1
00:00:23,836 --> 00:00:25,421
"Fuck are you lookin' at?"

2
00:00:26,422 --> 00:00:28,841
"I've had it
with these motherfuckin' snakes

3
00:00:28,924 --> 00:00:30,468
on this motherfuckin' plane."

4
00:00:30,551 --> 00:00:34,180
"Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you.
You're cool. Fuck you. I'm out."

5
00:00:34,263 --> 00:00:37,725
"You want me to go trash your lights?
You want me to fuckin' trash 'em?

6
00:00:37,808 --> 00:00:39,310
Then why are you trashing my scene?"

7
00:00:39,393 --> 00:00:41,520
"You are one ugly motherfucker."

8
00:00:41,604 --> 00:00:44,148
"You have insulted me
for the last fucking time."

9
00:00:44,231 --> 00:00:45,816
"Fuck you! That's my name."

10
00:00:45,900 --> 00:00:47,610
"Don't waste my motherfuckin' time."

11
00:00:47,693 --> 00:00:49,862
"Fuck it. We'll do it live."

12
00:00:51,405 --> 00:00:55,117
An actor's greatest tool
is their imagination.

13
00:00:55,201 --> 00:00:56,327
But swearing…

14
00:00:56,827 --> 00:00:57,995
is definitely up there.

15
00:00:59,371 --> 00:01:00,623
With swear words,

16
00:01:00,706 --> 00:01:03,209
we can cut, soothe, delight,

17
00:01:03,292 --> 00:01:06,295
frighten, insult, and seduce.

18
00:01:06,796 --> 00:01:10,257
Of all the swear words
in the English language,

19
00:01:10,341 --> 00:01:13,427
none is as malleable as "fuck."

20
00:01:13,969 --> 00:01:17,098
It's capable of expressing
the full range of human emotion.

21
00:01:17,765 --> 00:01:20,101
The pain, the wonder,

22
00:01:20,184 --> 00:01:22,103
the unlawful carnal knowledge,

23
00:01:22,186 --> 00:01:23,562
in a single syllable.

24
00:01:24,105 --> 00:01:25,439
[inhales deeply]

25
00:01:26,065 --> 00:01:29,318
[softly] ♪ Fuuuuuck ♪

26
00:01:30,111 --> 00:01:31,987
Or we can say it like this…

27
00:01:32,571 --> 00:01:33,572
[inhales]

28
00:01:33,656 --> 00:01:40,371
[yells] Fuuuuuck!

29
00:01:45,876 --> 00:01:46,710
[bleep]

30
00:01:46,794 --> 00:01:47,795
[cat meows]

31
00:01:52,091 --> 00:01:55,010
They're the most popular
and alluring taboos we have.

32
00:01:55,636 --> 00:01:59,056
But the secrets to their strange power
have been shrouded in mystery.

33
00:01:59,140 --> 00:02:00,141
Until now.

34
00:02:00,850 --> 00:02:03,269
Join me on a journey through the history,

35
00:02:03,352 --> 00:02:07,439
evolution and cultural impact
of swear words.

36
00:02:08,774 --> 00:02:09,859
And let's get fucked.

37
00:02:11,110 --> 00:02:13,779
"Fuck" is the all-time classic.
Number one with a bullet.

38
00:02:13,863 --> 00:02:17,032
"Fuck" is another word
that helps you release frustration.

39
00:02:17,116 --> 00:02:19,535
It's-- it's a word that conveys emotion.

40
00:02:19,618 --> 00:02:23,664
If I had only one swear word
to take with me to a desert island,

41
00:02:23,747 --> 00:02:25,374
it would probably be "fuck."

42
00:02:25,457 --> 00:02:26,876
My name is Kory Stamper.

43
00:02:26,959 --> 00:02:29,003
I am a lexicographer and an author.

44
00:02:29,086 --> 00:02:32,840
I used to write
dictionary definitions at Merriam-Webster,

45
00:02:32,923 --> 00:02:36,844
and, among other things,
my job there was to work on profanities.

46
00:02:36,927 --> 00:02:39,305
English, motherfucker. Do you speak it?

47
00:02:39,388 --> 00:02:42,516
I love the word "fuck" so much.
It's just so versatile.

48
00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:46,270
You can put it anywhere in a sentence,
and give it a little bit of zhuzh.

49
00:02:47,479 --> 00:02:50,357
My name is Ben Bergen
and I'm a cognitive scientist.

50
00:02:50,441 --> 00:02:51,859
I do research on language.

51
00:02:51,942 --> 00:02:55,321
You can use "fuck" in absolutely any way.

