Brooks assembled a pretty legendary writing team including Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Alan Uger. The four writers expanded Bergman's Western parody into a multilayered satire of American racism.

4/36

February 07, 2026 - 11:36 UTC

1
0
10
Brooks and his writing team drew inspiration from Jonathan Swift's non-fiction short story A Modest Proposal from 1729. Swift’s essay used exaggeration and absurdity to promote satire, and Brooks’ film adapted outrageous humour to critique institutional racism.

5/36
1
0
10
Pryor insisted on making the black protagonist smarter than white characters, while Brooks incorporated Yiddish humour patterns into Western archetypes. Early drafts of the script contained 63 "n-word" usages, added to be deliberately shocking.

6/36
1
0
9