I've recently become more aware and consequently more frustrated at the appearence of bleeps on certain DVDs and videos that are, for all intents and purposes, for home use. Despite being in the film itself, the word cunt is bleeped in the commentaries for Shaun Of The Dead. It's also bleeped on 50,000 Zombies on Nick's Danger 50,000 Volts DVD even though it's the same certificate as Shaun Of The Dead. It also ruins the gag. On Bill Bailey Part Troll, the word fucker is bleeped, again screwing the funny comment Bill's telling. And there are various other DVDs that have censored words.

Why can we not just hear the word? Why does someone have the authority to determine what language I can or can't hear in my own home? On television, fine. There's a certain duty to the general public. But if someone buys a DVD for their own enjoyment in their own home there's no need to cover the words and expressions of others. I want to hear what they say without the patronising tone of a bleep telling me 'Oooh that's a rude word, you can't hear that.' Let me hear the rude word and let me be offended or not by my own standards.

Does this bug anyone else?

Wife Of Rolex

That does seem rubbish. Though mabye they needed to censor certain words to get a lower certificate and thus reach a potentially wider audience.

Bah! Censorship dudes are bunch of muddyfunsters.

Although sometimes, on ocassion, it can make the movie even more funny, or a serious scene funny

Examples:

The Big Lebowski
"I want you to take a look out that window, Larry. This is what happens when you find a stranger in the alps!

Scarface
"Where'd you get the beauty scar, tough guy, eatin' pineapple?

Die Hard
"Yippee Kai Yay Mister Falcon"

He's not my mate he's a funking prink.

15 rated products sell more than 18 rated apparently. You only get to say cunt a limited number of times (presumably once) before your film gets bumped up to an 18 rating. weird about Part Troll though. I wonder how Bailey feels about it and how much say he got in the matter. I personally find the idea that swears are somehow offensive ridiculous. I have never understood it.

It would have been nice if they'd included the TV censored audio on the Repo Man DVD though. It's rightly highly regarded. You melon farmers.

I understand the certificate thing but why not just say on the cover that there's strong language rather than cover it up? Part Troll is certificatte 12 but the difference between 12 and 15 isn't much. They could've just gone for a 15 cert and left it unbleeped.

On 50,000 Zombies Simon says cunt once. It's bleeped and cuts into the joke. Takes away the power of the punchline. The cert is 15. In SotD Nick says cunt once and it's a fantastically funny line, uncut and unbleeped. But it too is a 15 cert. What's the difference? Same certificate, different treatment. And what about Pete's scene? Brilliantly poetic with a single swear word, but in the dubbed version - funny as it is - just sounds ridiculous and takes away from the original script.

It's not the certification, as there needs to be guidelines and limits on certain material at what age children and teenagers should see, but it's the tampering of the artist's work. Even if it's just one word it should be left alone as it was intended.

Wife Of Rolex

Doesn't really help.

It may well have been the combination of swears and screwdriver death that did it. As I understand it the BBFC treat imagery by it's context but use a fairly limited set of rules for language. I agree that cutting cussing is fucking stupid. I was a foul-mouthed kid and so was everybody I know.

As I understand it the process of certification is not a simple decision by the BBFC, but a negotiation between the BBFC and the filmmakers. The filmmakers are offered the option to keep the swearing and get a higher certificate, but in these cases decided not to.

What I don't get with the Shaun Of The Dead DVD is how come you can get away with using the C-word once in a 15 rated movie, but anymore than that (uncensored) and its 18 rated. If the BBFC don't want anyone to hear the filthiest of all filthy words before they've hit their 18 birthday then one use should bump it to an 18. Why let it through once and then all subsequent uses are obscured? It's moronic.

Its like they are saying someone between the ages of 15 and 17 can handle hearing a certain word once, but any more than that and they can't take it (perhaps they'll swear excessively, before they are 18!!!). When you wake up on your 18th birthday you then have enough experience to be able to hear a swearing word multiple times and not go off the rails from the mental anguish (unlike those idiot under 18's, who can just handle one hearing safely). If I really want to hear the C-word multiple times on the Shaun DVD I can keep on rewinding it and playing that bit anyway. There's the loop hole in your logic, BBFC! There it is!

I saw Trading Places on MTV the other day, and they bleeped 'motherfucker' despite the fact that we see Jamie Lee Curtis' k-nockers. Baffles me that does.

The bleeping you understand, not JLC's tits.

I never could work out why its considered worse to show sex rather than violence.