52
00:02:55,404 --> 00:02:57,239
I'll take you all to fuckin' hell.

53
00:02:57,323 --> 00:02:58,991
We say "fuck" all the time.
"What the fuck?"

54
00:02:59,074 --> 00:03:01,076
"You little fucker."
It could be a good thing.

55
00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:02,203
"Cheeky little fuck!"

56
00:03:02,286 --> 00:03:06,624
It can be used in compound nouns
like "fuckhead" and "fuckwit."

57
00:03:06,707 --> 00:03:08,918
When something's really impressive,
you go "Fuck!"

58
00:03:09,001 --> 00:03:11,503
If you use it one way,
you can offend people.

59
00:03:11,587 --> 00:03:12,880
"Fuck you, Jack!"

60
00:03:12,963 --> 00:03:14,632
Use it another way, you can make friends

61
00:03:14,715 --> 00:03:16,175
-and influence people.
-"Fuck, yes!"

62
00:03:16,258 --> 00:03:18,344
My name is Melissa Mohr

63
00:03:18,427 --> 00:03:20,596
I have a PhD from Stanford University,

64
00:03:20,679 --> 00:03:23,057
and I write about swearing.

65
00:03:23,140 --> 00:03:26,560
If you hear someone say "fuck,"
that word has-- has a lot of power.

66
00:03:26,644 --> 00:03:28,437
It can work with when you're shocked.

67
00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:29,813
"Fuck!"

68
00:03:29,897 --> 00:03:31,690
It can work with when you're surprised.

69
00:03:31,774 --> 00:03:33,150
"Shut the fuck up!"

70
00:03:33,234 --> 00:03:35,486
"Fuck" is just
the most acceptable curse word,

71
00:03:35,569 --> 00:03:39,323
but it still is the worst one of all.

72
00:03:40,074 --> 00:03:40,908
[bell dings]

73
00:03:40,991 --> 00:03:46,080
But for all its myriad uses,
"fuck" is ultimately about fuck-ing.

74
00:03:46,163 --> 00:03:48,165
So, where did the word itself come from?

75
00:03:48,249 --> 00:03:49,959
[typing]

76
00:03:50,584 --> 00:03:51,794
[Ben] With "fuck,"

77
00:03:51,877 --> 00:03:56,298
it has a really long history
of not meaning something related to sex.

78
00:03:56,382 --> 00:03:58,133
Thousands of years.

79
00:03:58,217 --> 00:04:03,013
And, starting right around
the beginning of the 14th century,

80
00:04:03,097 --> 00:04:05,975
it gained this new meaning related to sex,

81
00:04:06,058 --> 00:04:07,810
and probably preserved it

82
00:04:07,893 --> 00:04:10,145
without ever being a banned term

83
00:04:10,729 --> 00:04:13,399
for about 400 years.

84
00:04:13,482 --> 00:04:15,818
So, there's an acronymic etymology

85
00:04:16,318 --> 00:04:19,530
that people think
the word "fuck" came from a phrase,

86
00:04:20,114 --> 00:04:22,366
"Fornication Under Consent of the King."

87
00:04:23,158 --> 00:04:24,535
-The idea is…
-[neighing]

88
00:04:24,618 --> 00:04:26,912
…that when people
in the middle ages got married,

89
00:04:26,996 --> 00:04:28,622
they had to go to the king,

90
00:04:28,706 --> 00:04:31,458
they had to ask for permission
to have sex.

91
00:04:31,542 --> 00:04:33,627
-[woman] Oh, don't stop!
-[crashing]

92
00:04:33,711 --> 00:04:35,170
Oh, I'm almost thither! [gasps]

93
00:04:35,254 --> 00:04:37,047
-[horses neigh]
-Halt this carriage!

94
00:04:37,131 --> 00:04:38,590
I'm almost thither!

95
00:04:38,674 --> 00:04:40,926
-Almost!
-[fanfare]

96
00:04:41,010 --> 00:04:44,388
Cease this unsanctioned erogeny at once!

97
00:04:44,471 --> 00:04:47,099
If you didn't have papers
from the king, you were breaking the law.

98
00:04:47,182 --> 00:04:49,768
But, my lord, you've given your consent.

99
00:04:49,852 --> 00:04:50,686
[dog barking]

100
00:04:50,769 --> 00:04:52,646
[king] Ah! Very well, then.

101
00:04:52,730 --> 00:04:55,858
Let it be known
that this household has been given

102
00:04:55,941 --> 00:04:58,694
my royal, kingly consent

103
00:04:59,653 --> 00:05:02,740
to fuuuuuck!

104
00:05:02,823 --> 00:05:05,242
Such a great story for such a great word.

