7 Oscar-Winning Best Picture Films That Couldn’t Be Made Today

      Here are seven Oscar-winning Best Picture films that would likely not be produced in today’s Hollywood.

      If you believe that a Donald Trump re-election would lead to Hollywood being less sensitive, you may not have experienced the last Trump Administration.

      However, Before We Proceed: Some Clarifications

      We’re not here to lament “cancel culture” or “wokeness,” nor to judge the past by today’s standards. Instead, we view films as reflections of their times and enjoy exploring how narratives are perceived differently across eras.

      Many Best Picture winners may not be made today due to their directors being labeled as problematic, and we’re not considering those here. We also aren’t including exceptional films like Casablanca, which has some questionable aspects that don’t undermine the film’s overall message.

      This list focuses on movies with inherent plot elements that are too controversial for cautious studio executives to accept. These elements are so essential that removing them would change the film entirely.

      With that in mind, here are seven movies that likely wouldn’t be produced in today’s Hollywood, despite winning Best Picture Oscars when they were released.

      Gigi (1958)

      In today’s culture, which is highly aware of predatory grooming, a film like Gigi, which centers on a 16-year-old being groomed to become a courtesan, would face immediate rejection. Its main song, “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” is something we can’t envision receiving approval from a major studio now.

      Though Gigi is set at the turn of the 20th century, a time when the behaviors presented onscreen weren’t alarming, and debuted in the 1950s when teenage marriages were significantly more common, today it would be a definite non-starter.

      Despite winning Best Picture and eight additional Oscars — and for a long time holding the record for the most nominations without defeat — Gigi stands at the forefront of films that today’s Hollywood executives would avoid.

      Crash (2004)

      Sometimes the films that age the worst are those that reflect on seemingly relevant or progressive themes, only to feel clichéd as societal norms evolve. Among the most cringeworthy are those conveying a simplistic “racism is bad” message, a lesson that should have long been ingrained in everyone.

      Modern critics have expressed disdain for Crash; publications like the AV Club and Film Comment have labeled it the worst Best Picture winner, while IndieWire ranked it last among 21st-century Best Picture recipients.

      Why the backlash against Crash? While it’s hard to pinpoint a single reason, the main critique is its clumsy redemption arc, where a white cop (Matt Dillon) rescues a Black driver (Thandiwe Newton) whom he previously assaulted. This is just one of many glaring issues within a movie filled with cartoonish plot turns.

      Today’s executives would realize that critics — whether seasoned or social media arbiters — would be quick to pounce on a movie like Crash, effectively sealing its fate with regards to accolades.

      Another Point of Clarification

      Also, while it’s true that any of these films could technically be made today by a group of friends with an iPhone, they wouldn’t retain the same quality or impact without the backing of a major studio.

      Now, let’s return to the list.

      Gone With the Wind (1939)

      Even if one overlooks the broad, stereotypical portrayals of Black characters (which is quite difficult, as parts of the film come across as cartoonish), Gone With the Wind urges viewers to nearly spend four hours sympathizing with Scarlett O’Hara, a woman who treats others as property.

      There’s simply no way to make her relatable to modern audiences, despite her receiving poetic justice in the end.

      One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

      Many aspects of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest have aged well, particularly its anti-authoritarian themes that resonate universally.

      However, one element that would be unacceptable in the post-#MeToo era is that protagonist Randle McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is a statutory rapist of a 15-year-old girl, pretending to be insane to serve time in a mental hospital.

      Considering McMurphy’s poor judgment regarding sexual boundaries, the portrayal of Nurse Ratched as the film’s main antagonist also takes on a problematic undercurrent. Interestingly, when Hollywood revisited this narrative with the Netflix series Ratched, she was portrayed as the protagonist (or at least an antihero) instead of the villain.

      Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

      In the early 1990s, rap group Public Enemy criticized the stereotypical, subservient roles of Black characters in their song “Burn Hollywood Burn,” targeting Driving Miss Daisy as a prime example, featuring Jessica Tandy as an affluent white woman and Morgan Freeman as her chauffeur, Hoke.

      As she endures her frustrations, they forge a friendship, and she teaches him to read.

      Alfred Uhry, the writer behind both the stage and screen