasseled fur corset with a matching coat and cowboy hat to the third and final show at Stade de France in Paris. And she was in luck at the show, because Bey brought Jay-Z out to perform Crazy In Love, N****s in Paris and Partition – their first time on stage together in seven years. Cardi herself may soon be back on stage as yesterday she started teasing the announcement of her long-awaited second album. In an Instagram post, she said: 'Seven years, and the time has come. Seven years of love, light and loss. Seven years I gave them grace, but now I give them hell. 'I'm shedding feathers and no more tears.' Something tells me she may be aiming some choice lyrics at her ex-husband Offset on this new project. BOB'S NO MONEY ADVISER CLEAN BANDIT have revealed Sir Bob Geldof gave them some seriously bad advice at the start of their career. Speaking exclusively backstage at Sky Presents Isle of Wight Festival, Jack Patterson said the Boomtown Rat offered his wisdom in Spain. Jack said: 'When we first got offered a record deal, we had some advice from Bob. We were trying to decide whether to do it or not. And he said, 'If anyone offers you money for your music, just take it'. 'I'm not sure that was the best decision for us. We're not doing that any more.' Grace Chatto added: 'I was saying we'd be mad not to because we couldn't afford to pay our rent. And then Bob Geldof said that. So, we just did it. And then we were f***ed.' BURNA BOY is playing a free O2 Priority gig at O2 Forum Kentish Town in North London. The singer, who sold out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, last year will perform the intimate gig on July 16. Tickets are available to O2 mobile and Virgin Media broadband customers through Priority, with the ballot currently open online. ALESHA'S MIS-TEEQ TEASER ALESHA DIXON has teased Mis-Teeq could stage a reunion in 2026 to coincide with their 25th anniversary. The Noughties girl group, which also featured Su-Elise Nash and Sabrina Washington, had hits including Scandalous and One Night Stand before splitting in 2005. But when asked about the prospect of a return during a discussion on the Hits Radio breakfast show yesterday, Alesha said: 'There might be. 'Well, next year is the 25th anniversary of Lickin' On Both Sides, our debut album. We're thinking. We're thinking. 'Thinking doesn't mean we're doing – but we're thinking, which is more than we've done.' Justin does all Wight JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE closed the Isle of Wight Festival with a headline show, which was watched from the side of the stage by his wife Jessica Biel. He wore shades and a red jacket as he entertained thousands of fans with hits including SexyBack, Cry Me A River and Rock Your Body on Sunday evening, following sets from Olly Murs and Texas. 11 11 Justin told his adoring fans said: 'I've been trying to get to Isle Of Wight for years and years and years and it's everything I thought it was. 'I've got a special place in my heart for the UK, for England, I have so much gratitude for you – welcome to the party. You made a Tennessee boy's dreams come true.' IT is derided by music snobs as a silly contest, but even Ed Sheeran is a massive Eurovision fan and is desperate to go to the contest. Ed, if that means you'd be up for representing the UK too, that would certainly improve our chances of winning again. Referring to his Instagram story where he backed Italian Lucio Corsi's song Volevo Essere Un Duro at May's event, Ed said: 'I thought it was the best song. But then I felt bad because my friend Louane was on the show and I was like, 'Ah f**k, I don't know who to choose here'.' Asked if he had ever been, Ed told an Italian radio station: 'I'd like to go. I watch it every year and it's one of my favourite things to do. 'But even if we have a good song it's usually not voted for because of us being Britain.' NEMO smashed their Eurovision trophy on stage last year when they dropped it after winning in Sweden. Now this year's victor, JJ from Austria, has revealed his statue has snapped in half too. He wrote on TikTok: 'My suitcase came back broken. Therefore everything inside my suitcase was broken too… don't worry, we're getting it fixed.' FANS WONDER AT NOEL SET LIST OASIS' reunion set list is one of the most talked about topics of conversation in our office. And while we know Cigarettes And Alcohol has made the cut, I'm told one fan classic might not be so lucky. Insiders said Wonderwall, which is the most streamed Nineties hit ever, and a real singalong favourite, has become a huge source of contention. While Liam Gallagher is happy to include it, Noel cannot bear it. My mole said: 'Oasis want to play their favourite tracks, as well as the ones loved by their fans. 'This setlist has been worked on tirelessly and the band want to make sure they get the right balance. 'When it comes to Wonderwall, Noel isn't a fan and doesn't particularly want it to feature. 'Liam has played it before at his solo concerts, he doesn't mind it, but Noel hasn't performed it since the group split because he thinks it's not a complete track. Seeing as it's one of Oasis' best known tracks, it would be astonishing if they didn't perform it.' Fans will have to wait until the first night in Cardiff on July 4 to find out if Noel's wish has come true. He has made no secret of his disdain for the 1995 track, which got to No2 in the charts and has been streamed well over one billion times. Noel said: 'Wonderwall is one of my least favourite songs because it's not finished. If I could somehow twist time and go back there, I'd probably pick a different song for our calling card. Probably Some Might Say.'