105
00:05:05,326 --> 00:05:09,705
It is total horseshit.
It's not real. Sadly.

106
00:05:09,788 --> 00:05:12,958
Because we like colorful words
to have colorful origins.

107
00:05:13,042 --> 00:05:14,752
I think "fuck" is just made up.

108
00:05:14,835 --> 00:05:17,254
I feel like this one guy
one day just went, "Fuck."

109
00:05:17,338 --> 00:05:19,340
And the other guy was like, "Oh, I kinda…

110
00:05:19,423 --> 00:05:21,175
That's exactly how I feel, actually."

111
00:05:21,258 --> 00:05:23,469
The best that etymologists can tell,

112
00:05:23,552 --> 00:05:27,139
"fuck" probably comes
from a medieval Dutch verb,

113
00:05:27,222 --> 00:05:30,476
which means "to blow,"
"to hit," "to strike."

114
00:05:36,148 --> 00:05:38,400
What? "Fuck" means "to hit"?

115
00:05:38,484 --> 00:05:40,819
You can fuck someone up
by hitting them really hard.

116
00:05:40,903 --> 00:05:43,489
Technically,
it still hasn't lost its original meaning.

117
00:05:43,572 --> 00:05:46,408
So, if I got hit in the face,
I would get fucked in the face?

118
00:05:46,950 --> 00:05:48,077
[laughs]

119
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:50,537
Talking to them's an uphill struggle,
innit, Dad?

120
00:05:50,621 --> 00:05:51,663
Fuck off!

121
00:05:51,747 --> 00:05:55,292
[Melissa] "Fuck" doesn't appear
very often in language

122
00:05:55,376 --> 00:05:57,294
before the 1500s.

123
00:05:57,378 --> 00:06:01,173
But there are some uses of the word,
and they occur in people's names.

124
00:06:01,256 --> 00:06:03,842
So, there's a man called John Lefucker.

125
00:06:03,926 --> 00:06:07,388
Who was a known gigolo in the area.

126
00:06:07,471 --> 00:06:09,765
[Melissa] There's somebody Fuckbutter.

127
00:06:09,848 --> 00:06:11,266
Incredibly well endowed.

128
00:06:11,350 --> 00:06:13,602
[Melissa] Somebody Roger Fuckebythenavele.

129
00:06:13,685 --> 00:06:15,562
What? Are you crazy?

130
00:06:15,646 --> 00:06:19,024
It could refer to the fact that he is, um…

131
00:06:19,525 --> 00:06:21,902
an inelegant copulator.

132
00:06:21,985 --> 00:06:24,613
But it could also mean
that he got hit in the stomach.

133
00:06:24,696 --> 00:06:26,657
Or that he punches people in the stomach.

134
00:06:26,740 --> 00:06:29,243
We just-- With names,
you don't really know,

135
00:06:29,326 --> 00:06:31,495
because they tend to be metaphorical, or--

136
00:06:31,578 --> 00:06:34,206
You know, nicknames
aren't necessarily explainable

137
00:06:34,289 --> 00:06:35,999
if you're outside of that in-group.

138
00:06:36,083 --> 00:06:39,169
A lot of people's last names
in English come from their profession,

139
00:06:39,253 --> 00:06:41,255
or some characteristic they're known by.

140
00:06:41,338 --> 00:06:45,259
So you've got a Taylor.
He would have sewn clothes.

141
00:06:45,342 --> 00:06:47,678
A Miller would have ground grain,
you know?

142
00:06:47,761 --> 00:06:51,849
So, you've got-- In the 13th century,
you've got John Lefucker.

143
00:06:52,599 --> 00:06:56,228
What did he do? He--
You know, was he the original fuckboy?

144
00:06:56,812 --> 00:06:59,606
[Nicolas] How many ways can we use "fuck"?

145
00:06:59,690 --> 00:07:01,942
There's so many different ways
to talk about "fuck."

146
00:07:02,025 --> 00:07:03,819
You have the Fuck Family Tree,

147
00:07:04,319 --> 00:07:07,114
where Fuck meets Motherfuck,

148
00:07:07,197 --> 00:07:09,658
and those two fuck
and they have a Fuccboi.

149
00:07:09,741 --> 00:07:12,286
He never gets married
because he's always fuckin' around,

150
00:07:12,369 --> 00:07:14,830
but he had a Fuckwad and a Fuck Nut

151
00:07:14,913 --> 00:07:18,041
with this absolute fuck fiend,
Fuckin' Brenda.

152
00:07:18,125 --> 00:07:20,335
They all fucked.
But the motherfucker's brother,

153
00:07:20,419 --> 00:07:23,088
Uncle Fucker, was a real sick fuck.

