There is no such thing as political correctness in movies and TV, it's all just a myth... I mean if all that were true, there wouldn't be half of what's in this stuff today, like the excessive language, graphic violence, overtly sexual behavior, and otherwise questionable content... I mean how is all THAT politically correct, I ask?
That stuff isn't considered politically correct.
Actually, I don't even like the term politically correct. It implies things that just aren't there, and it doesn't even describe the anal retentive means that the wrong things are getting whitewashed from television.
Commercials for candy and other junk foods on kid's programming being cut IS political correctness. Token ethnic characters in shows where they seem pasted in and say and do nothing of importance? That's also Political correctness. Throwing a character that's in a wheel chair... political correctness.
Now, some of it is very good intentioned, though flawed in execution 9like the three examples listed)... some of it is necessary... Like the P.C. edits of old Looney Tunes cartoons for children. I agree with those, again... for children. The only people who want to see the original unedited version are animation collectors and scholars anyway... and not so closet racists (the comments on a Youtube video of unedited Bugs Bunny cartoons are SCARY!)
But then there's the "protecting children from reality" crap that's exclusive to kid's programming and movies. Now, I hate smoking and people who smoke close to me with a passion. I want to see everyone get off that terrible oral fixation, but that's not a reality. But to get rid of it from movies completely and treating that, specifically, like it's soft core porn (and not soft core porn) is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard of. In every kid's cartoon movie I've ever seen, the bad guy smokes... rich villains smoke huge, disgusting cigars. It adds a little something extra to the character, especially since those villains usually put the butts out on their lackey's head or blow smoke in their lackey's eyes. Remember Oliver and Company? Bad guy kept blowing cigar smoke in whatever the Dom Deluise character's eyes.
I see nothing wrong with bad guys having guns or smokes. Bad guys are not to be emulated. I don't wanna see Superman puff on a Cuban, that's something Lex Luthor would do.