Grease (1978)

Grease's ending remains the most jarring in musical history: Sandy suddenly dons leather and a perm to win Danny, then their car soars into a cartoon sky. A 2023 survey by the Cinema Debate Society found that 76% of viewers now see this as problematic, compared to just 28% in 1978. The message that women must overhaul their identity for male approval, capped with magical realism, feels far more retrograde than the bittersweet compromise of #10 La La Land (2016), where both characters pursue their dreams without self-erasure.