Perhaps using it once highlights the strength of the word, whereas repeated use desensitises the viewer and makes it seem ok to use in everyday conversation, if you get my meaning.

they should create a "15C" rating ... which can be used to indicate that the only thing knocking it up from a normal fifteen is the use of the C word.

or just put a notice on the cover saying:

"scenes of mild reference, one sex scene, partial nudity, frequent use of strong laguage, occassional use of the word cunt"

then no one could complain!

That one really cracked me up... especially in the first Die Hard where there was no Mr. Falcon!

Yes, I'm sure that would make everyone happy

i've just re-read my intial post, and in case it wasn't clear, the whole thing was intended to be sarcastic (but i think that was clear, sort of well Jubei got it, i think ... i'll stop typing now!)

Yes, i did, i like the thought that to find out whether a film said cunt or not, you'd have have to read it on the back, nice concept

You could also have a statement saying "This film does not contain the words cunt, motherfucker or nuts"

They have to draw the line somewhere when censoring... I mean rating things. It can't be left up to whomever. In American PG-13 movies are allowed to say "Fuck" only once. I guess more would be excessive. Whatever. That's what they decided.

It's interesting to me to see what is allowed and not allowed in UK movies and TV. It does sometimes confuse me how some things are perfectly fine and others are not. Here in the US, nothing is allowed. Well...that's not entirely true. We'll get more swearing through than nudity though. Must the religious zealots that disapprove of the human body.

When whatever entity rates a movie, they give it the rating by their guidelines. If the filmmakers want a lower rating (ensuring higher profit, usually), they will make the cuts requested. No one makes the cuts but the filmmakers.

Like I have said before in America, DVDs are not rated. The movies are either the rating they recieved when they were released in the cinema or, many times, the "un-cut" (usually "director's") version. Here it's the best of both worlds, because they make the cuts for the cinema, and are able to do what they want on the DVD. The extras & commentary are NEVER rated. It just says "extras not rated" on the case. (That's why the Americans get to hear Simon & Edgar's cunts").

I recently saw the TV broadcast of Ricky Gervias' "Animals". I noticed at one point that something was bleeped out which I assumed was the C-word since all other profanities were already heard. However the very last word of the show was Cunt and since the other was bleeped the impact of that last one was actually magnified and make the line much funnier.

"... however, it does contain the phrase 'Cambridge University Netball Team' intended as a euphemism for the word cunt"

I think the rating system should be based on the quality of the movie, it would make life so much easier...

"Hey Sean, what should we rent?"

"I dunno, how about Napoleon Dynamite?"

"What rating is it?"

"Ummm, 'Awesome! Gosh'."

"How about this one 'Son of the Mask'? It looks zany."

"No way, look at it's rating;'SHIT'."

I love the phrase "mild peril"

Oh, the mental imagery....

Actually self-censoring DVD players are more of a concern. This is one where the filmmakers have no say in it.

Err... there's a bigger issue here, and that's "what the funking ship is a swear word anyway, motherhubbards?".

I can say "this"
I can say "excrement"
But I can't say "shit" even though it has the same letters as the first word and the same meaning as the second.

Who decides this? Somebody somewhere must have been the person who announced that "cunt" was a swear word. Why? Somebody somewhere is singling out words with the sole consiquence of restricting our vocabulary? FOR NO REASON! And it's even crazier to suggest that as an adult it's more acceptable to say "wank" than as a kid. Why do we need the concept of a swear word? I can say "flange" as long as I'm referring to the lip on a train wheel and not a body part. IT'S ALL SO DAMN CONTRIVED!

hmmm - i understand where you're coming from, but (and I don't want to develop this into something more related to the "Children growing up too fast" thread) i think there is definitely a big difference between children swearing and adults swearing. A grown man (or woman) using the word "cunt" to show their disgust towards someone or something (seriously or in jest) is VERY different to a child saying the same thing. Just picture what you're reaction would be ... wheneve i hear kids (and by kids i mean as young as 7 or 8 sometimes!!) swearing and mouthing off about people i just think "scum", but i don't think that if i hear an adult swearing.

The English language is a beautiful thing, allowing a range of emotions to be expressed with a few wisely chosen words ... which is why i very very very rarely use the word "cunt" in any anger. it just devalues the ever so strong impact of the word and should be held back for extreme situations (with addition of "mother-cunt" for when you need to step the anger levels up even higher!). However, little kids using it don't truely understand the meaning and power of it and therefore should stear clear until they really are able to use it with a full understanding of what it means, and how it should be used.

That's half the point, but what I was getting at is that a number of words are classified as "swear words" and we don't ask why? We just accept that "cunt" is a rude word without wondering about the reasons. Why is "cunt" a rude word?

The difference between a child swearing and an adult swearing is only apparent if you buy into the whole concept of swear-words at all. Why do we need to classify words that way? What's the point? What purpose does it serve?