154
00:07:23,172 --> 00:07:25,924
But he put them in the will,
so the little fuckers run around

155
00:07:26,008 --> 00:07:27,551
with a fuck ton of money.

156
00:07:27,634 --> 00:07:30,012
Then, there's the other
fuckin' side of the family.

157
00:07:30,095 --> 00:07:31,555
They're all fuckin' dicks anyway.

158
00:07:31,638 --> 00:07:33,390
"Fuck" means "sex," for sure.

159
00:07:33,474 --> 00:07:35,392
And then you can move outward

160
00:07:35,476 --> 00:07:38,770
and say, well, "fuck" also refers
to really mess something up,

161
00:07:38,854 --> 00:07:41,231
or "fuck" meaning "to screw someone over."

162
00:07:41,315 --> 00:07:43,233
These are all metaphorical uses.

163
00:07:43,317 --> 00:07:47,029
And-- and the fact that it's so taboo,
and has been taboo for a while,

164
00:07:47,112 --> 00:07:50,741
you know, it's kinda like Silly Putty--
you can stretch it

165
00:07:50,824 --> 00:07:53,160
into just about any meaning you need to.

166
00:07:53,243 --> 00:07:55,829
[Nicolas] Where does "fuck"
live in your brain?

167
00:07:55,913 --> 00:07:58,707
When you automatically,
spontaneously swear,

168
00:07:58,790 --> 00:08:01,752
it's an evolutionary old reflex.

169
00:08:01,835 --> 00:08:05,506
Apparently, swear words live in,
like, a different part of your brain.

170
00:08:05,589 --> 00:08:08,509
They live in, like,
the mom's basement of your brain.

171
00:08:08,592 --> 00:08:10,594
And I'm goin'
to that part of my brain a lot.

172
00:08:10,677 --> 00:08:13,096
There's a deeper, more emotional,

173
00:08:13,180 --> 00:08:16,975
evolutionarily old place
that profanity comes from.

174
00:08:17,059 --> 00:08:19,186
Deep in the middle of the brain,

175
00:08:19,269 --> 00:08:21,480
a part of the brain
we share with other primates,

176
00:08:21,563 --> 00:08:23,315
with other mammals, with lizards.

177
00:08:23,398 --> 00:08:27,277
That's the part that leads you
to swear when you stub a toe,

178
00:08:27,361 --> 00:08:30,948
or when your favorite football team
scores a touchdown.

179
00:08:31,031 --> 00:08:32,616
If something is tragic,

180
00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,162
my reaction will involve the word "fuck."

181
00:08:37,246 --> 00:08:40,332
When you swear, you produce adrenaline.

182
00:08:40,415 --> 00:08:43,126
It's part of the same
fight-or-flight reaction people have

183
00:08:43,210 --> 00:08:45,420
when they experience fear or anger.

184
00:08:45,504 --> 00:08:48,257
It can cause
the listener's heart rate to increase,

185
00:08:48,340 --> 00:08:50,217
make your palms sweat.

186
00:08:50,300 --> 00:08:52,636
You fuckin' do that again
and I will shoot you myself.

187
00:08:52,719 --> 00:08:55,347
That adrenaline
and the blood flow to the extremities

188
00:08:55,847 --> 00:08:58,141
makes it easier to tolerate pain there.

189
00:08:58,767 --> 00:09:02,229
It's also the same reason
why swearing makes you stronger.

190
00:09:02,312 --> 00:09:05,440
For example,
five percent stronger in grip strength

191
00:09:05,524 --> 00:09:07,776
when you're swearing,
compared to when you're not.

192
00:09:07,859 --> 00:09:09,069
[Nicolas] "Fuck!"

193
00:09:09,152 --> 00:09:11,572
It's so primal, so universal,

194
00:09:12,072 --> 00:09:15,450
that some of history's most famous people
channeled its power

195
00:09:15,534 --> 00:09:16,952
for their last words.

196
00:09:17,035 --> 00:09:19,621
Like beloved children's author Roald Dahl.

197
00:09:20,122 --> 00:09:22,583
"It's just that
I will miss you all so much."

198
00:09:22,666 --> 00:09:24,209
-[squirt]
-"Ow, fuck!"

199
00:09:25,002 --> 00:09:28,338
-[church bell tolls]
-Or notorious people lover W. C. Fields.

200
00:09:28,422 --> 00:09:33,093
"God damn the whole fuckin' world
and everyone in it but you, Carlotta."

201
00:09:33,594 --> 00:09:34,428
[church bell tolls]

202
00:09:34,511 --> 00:09:38,265
And even Venezuelan freedom fighter,
Antonio José de Sucre.

