Offensive word in a movie

OneEyedDiva said:
Well, you must not watch any of the new movies. Most of them contain more than one offensive word...several times to the point of overkill ! I really hate this new "trend" but so many writers seem to think it adds to their script, when in fact, it detracts from them. Unless I want to see a movie really badly, I skip movies with so much fowl language. I don't think one vulgar word would turn me off to an entire movie. Hard to tell, though since you won't say what the word was.
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They act like they invented offensive. They didn't! F them :ROFLMAO:
 

Sunny said:
That word spoiled the movie for me, and I didn't like it any more, though I stuck with it to the end.
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I know it is so disappointing to be enjoying an old book or movie and then they do or say something really offensive and it is hurtful and the complete opposite of the entertaining feeling expected. My favorite author has some really offensive words about Jews and I wish she would have had those words changed later on (she wrote light humorous romances from the 1930s into the early 1970s when she died).

Of course if things that were offensive about women were removed, not much would be left! I've been re-reading old Asimov books that I enjoyed when I was young and its engendered a lot of head-shaking. Stories set 12,000 to 20,000 years in the future have the woman preparing dinner in the kitchen of the spaceship while the man smokes a pipe and navigates the ship. And the upscale spaceship has a parlor. A parlor! Do they need a fancy room to entertain guests while they are traveling through space?!?
 
For those who don't know the rhyme it may be because you're a few years younger than I am. Nice people suddenly noticed how awful it was in the sixties and changed that word to "Tiger," At least that's the way my son learned it and he never knew about it's past. Evidently we were slower to the change than New York.

Here's another video for you guys not to watch:
 
dilettante said:
Good Gourd! Turn it off as befits your comfort level. "Stick and stones" sheesh.
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Yes, I am aware that I can turn off my TV, thank you very much for that useful suggestion. (And the second half of your saying is "But names can never hurt me." That is definitely not true. "Names" can hurt people a great deal.)

Actually, the main reason it gave me a (small) problem was that my family frequently send each other texts recommending movies or series we have enjoyed. I was all ready to write to them telling them how much fun this movie was, when that word popped up and hit me in the face. Somehow, it bothered me enough to stop me from giving it a 5 star rating.
 
Della said:
For those who don't know the rhyme it may be because you're a few years younger than I am. Nice people suddenly noticed how awful it was in the sixties and changed that word to "Tiger," At least that's the way my son learned it and he never knew about it's past. Evidently we were slower to the change than New York.

Here's another video for you guys not to watch:
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I may have learned Tiger in the fifties as I was in a Jewish community, post Holocaust. The parents I knew were all pro Civil Rights. We saw each other as brethren in those days. Doubt I'm younger than you, Della. I'm the oldest woman in the world. I date myself back to 1886 when my Grandma was born. I have many of her memories locked in my head.
 
Sunny said:
OK, I'm back. Thank you for all the thoughtful comments. Since my thoughts on the subject are undecided, I found the pros and cons very interesting.

Yes, of course it was the N word, and I think the reason I found it so offensive was that it just came out of nowhere, and didn't seem to fit those characters or the movie. Of course, rap performers, gangsters and racists in movies, use the word all the time, usually to an annoying extent, even if you don't find the word offensive. And I don't find Mark Twain's use of it for the Jim character in Huckleberry Finn offensive, as it takes place in probably the early 19th century, and that really is what Jim would have been called. It was part of his name.

This felt different. I remember Eenie Meenie Miney Mo from my own childhood, and this was funny, the second line was "Catch a nickle by the toe." We always said it like that, and it never occurred to me to wonder what a nickle was doing with a toe. It wasn't until I grew up that it finally dawned on me what the rhyme probably originally said.

In this movie, the rhyme felt out of place. In fact, I would have thought it was American, not British, and I have never seen or heard the N word used in any British book or movie. And if it had any meaning in this otherwise hilarious tale of lighthearted murder, I don't know what it was. But I don't like censorship either. Which is why I still feel undecided about how appropriate this word is in the context of an ironic, wickedly funny movie.

If anyone wants to find it, I watched it on Tubi. It had ads, unfortunately. It may be available elsewhere.
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well you got me searching for answers because I couldn't ever remember saying the N word in this rhyme, when I was a child.. , and the rhyme is thought to be from Celtic origin.... and it has variations around the world.... but... it was only the American version that included the N***** word...... we as children in the Uk said ''catch a tinker by it's toe.''..

Eenie, Meenie takes a dark turn ​


The diverse origins of the first line Eenie, meenie, miney, moe are plausible but contested. The second line in the American rhyme, Catch a tiger by the toe, has a clearer and more dismal ancestry that traces right back to the United States.