Its swearing because of the context that its used in. You wouldn't actualy use it to describe lady bits, in any kind of anatomical or polite manner, you use it as a derogoratory (sp?) remark, and a very strong one at that. Hence its a swear word. The same goes for fuck and shit. They both have 'meanings' although those are effectively superceded byt he derogoratory meaning of the word. You'd be pretty surprised if David Attenborough described mating pandas as 'fucking' or if your biology teacher described excrement as shit.

Even when beeping out a swear word most people can still tell what the word is and usually the beeps are late so you get the F beep k so does that make the UC the offensive bit?

I agree with Jubei's reply to this. And you could say the same about every single word in any language. Why, for example, does book mean a thing you read consisting of pages bound together in a way allowing the reader to turn from to the next.

And "what purpose does it serve?" It allows us to communicate. As above, all words have to have meaning ... and that meaning encompases both the literal meaning and the emotional/abstract/metaphorical/"in-context" meaning. Otherwise we all walk around speaking jibberish and no-one will understand a word we're saying.

Well I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. It seems to me that the only reason people get offended by swear words is because they're considered rude and the only reason they're considered rude is because people get offended by them. It's a vicious circle that could be completely eliminated if we didn't have the concept of a swear-word at all. As self-fulfilling prophecy if you will, by categorising them as offensive we are giving people the tools to be offensive. There are many powerful and descriptive words in the english language, but because a couple of them relate to certain body parts or natural processes of waste removal we try to prevent them being used. Just seems a little weird to me.

I see what you're saying now noodles (you cunt! - sorry, couldn't resist that one), but as you said they are considered rude. So short of carrying out an instant batch of brainwashing on every english speaking person in the world to remove their association of rude/offensive meanings with swear words then i guess we're stuck.

But i also like the idea that there are words that I can rely on when i want to explain that I am more than mildly annoyed (fucked off), or that i think someone is a more than silly and frustrating (you twat!) or that the guy that i had an arguement with last night was more than just a an overweight fool of questionable parentage (fucking fat cunt bastard!). Swear words are also helpful when expressing joy about something that was so fun-fucking-tastically funny that i was pissing my fucking pants when that stand up pointed out the posh twat in the front row, and explained to him that the only time he spoke withouth those fucking plums in his mouth was when he was making way for his mum's titties every sunday afternoon.

Thats not true, there are plenty of words which refer to body parts or waste removal that have no offensive connotations, and are thus not censored at all.

I do understand what you mean though. When I was younger I was thought a lot about why fuck is such a taboo word but sex isn't. Its simply a word, made out letters, with an inoffensive literal meaning. But it has nothing to do with the meaning. It has everything to do with the context of its use.

absolutely - i remember once crying (big open admission here people!) when someone called me a cunt at school (i was about 8 or 9 i think). I didn't even know what it meant, but i knew it wasn't nice, and was intended with mallice.

And thats why children shouldn't be allowed to swear, because there are big softies who take offence

lol - good thing i'm over it now then, otherwise i'd be blubbing again now.

i can remember about 6 months later i told my dad about it, and he started laughing. I initially took offense to it (no tears this time, i'm hard, grrr ) but he then explained something like this:

"a 'cunt' is another word for [insert the greek word for vagina]*. the boy who said that was trying to insult you, but think about it ... whats the one thing that all men really want, what boys and men try to get all the time? So, even though he didn't realise it at the time, he was saying he wanted you, and perhaps was jealous of you. So either he is jealous of you, or he was calling himself gay! Either way, who's the real [greek word for vagina] now?!!?"

That had me in stitches for ages, and also annoyed the kid who called me a cunt in the first place because every time i saw him i used to start laughing!

*my dad is cypriot, and even though i don't speak greek i knew all the "rude" words, and whenever he wanted to discuss sensitive matters he would substitute in greek words to avoid any possible embarrassment! (I think it was his embarrassment he was saving more often than not though!)

Wow, I can't imagine my Dad ever explaining something quite like that...

actually i can picture when my dad told me that, and what car we were in ... which means i was around 10 or 11. He was quite up front with me my dad, and pretty funny to boot!

Again, that's half my point. A couple of them are censored but not all of them - which makes the whole thing even stranger.

So yeah. And handy as swear-words are to convey an extreme, they're not the only way. It's possible that they'd lose some of their emphasis if they were downgraded to just words, I'll admit that. But there are equally fun and more original ways to toy with the English language.

Fairy Snuff.

And as an example of why the word itself isn't important you just have to watch some scifi or something where thet've made up their own words, frelling this, rutting that, goran the other.

More forms of Censorship