203
00:09:38,849 --> 00:09:40,642
-[gunshot]
-"Fuck, a bullet wound."

204
00:09:40,726 --> 00:09:42,227
[horse neighs]

205
00:09:42,311 --> 00:09:43,270
[church bell tolls]

206
00:09:43,353 --> 00:09:46,732
Every single person who's fallen
off a cliff, their last word was "fuck."

207
00:09:46,815 --> 00:09:50,027
Everyone who's been eaten by a shark,
they also said "fuck."

208
00:09:50,110 --> 00:09:51,361
I'm not surprised.

209
00:09:51,445 --> 00:09:55,157
I feel like that's probably
a lot of people's last words.

210
00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:57,242
[typing]

211
00:09:57,909 --> 00:09:59,036
I'm Elvis Mitchel,

212
00:09:59,119 --> 00:10:02,039
and I host a show called
The Treatment on KCRW.

213
00:10:02,122 --> 00:10:05,125
Thanks to the Supreme Court
and the ruling of 1971,

214
00:10:05,208 --> 00:10:08,295
"fuck" is part of our protected speech,
we have the right to say it.

215
00:10:08,378 --> 00:10:11,340
We have what they would call
"the God-given right."

216
00:10:11,423 --> 00:10:14,259
Using the word "fuck"
becomes a way to be heard.

217
00:10:14,343 --> 00:10:17,220
Certainly-- In the '60s,
Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland,

218
00:10:17,304 --> 00:10:19,765
they had a touring troupe, FTA.
Fuck The Army.

219
00:10:19,848 --> 00:10:21,266
And Fuck The Draft.

220
00:10:21,350 --> 00:10:24,478
You were using that word to say,
"I was taking a stand."

221
00:10:24,561 --> 00:10:28,899
"Fuck" is also something a person says
when they are deeply hurt

222
00:10:28,982 --> 00:10:30,567
or disappointed by something.

223
00:10:31,193 --> 00:10:33,445
♪ Fuck tha police
Comin' straight from the underground… ♪

224
00:10:33,528 --> 00:10:37,240
When NWA said "Fuck Tha Police,"

225
00:10:37,324 --> 00:10:40,285
it wasn't said
out of a sense of pure malice.

226
00:10:40,369 --> 00:10:43,664
It was said
with a deep sense of disappointment.

227
00:10:43,747 --> 00:10:44,873
♪ Fuck tha police ♪

228
00:10:44,956 --> 00:10:47,376
♪ Fuck, fuck, fuck tha police ♪

229
00:10:47,459 --> 00:10:49,920
-♪ Fuck, fuck, fuck… ♪
-That's what "Fuck Tha Police" did.

230
00:10:50,087 --> 00:10:51,797
That's what those words did.

231
00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,007
The power of NWA is that they were

232
00:10:54,091 --> 00:10:56,510
some of the earliest
successful gangsta rappers,

233
00:10:56,593 --> 00:10:58,887
and what gangsta rap really meant
in that time…

234
00:10:59,638 --> 00:11:01,890
was people sayin' things on songs

235
00:11:01,973 --> 00:11:04,267
that people were
not used to hearing in public.

236
00:11:04,351 --> 00:11:06,269
Going to a Public Enemy show

237
00:11:06,353 --> 00:11:09,481
or NWA in the '80s,
and just watching the way Eazy-E--

238
00:11:09,564 --> 00:11:11,525
It became lyrical,
the way he used the word "fuck."

239
00:11:11,608 --> 00:11:12,693
♪ …fucked up incident? ♪

240
00:11:12,776 --> 00:11:15,987
And to watch the way Cube would react,
and basically sort of--

241
00:11:16,071 --> 00:11:19,866
They'd do this call and response.
That to me was art.

242
00:11:19,950 --> 00:11:23,203
That was raising profanity
to the level of art.

243
00:11:23,286 --> 00:11:25,414
And making that part of art,

244
00:11:25,497 --> 00:11:29,334
becomes part of a conversation
we have every day, forever after.

245
00:11:29,418 --> 00:11:32,546
And, of course, the police
did not like to hear this sentiment.

246
00:11:32,629 --> 00:11:34,548
[woman] The group is NWA.

247
00:11:34,631 --> 00:11:37,884
The group's lyrics are
anti-police and anti-authority.

248
00:11:38,009 --> 00:11:39,720
I'm personally very offended.

249
00:11:39,803 --> 00:11:41,471
♪ Fuck tha police ♪

250
00:11:41,555 --> 00:11:44,516
[Open Mike] They didn't invent
the term "fuck the police."

