Historical Events  Movies
Scary Movie

Alternate:
I see white people

Current:
I see dead people

Seeing different

Some claim that the scene in the original Scary Movie, which lampooned The 6th Sense, had the line "I see white people", whereas now it's seen as "I see dead people". Is this a false memory, or was it really this way originally?

It must be said, "I see dead people" just doesn't make sense. Not only is it the exact line from the film it is parodying, but the black dude saying it just isn't funny the way "white people" is, or would be.

Could this be a case of political correctness changing the past after the event?

In the trailer

Many people definitely recall this being in the trailer but suspect it was dropped from the main movie. These days, anything remotely racist will come under increased scrutiny - even obvious comedy such as this.

Also, it's said in Undercover Brother - perhaps this is causing some of this confusion?

There's a thread on Yahoo Answers from 2010 which clearly quotes "I see white people" as being in Scary Movie.

People also remember the black guy holding up a T-Shirt on the poster advertising the movie, with the "I see white people" quote, as seen here, but there is some debate around whether this is genuine or photoshopped after the controversy:

scary movie 305 445

It's a sad fact that sometimes the art which is created at a particular point in a culture's history can end up being a frozen snapshot of a time when attitudes seriously changed as time moved on. People are shocked to hear of the many US cartoons created in the 1920's and 30's which are now banned because of their racist content, and you can't find them online now. If they were online at some point, those and others like it will have been deleted. The BBC in the UK had a very popular sitcom called "Love They Neighbour" which is now considered extremely racist. Also, the "Black and White Minstral Show" in the 1970's, where white people donned black makeup for what can only be described as exaggerated racial mockery. It's entirely possible this Scary Movie scene was actually edited and all traces of the original removed due to these sensibilities, and the fallout for a Hollywood movie that would occur should it be singled out as racist.