MovieChat Forums > Mars Attacks! (1996) Discussion > Has the "Do the Martians Have Two Sexes,...

Has the "Do the Martians Have Two Sexes, As We Do?" Joke Aged Badly?


Or is it in fact ahead if its time?

On one hand, the joke would *appear* to be mocking intersex or trans people. On the other hand, the entire underlying implication of the joke is that our society has been wrong to assume that homo sapians can simply be broken down into binary groups (i.e. male and female), and that more complex/multitudinous dynamics exist.

As a fan of Burton and this film, I'm inclined to believe it's the latter, but even if this joke hasn't dated well, I'd argue that it's a lot less offensive than most 'trans-related' jokes of the 90s (e.g. Ace Ventura, Naked Gun 33 1/3, and, as much as I generally like the film, Soapdish).

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I think you are wrong. No mocking or implying anything, just a question of how many sexes they have.

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