251
00:11:44,599 --> 00:11:46,351
But they said it out loud.

252
00:11:46,435 --> 00:11:49,396
And it was analogous
that that same year, 1989,

253
00:11:49,479 --> 00:11:51,857
Public Enemy says "Fight The Power."

254
00:11:51,940 --> 00:11:53,859
So you got "Fight The Power" in New York,

255
00:11:53,942 --> 00:11:56,570
and you got "Fuck Tha Police" in LA.

256
00:11:56,653 --> 00:11:57,904
It's the same sentiment.

257
00:11:57,988 --> 00:12:01,032
It's just people
finally saying these things on record,

258
00:12:01,116 --> 00:12:04,202
because we have this new form
of expression called rap music

259
00:12:04,286 --> 00:12:08,290
where it's okay to say things
that you've been saying in secret.

260
00:12:08,373 --> 00:12:11,835
[Zainab] When you hear
people say "Fuck the police,"

261
00:12:11,918 --> 00:12:14,212
it's like, "I have no other options.

262
00:12:14,755 --> 00:12:18,091
And that's how I got here.
Because there's no other option."

263
00:12:18,175 --> 00:12:20,469
"Fuck" is a good protest word,

264
00:12:20,552 --> 00:12:24,890
because it is the swear word
that carries the most emotion.

265
00:12:24,973 --> 00:12:28,685
[Elvis] People need to be offended,
to be shaken out of their complacency,

266
00:12:28,769 --> 00:12:30,979
out of their misguided belief system.

267
00:12:31,062 --> 00:12:32,731
♪ Fuck tha police ♪

268
00:12:32,814 --> 00:12:34,316
According to numerous studies,

269
00:12:34,399 --> 00:12:39,279
"fuck" is not only the most used
swear word in the English language,

270
00:12:39,362 --> 00:12:40,781
it's also the most censored.

271
00:12:40,864 --> 00:12:43,825
It's the granddaddy of cussing,
and we can find it all around us.

272
00:12:43,909 --> 00:12:46,828
It's one of the oldest,
most vulgar words we have,

273
00:12:46,912 --> 00:12:49,873
limitless in its ability
to shock and offend.

274
00:12:49,956 --> 00:12:52,334
So, why do we see it now on cross-stitch

275
00:12:52,417 --> 00:12:54,294
and scented candles?

276
00:12:54,377 --> 00:12:55,712
And if we see it everywhere,

277
00:12:55,796 --> 00:12:59,257
why is it still censored
on TV and in movies?

278
00:12:59,341 --> 00:13:01,802
Often there will be censorship.

279
00:13:01,885 --> 00:13:04,638
Uh, generally,
it's not government censorship,

280
00:13:04,721 --> 00:13:07,599
although it can be,
like in the case of the Soviet Union.

281
00:13:07,682 --> 00:13:09,810
Often, it's people self-censoring,

282
00:13:09,893 --> 00:13:12,395
like, just deciding that this is not…

283
00:13:12,479 --> 00:13:14,773
these words
have no place in public discourse.

284
00:13:14,856 --> 00:13:18,652
they're harmful to morality,
they're harmful to children,

285
00:13:18,735 --> 00:13:21,071
and so, we will not say these things.

286
00:13:21,154 --> 00:13:23,865
And of course, everybody does.
But then they're shocked.

287
00:13:23,949 --> 00:13:25,784
People just laugh when you say "fuck."

288
00:13:25,867 --> 00:13:28,745
It's just… everything's fuckin' funnier
when you say "fuck."

289
00:13:28,829 --> 00:13:32,165
I feel like swear words are
definitely more powerful in America.

290
00:13:32,249 --> 00:13:33,583
Not that powerful in Britain.

291
00:13:33,667 --> 00:13:37,087
You can say, "Morning, you fucking cunt"
to someone and they'll be fine.

292
00:13:37,170 --> 00:13:39,339
Say that to someone in America,
you'll get shot,

293
00:13:39,422 --> 00:13:41,341
because guns are legal here.

294
00:13:41,424 --> 00:13:44,094
When you're being offended,
you're basically saying to the world,

295
00:13:44,177 --> 00:13:46,221
"I have better morals than this person."

296
00:13:46,972 --> 00:13:49,266
"This person did this,
but I'm better than them."

297
00:13:49,349 --> 00:13:52,060
They're not going home and going,

298
00:13:52,143 --> 00:13:55,188
"I couldn't believe
the words I had to hear…"

299
00:13:55,272 --> 00:13:58,358
And if they are, they can fuck off.
Like, what's the point?

