Home > Fayette.Talk > Archives > 2007 > September > 10 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USSwearing an oath to historical accuraacy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to a conversation I had last week with a retired minister, who also happens to be private pilot.
I told him I saw the movie “The Aviator,” about Howard Hughes, which I thought was pondered nextfascinating and sad at the same time. In the movie, Hughes was portrayed as a brilliant man overcome with obsessive compulsive disorder. He would wash his hands incessantly, repeat words over and over again and, here’s the kicker, cursed-a lot, using the words G— d. many many times during the movie.
And that, for my retired minister friend, was the deal breaker. When I asked him if he ever saw the movie, it was an emphatic “no, because there are too many curse words.”
From his point of view, I completely understood his reasoning for not seeing the movie. But what I wondered was how many movies about history would he miss because the language was offensive?
I understand that many people don’t see movies with fictional story lines because the language is too harsh. But when a film is about something from our past (for example, war) and bad language is a part of the facts, can’t some people put their discomfort aside?
I don’t know about you, but I’m painfully curious by nature and especially about historical events. While some words make me bristle, I can take the language if the lessons I learn enrich my life.
Would you go to a movie about an historical event even if the language was offensive? Or would you find another way to learn the facts?
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Abby Brunks
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By SuziQ
September 10, 2007 10:40 AM | Link to this
I have no problem watching a non-fictional movie with language that was used in that time period. But, I do not watch many movies because of the unnecessary language used just for the sale.
By FYTVLSis
September 17, 2007 5:36 PM | Link to this
Abby,
What I don’t understand is why they don’t make PG rated movies of those blockbusters? You can choose your language, whether you want captions or not, why not offer the “PG” rated versions on the same disk? Or on the other side of the disk? My daughters are much older now and gone from the house, but I hated watching a PG or R rated movie and hearing the cursing or showing the occasional boob. And the sex scenes! Why can’t they just fade to black or a train going into a tunnel or something on the “gentler society” side of the disk, like they used to?
When our children were little, we didn’t curse, and still don’t all that much… well, I might say the occasional “God Bless America!” or “Son of monkeys!” But the harsher words we didn’t say because of little pitchers having big ears. My Mom used to say that those who cursed had a lesser intelligence and not a very large vocabulary. :-)
I just think there would be a market out there for the PG version. I’d like to show Mom (whose favorite swear word is “Poodles!”) Titantic or some other movie without cringing every time there’s a curse word, or a love scene, knowing my Mom wants to say “turn that filth off!”
Is it asking too much?
By Xaymaca
September 18, 2007 12:06 PM | Link to this
I think this is a regional thing. In NY where I grew up, explitives are used as parts of speech, so I don’t feel the sting that other here do. When I see a movie that has “gritty” subject matter like “Saving Private Ryan” or a crime drama, I expect to hear the language that fits the situation. Cursing just for cursing sake is silly in my opinion. It comes across as just filler in a place where the good content is missing.