The Family Bird: 2010-02-28

http://www.badscience.net/2006/03/cunt-fuck-wanker/#more-228

This link to post# 228 is a discussion of the way the BBC rates words according to degree of offensiveness as reported from survey. Brits.
Here is comment # 79 on that post:

Pedantica said,
March 27, 2006 at 2:24 pm
By the way has anyone else seen the hilarious start to the US version of Four Weddings and a Funeral. In the original the first twenty or so words are ‘Fuck’ as Charles and Scarlette rush to make the first wedding. But in the US I caught a version where these had all been dubbed over with ‘Bugger’, as I remember it the dubbing itself was quite poor which added to the hilarity. It seemed surprising that buggery should be more acceptable than fucking but there you go.
the conversation continues: Post # 89
RW said,
March 27, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Superburger (74) – Kids calling each other cunts on CBBC or at 5pm? Certainly no problem for me if there is artistic or educational merit in it (highly unlikely but it would be hilarious to see the uproar if they did). Responsibility for bringing up responsible kids lies with me, not TV. Saying that writers, directors, commisioning editors and producers don’t know what is acceptable without a list strikes me as a tad nannyish.
Would I care if I had disabled kids and someone on TV or radio referred to them as mongols/flids/spaccers, etc etc? Yes – I would view the speaker of those words with the contempt they deserve just as I do any racist using derogatory terms – the same contempt if they were to do it in front of me.
The funniest thing about the Four Weddings opening scene was how contrived it was: “Gee Honey – look at that limey saying fuck in his funny accent”. On the other hand the implied violence of Hannibal’s statement is lost when dubbed over (badly). Personally I am more uncomfortable with the subject matter of Silence of the Lambs pre watershed than I am the language it uses.
The best send up of badly overdubbed swearing has to be Harry Enfield:
“And now on BBC 2, Martin Scorcese’s Badfellas, which has been specially ruined for television”
“Did you fun my wife ?”
“No I didn’t fun your wife”
“Fun you, you muddy funster”
“Suck my cake, you cake-sucker”
“Suck my lozenge”
And if cunt is the new fuck, what will replace cunt?