>
> Dennis, I discovered from the Washington Post article that Pryor did,
> indeed, write parts of the "Blazing Saddles" script, including the famous
> beans/campfire scene.
>   Although I'm a great admirer of Pryor, I would be happy for somebody to
> explain to me what's funny about that particular scene, or about "Blazing
> Saddles," or indeed about Mel Brooks.
>
> Glen Johnson
>
Holy smokes! What's NOT funny about that scene.  It's so deeply in the
tradition of de-bunking romantic notions of primitivism that I'm surprised
any reader of Twain misses the point.  But for a comparison that might
help, read in __Mark Twain's Letters From Hawaii__ about Mr Brown's
seasickness and the romantic Mr. Twain's attempts to cure it, or read
about their different views of palm trees.  In other words, if you don't
know the romantic version of THE WEST, the bean scene is merely in bad
taste; if you do, then the juxtaposition of an exaggerated,
grotesque counter-vision with romanticized
visions becomes an aesthetic and intellectual experience worthy of
laughter.

                                Gregg Camfield