“I didn’t ask for this”: Gen Z is getting blamed for “Rush Hour” content warning
Certain X users were extremely offended by a content warning about offensive content in the 1998 buddy cop movie Rush Hour. USA recently aired the film on broadcast TV after displaying a notice that called some of its humor "outdated."
Thousands of people on X rushed to blame Generation Z and call them "soft," having forgotten that content warnings started with Baby Boomers many decades ago.
Content warning: Rush Hour
Late on July 4, user @VHSDVDBLURAY4K posted a photo of their TV showing the content warning for Rush Hour.
"We all love our 90's buddy comedies… but this movie was created in a different time," it reads. "FYI: Certain depictions, language and humor may seem outdated and at times offensive."
Anybody who remembers the 1990s will know exactly what they're talking about. Rush Hour contains numerous moments in which one of the main cops, played by Chris Tucker, disparages Chinese culture and language. Racist jokes also target Black Americans as the two cultures collide. It's classic 90s racism, which not everyone might want to experience.
The vague and mild warning from USA is not the first of its kind. Warnings like this have popped up since the 2010s, when millennials led the charge to expand the use of trigger warnings and other content labels. This happened decades after Boomers demanded other content notices like the "TV 14" label seen plainly in the corner of the screen.
The point was always to give people a more informed choice about what they decide to view. Everyone who still wants to watch Rush Hour can do so. Still, the chronically online reacted as though USA had thrown the master copy of the film into an incinerator.
"Because of Gen Z"
On X, users leapt at the chance to blame Gen Z for this. User @VHSDVDBLURAY4K gained over 25 million views on their post within days by scapegoating the young generation.
"They put a warning in front of ‘Rush Hour’ because of Gen Z," they wrote.
By July 7, viral news account Daily Loud had jumped on board with a post also claiming the warning was "because of Gen Z." Commenters ate it up without question, calling Zoomers "soft" for an inconsequential notice they had little to do with.
User @Scope360Journal claimed the warning is a "perfect example of how soft and sensitive the world has become."
"Here’s how to fix Gen Z:" wrote @SolumSursum over a video of a woman dropping a toddler into a pool.
Others pointed out that the only people who appear to be freaking out about anything related to the content in Rush Hour are those screaming in offense about the warning.
"Unpopular opinion: b*tching about sh*t like this makes you seem just as sensitive as the people you’re b*tching about," said @ItsDavidBlaze.
Zoomers, of course, defended themselves with historical reminders.
"I’m Gen Z. And I didn’t ask for this sh*t," wrote @GeneratorNx.
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