While in the USA recently, I took some time to check out American television. Not for any other reason other than it’s something that always fascinates me. The mixture of mild-mannered newsreaders in pristine wax-like condition, informing their viewers of the day’s events (some in their own slant!). The personable talk-show hosts and the outrageously silly self-help gurus. The madness of the high regard and esteem with which doctors, particularly specialised ‘MDs’ are held and the mania that is the advertisments from drug-companies selling everything from erectile dysfunction cures to heart medicine that may include such side effects as death or serious bleeding.
So I’m sitting watching all this stuff, and the hours go by and as I flick through the Comcast EPG (which is awful by the way) I see one of my all-time favourite films: Goodfellas. This is a truly great film. Along with the Godfather trilogy and Casino, there are few films that grab my attention like Goodfellas. So I’m watching the bar scene before Billy Batts gets his head crushed by Pesci and I’m thinkin, there’s something wrong here. I don’t remember them saying the word ‘freakin’ in this movie. Then I realise as the bad dubbing becomes apparent, that the whole thing is dubbed! So I watch for another few minutes, and then I can watch no more. I had to turn off. This is wrong.
I notice this pattern of censorship more and more then as I flick through the channels. Words like ’shit’ are silented, as is the first part of ‘goddamn’ – yes, god! This is just wrong. Allow me to demonstrate, using some of Stephen Fry’s words:
I cannot understand how a country that made such great films as Goodfellas has let the lunatics loose and banned cursing and swearing?! What harm does it really do? Who does it really offend? Only those who love to be offended as far as I can see. Kids these days are more expressive because of those words. Maybe boardroom meetings and sales conferences would be more successful if the bullshit was cut and a swear word used to describe it! This politeness shite really pisses me off. Fuck sake, what a joke. I just felt like going out on the streets of San Francisco and cursing and swearing like a mad Irish eejit. It’s fucking stupid. Seriously. Get over it. If you can sell drugs to give men a 4-hour erection at 10 in the morning, you can show Frank Vincent tell Joe Pesci to ‘go home and get your fuckin shine box’. I was so ashamed for people who’ve never really heard that movie. I can’t imagine what they did to the film ‘In the Loop’. Don’t bother watching it if you’re reading this in the US. You won’t get how funny it is.
Fuckin sickening!
diarmy
