Warning! These films contain negative depictions of people and cultures...

Many classic films now come with warnings, others have been dropped completely from streaming services. But what is the best way to deal with out-of-date and offensive content, asks James Moore

Oscar-winning Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany’s. The film secured her status as a style icon (Rex Features)

This film has outdated attitudes, language and cultural depictions which may cause offence today. Iconic romance based on Truman Capote’s novella with Audrey Hepburn.” That’s what greets Sky/Now TV customers contemplating streaming Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a film that provided its star with one of her most famous roles, an Oscar nomination, the consolidation of her status as a style icon.

Tiffany’s is far from alone. The warnings have become increasingly commonplace. They appear in front of everything from classic Disney animation, to epic sci fi, to westerns, to comedies. But why the warning on an apparently gentle romantic comedy featuring a luminous performance from a star at the top of her game? That’s sure to provoke older viewers into huffing and puffing about Sky indulging in “political correctness gone mad”? Twitter’s angry brigade has already snarled its outrage.

It really isn’t hard to work out. The reason becomes abundantly clear within a few minutes of the film’s opening when Mickey Rooney makes his first appearance as Mr Yunioshi. For the role of the Japanese character, Rooney donned “yellow face” make up and wore a prosthetic. Once attired, he seemed determine to play up to every (offensive) stereotype going. If you can’t see the issue with that then, Houston, you have a problem.