Prior to the popular variation used today that involves catching tigers, a common American variant of the rhyme used a racist slur against Black people instead of the word tiger. This offensive variation was widely used until around the 1950s when kid-friendly variations that instead use words like tiger, tinker, and piggy became commonplace. In this case, we say the kids had the right idea to go after those tiger’s toes.

The Racist History of “Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe”
 
A definite "no" for censorship.

Words should never truly be offensive, not on their own. It's the context, and the meaning. In the example made in the OP, the context certainly isn't to be racist, although the saying clearly comes from a racist heritage. But, it simply is what it is.

I don't use that word in ANY context, but there's a part of me that wonders why a white person would ever be offended by that term. It wasn't aimed at us. Embarrassment perhaps, by offended? Not for me.

Honestly, censorship never works. It's a short term solution to a problem that eventually unwinds.
 
On the subject of movies containing profanities, I have watched a few Vietnam war movies and have noticed a distinct contrast between US and Australian movies of that period.

My observation was that the US films used the F word as nauseam. An example would be Full Metal Jacket. It usually involved shouting it at someone. It made me wonder about the difference between US and Australian usage of swear words, so I sought out and watched an Australian film also depicting soldiers fighting in Vietnam. It was titled The Odd Angry Shot.

They also used the F word but used it very differently. It was used in a jocular way which took the sting out of it. Australians in WW I used the word "bloody" in the same way, so much so that it became known as the great Australian adjective.

The interesting thing I noticed was that when things got serious the men reverted to the great Australian adjective. There is one scene where a soldier berates the commanding officer with a hot tirade of very Australian swearing.

Over the years I have come to realise that words are just words. It is the intent to offend that gives some more power than other words. To me the expression, "Smile when you say that", says it all when it comes to profane language.

That said there are a few words that cause me to arc up. I would think that is true for many of us.
 
I guess it's human nature to make fun of people who are different. Even WASPs have been made fun of, so we all take our turn. But, it's hurtful to the targets and we should be better than that. When I was a kid it was moron jokes. They were hilarious to us then, but not so funny now. And, the same type of jokes have been told about various ethnic groups and even blondes.

Will we ever develop more empathy? Will we outgrow stereotypes? I'm not optimistic. It's too easy to laugh at someone else's expense.
 
Grampa Don said:
I guess it's human nature to make fun of people who are different. Even WASPs have been made fun of, so we all take our turn. But, it's hurtful to the targets and we should be better than that. When I was a kid it was moron jokes. They were hilarious to us then, but not so funny now. And, the same type of jokes have been told about various ethnic groups and even blondes.

Will we ever develop more empathy? Will we outgrow stereotypes? I'm not optimistic. It's too easy to laugh at someone else's expense.
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I don't see it stopping. How many people are insulted these days with the term "illegals", or "immigrant"? Few seem to care it's derogatory in nature.
 
Pepper said:
I may have learned Tiger in the fifties as I was in a Jewish community, post Holocaust. The parents I knew were all pro Civil Rights. We saw each other as brethren in those days. Doubt I'm younger than you, Della. I'm the oldest woman in the world. I date myself back to 1886 when my Grandma was born. I have many of her memories locked in my head.
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I think you're the second oldest woman in the world, Pepper. My grandmother, named Della, was born 1881 and it's at about 5 years older than you, that I've always guessed. My parents (also very liberal with both Jewish and Black friends) were born in 1915.

Carolyn Keene racist? Darn! The one that shocked me most was Willa Cather. Last year, while reading, "My Antonia," I came across one of the most disgustingly racist chapters in any book I ever read. I honestly think it must have been taken out of the first version I read because "My Antonia," was one of my favorite books in High School and I think I would have remembered that.
 
VaughanJB said:
A definite "no" for censorship.

Words should never truly be offensive, not on their own. It's the context, and the meaning. In the example made in the OP, the context certainly isn't to be racist, although the saying clearly comes from a racist heritage. But, it simply is what it is.

I don't use that word in ANY context, but there's a part of me that wonders why a white person would ever be offended by that term. It wasn't aimed at us. Embarrassment perhaps, by offended? Not for me.

Honestly, censorship never works. It's a short term solution to a problem that eventually unwinds.
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First They Came
Pastor Martin Niemoller
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
 
Warrigal said:
On the subject of movies containing profanities, I have watched a few Vietnam war movies and have noticed a distinct contrast between US and Australian movies of that period.
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There are few swear words that are really offensive, imo. But when I was in Australia I was shocked to find liberal use of the "C" word! Now that took me back. Be careful of Aussies! :D
 
Sunny said:
First They Came
Pastor Martin Niemoller
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
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A fair point, but it wasn't words that was the problem in these examples - it was actions. But then, I suppose actions always preface words.

I wish more people truly believed what is in that sermon (?). Sadly, I actually see more attacks these days on groups of people, rather than less. We're back to days where groups of people are demonized and the trained seals applaud.
 

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