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 La La Land (2016), where both characters pursue their dreams without self-erasure.