BreakingNews.ie

29 minutes ago

• BreakingNews.ie

MobLand series receives ‘greenlight' and is renewed for second season

The crime series MobLand, which stars James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan and The Queen's Helen Mirren, has received the 'greenlight' and been renewed for a second season. The Paramount+ series follows two mob families, the Harrigans and the Stevensons, who clash in a battle for power which threatens their lives as they know it. Advertisement Brosnan, 72, plays mobster Conrad Harrigan in the series, the husband to Mirren's Maeve Harrigan, and is joined by Tom Hardy's character, Harry Da Souza, the 'fixer' who is called up to make a problem disappear after a night out goes awry for the sons of the two warring crime families. Pierce Brosnan (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The star-studded cast also includes House Of The Dragon's Paddy Considine, Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt alongside Top Boy actress Jasmine Jobson. Da Vinci's Demons actress Lara Pulver also stars in the series alongside Anson Boon from Pistol, Top Boy's Geoff Bell and Emily Barber best known for Industry. Chris McCarthy, co chief executive of Paramount said: 'With over 26 million viewers and climbing, MobLand has become a resounding triumph. Advertisement 'We are elated to greenlight a second season of this global phenomenon, which has dominated both domestic and international charts and soared to #1 in the United Kingdom.' Produced in association with MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, the first series premiered in March and was created by Top Boy's Ronan Bennett who also co-wrote the series alongside Spectre's Jez Butterworth, with Guy Ritchie as an executive producer. (Left to right) Helen Mirren, Guy Ritchie, Pierce Brosnan and Tom Hardy attend the UK premiere of MobLand at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA) According to Paramount+ the TV show amassed over 26 million viewers, becoming the second most-watched original series on the service. Butterworth said: 'TV was a brand-new world for me and I was reluctant to commit to TV overall, but Chris (McCarthy) David (Glasser) and the teams at Paramount and 101 Studios, completely changed my perspective with their bold creative vision and razor-sharp strategic insight. Advertisement 'Collaborating with Chris, David, Guy (Ritchie) and our stellar cast has been nothing short of inspiring and I'm excited to dive into the second season of MobLand.'

Telegraph

39 minutes ago

• Telegraph

Emma Raducanu lifts lid on Carlos Alcaraz link-up: He has been my motivation for years

Emma Raducanu has revealed the motivation behind her doubles link-up with Carlos Alcaraz and says she will take inspiration from him at Wimbledon. The new team – who can expect to be given a portmanteau nickname of either 'Alcaranu' or 'Raducaraz' – are one of several eye-catching partnerships set to make their debuts at the US Open in August. Alcaraz joked that when he proposed the pair join forces for the $1million event, Raducanu took 'a while' to reply to him. 'Gotta keep them on their toes!,' Raducanu laughed before clarifying she had to go through the formality of asking her coach before responding to the request. 'He's so nice, very happy, amazing values and just a really positive light to be around. Good tennis player as well, great tennis player. 'I remember he beat Stef [Tsitsipas] in the third round [at the US Open in 2021] and it was like a big win, his breakout kind of win on a big stage and it was really cool to go through that tournament together. I kept going through the US Open, but we were staying in touch for the whole time and it's nice. We have a good relationship still. He's obviously overtaken me a lot, but it's nice that we have that from a while ago.' 🪙 . @carlosalcaraz and @EmmaRaducanu are still working to get on the same page ahead of the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship 😅 — US Open Tennis (@usopen) June 19, 2025 Raducanu was spotted on the Queen's Club balcony with Myah Petchey, daughter of her coach Mark, watching Alcaraz's semi-final victory over Roberto Bautista last Saturday as she continued her recovery from a back spasm ahead of Eastbourne and Wimbledon. Raducanu says Queen's winner Alcaraz, who is after a Wimbledon 'three-peat' has plenty of magic to bring to their partnership, with the pair's history starting in 2021, when she was catapulted to superstardom by winning the US Open. Then, Alcaraz was ranked 55th in the world – Raducanu was 150th – and for both of them, the tournament was a coming-of-age moment that would change the trajectory of their careers. Raducanu lifted the trophy months after doing her A Levels, while Alcaraz announced himself on the world stage by knocking out then-third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Arthur Ashe. It was during that tournament that the two teenagers encountered each other for the first time, and it is at the same venue that they will make their doubles debut in August this year. 'When I see him play, he's always got a smile on his face and enjoying it,' Raducanu said. That's why he's able to do such crazy shots, turn points around that he's maybe not favoured to and pull out these ridiculous shots. It's coming from a place of curiosity. 'It's amazing to have that on the men's side and take inspiration when I can.' On June 17, it was announced that Raducanu's stalker was blocked in his attempt to buy Wimbledon tickets for the summer's tournament, after officials spotted his name on the list of applicants. The man, who is understood to be from South America, had applied last year in the public ballot. 'I think when I heard that I was like Wimbledon has done an amazing job and I got a notification and the police contacted me and told me and assured me everything was good, everything was okay,' Raducanu told the BBC when asked about the news. 'I know I'm not the first athlete to go through this and I won't be the last. I feel comfortable, I feel safe, I feel great. I've had protection whenever I've been at these events recently and I feel okay.' Raducanu's preparations for Wimbledon have been far from straightforward as she continues to contend with a back issue that forced her to pull out of the Berlin Open last week. During her quarter-final defeat to Zheng Qinwen in west London, a medic was called to court, and Raducanu later admitted she needed painkillers to get through it. Admitting the issue 'needs a lot of work' the British No 1 has been doing a combination of dry needling, soft tissue massages, muscle stimulation and taping, but the day before her opening round match against Ann Li on the south coast, she was untroubled by it in morning practice. 'I have good days and bad days with it,' Raducanu said, adding: 'I'm just trying to manage it as best as I can.' For Raducanu, who described the problem as a 'vulnerability' that needs care rather than something serious, it remains to be seen how much of a problem it will cause at Eastbourne and SW19.