300
00:13:58,441 --> 00:14:01,278
They shouldn't be out
in the general public and all that stuff.

301
00:14:01,361 --> 00:14:03,572
I think the word "fuck"
has a baseline magic

302
00:14:03,655 --> 00:14:05,031
that can never be removed.

303
00:14:05,115 --> 00:14:07,951
If somebody looks at you
and says, "Fuck you,"

304
00:14:08,451 --> 00:14:09,661
you're gonna feel that.

305
00:14:10,912 --> 00:14:15,375
Just because it's more common,
doesn't mean it's lost any power.

306
00:14:15,458 --> 00:14:19,337
Those fucking killjoys at the
Motion Picture Association of America

307
00:14:19,421 --> 00:14:22,173
still consider the word bad enough
to slap an R rating

308
00:14:22,257 --> 00:14:25,343
on just about any movie
that uses it more than twice.

309
00:14:25,927 --> 00:14:27,345
[typing]

310
00:14:28,138 --> 00:14:29,723
Until the 1960s,

311
00:14:29,806 --> 00:14:32,976
you got-- basically you were graded
by the Hays Code.

312
00:14:33,059 --> 00:14:35,353
And there were things
you just couldn't say.

313
00:14:35,437 --> 00:14:37,856
Then Jack Valenti came along
and the MPAA said,

314
00:14:37,939 --> 00:14:39,566
"Well, we're losing people.

315
00:14:39,649 --> 00:14:42,694
There are movies coming from Europe
where people talk about sex,

316
00:14:42,777 --> 00:14:44,779
and they apparently have sex
in these movies.

317
00:14:44,863 --> 00:14:46,990
We can't act like that
doesn't happen anymore."

318
00:14:47,073 --> 00:14:50,035
So, you had to acknowledge
that the real world existed.

319
00:14:50,118 --> 00:14:55,040
And the ratings offered ways
to gently introduce the concept

320
00:14:55,123 --> 00:14:56,625
of the real world to movies.

321
00:14:56,708 --> 00:14:58,960
With these rating, a G-rated movie

322
00:14:59,044 --> 00:15:01,338
will have a lot of sunlight,
and that's about it.

323
00:15:01,421 --> 00:15:02,631
That'll do, pig.

324
00:15:02,714 --> 00:15:03,882
[sighs]

325
00:15:06,718 --> 00:15:08,053
That'll do.

326
00:15:08,136 --> 00:15:10,430
You get to PG
and there are levels of violence,

327
00:15:10,513 --> 00:15:12,140
maybe a couple of swear words.

328
00:15:17,395 --> 00:15:18,897
Son of a bitch.

329
00:15:18,980 --> 00:15:22,233
For PG-13, you can use the word "fuck"
and get away with it once.

330
00:15:22,317 --> 00:15:25,987
From the entire Channel 4 News team,
I'm Veronica Corningstone.

331
00:15:26,071 --> 00:15:27,906
And I'm Ron Burgundy.

332
00:15:27,989 --> 00:15:30,116
Go fuck yourself, San Diego.

333
00:15:31,034 --> 00:15:32,410
It can't be about fucking.

334
00:15:32,494 --> 00:15:33,954
And then you get to R,

335
00:15:34,037 --> 00:15:37,749
and you have movies
where characters talk like real people.

336
00:15:37,832 --> 00:15:39,501
Are you fucking kidding me?

337
00:15:39,584 --> 00:15:40,710
[silence falls]

338
00:15:40,794 --> 00:15:44,381
Profanity was
the life-preserver for movies.

339
00:15:44,464 --> 00:15:46,007
People went to the movies again.

340
00:15:46,091 --> 00:15:48,843
I think the first time I heard a curse
was in the movies.

341
00:15:48,927 --> 00:15:51,888
I think my parents took us
to see Coming to America.

342
00:15:51,972 --> 00:15:54,140
Once they got to, like, Queens,

343
00:15:54,224 --> 00:15:56,142
he was like, "We've arrived,"
or something.

344
00:15:56,226 --> 00:16:00,397
And somebody was like, "Fuck you!"
And he was like, "Yes, yes! Fuck you too!"

345
00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,274
[Sarah Silverman] I was in,
um… School of Rock,

346
00:16:03,358 --> 00:16:05,276
and I remember, in between scenes,

347
00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,029
the director was saying, uh…

348
00:16:08,113 --> 00:16:12,742
"It's PG-13, so we can say 'shit'
and we can say one 'fuck.'"

349
00:16:12,826 --> 00:16:16,663
I pitched that, um,
you don't use "fuck" at all,

350
00:16:16,746 --> 00:16:20,208
and then just the last, like,
after the credits,

351
00:16:20,834 --> 00:16:24,963
every-- you know,
the whole cast just goes, "Fuck!"

