I came across this list of words the BBC doesn’t want people saying. There are more than seven.
I was rather surprised to see how high on the list “nigger” is for the BBC, since, well, American TV seems to have no problem with it. During one of the breaks during college I happened to catch an airing of Blazing Saddles on A&E. Glad to see one of my favorite movies on TV, I decided to stay up and watch it. After all, I was on break.
I soon changed my mind, though, not because I was tired, but because they were taking out all the good parts (i.e., the swearing). And Blazing Saddles simply does not work “cleaned up.” You might as well just air a version without sound.
There was one scene in particular, though, that struck me. In the actual movie, when the new sheriff greets an elderly woman, she doesn’t want any of his kindness: “Up yours, nigger!” she tells him.
On the other hand, in A&E’s cleaned-up-even-though-it-was-on-late-at-night version, grandma couldn’t dare say anything so vulgar: “Shut up, nigger!” was what came out of the sweet old lady’s mouth.
“Nigger” is ranked 11 on the list (1 is the most offensive), while “piss off” comes in at 12; “up yours” doesn’t appear.
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