352
00:16:25,046 --> 00:16:26,214
[laughs]

353
00:16:26,297 --> 00:16:27,507
They didn't do that.

354
00:16:28,383 --> 00:16:31,761
Swearing in movies is big business.

355
00:16:31,845 --> 00:16:35,598
Just look at the filmography
of one randomly generated actor.

356
00:16:35,682 --> 00:16:38,518
You can see that
of the big six swear words,

357
00:16:38,601 --> 00:16:41,980
"fuck" and its derivatives
are by far the most frequent,

358
00:16:42,063 --> 00:16:46,359
making up 71% of the curses uttered
in the films of this random actor.

359
00:16:46,943 --> 00:16:50,196
So who do you think is
the sweariest actor of all time?

360
00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,741
Per movies, per swear words,

361
00:16:52,824 --> 00:16:55,952
per time on screen,
I think Eddie Murphy is your number one.

362
00:16:56,036 --> 00:16:57,871
No. Samuel L. It has to be Samuel L.

363
00:16:57,954 --> 00:17:00,999
He's swearin'-- He don't get the role
unless he can swear in it.

364
00:17:01,082 --> 00:17:03,001
When you're talking about the word "fuck,"

365
00:17:03,084 --> 00:17:06,296
it's hard not to really fall back
on the connoisseur of fuck,

366
00:17:06,379 --> 00:17:07,505
Samuel L. Jackson.

367
00:17:07,589 --> 00:17:09,132
What the fuck am I doin' in the back?

368
00:17:09,215 --> 00:17:11,509
You're the motherfucker
should be on brain detail.

369
00:17:11,593 --> 00:17:16,514
I remember I went to see Snakes on a Plane
only to see Samuel L. Jackson say,

370
00:17:16,598 --> 00:17:19,934
"I'm tired of these motherfuckin' snakes
on this motherfuckin' plane."

371
00:17:20,018 --> 00:17:21,644
It was-- it was magical.

372
00:17:21,728 --> 00:17:24,439
The sweariest actor
isn't Samuel L. Jackson,

373
00:17:24,522 --> 00:17:27,984
Al Pacino,
or my personal favorite, Yosemite Sam,

374
00:17:28,068 --> 00:17:30,278
but… Jonah Hill.

375
00:17:32,030 --> 00:17:34,532
And while Jonah Hill is known
for his R-rated comedies,

376
00:17:34,616 --> 00:17:38,203
it was The Wolf of Wall Street
that made him the king of the curse words,

377
00:17:38,286 --> 00:17:42,499
swearing a confounding 107 times
in that movie alone.

378
00:17:43,041 --> 00:17:44,918
-Jonah Hill?
-Jonah Hill?

379
00:17:45,001 --> 00:17:46,628
There's no-- Who's counting these?

380
00:17:46,711 --> 00:17:49,214
This is-- That's not true!
That's not true!

381
00:17:49,297 --> 00:17:51,382
How did Jonah Hill say it so many times?

382
00:17:51,466 --> 00:17:54,636
It wasn't until 2004
that "fuck" first arrived

383
00:17:54,719 --> 00:17:56,638
uncensored on the small screen

384
00:17:56,721 --> 00:17:59,724
in an airing of
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

385
00:17:59,808 --> 00:18:01,142
on Comedy Central.

386
00:18:01,226 --> 00:18:03,186
But it was way back in 1970,

387
00:18:03,269 --> 00:18:06,815
when M*A*S*H dropped the first F-bomb
in a major motion picture.

388
00:18:06,898 --> 00:18:11,277
Movies can still move the needle
when it comes to characters…

389
00:18:12,904 --> 00:18:15,073
basically, in effect,
inventing catchphrases.

390
00:18:15,156 --> 00:18:18,910
We see this happen with, uh…
with newly-invented swear words.

391
00:18:18,993 --> 00:18:20,411
So MILF is the great example,

392
00:18:20,495 --> 00:18:25,208
because we know exactly the thing
that spread it throughout the world,

393
00:18:25,834 --> 00:18:28,670
which was this movie,
which was American Pie in 1999.

394
00:18:28,753 --> 00:18:30,004
[John Cho] M-I-L-F.

395
00:18:30,088 --> 00:18:33,424
-A Mom I'd Like to Fuck.
-[laughing] Yeah, dude!

396
00:18:33,508 --> 00:18:36,719
If the best movies can do something
that make us want to be like them,

397
00:18:36,803 --> 00:18:40,348
and we hear something and,
"Wow, that's perfect. That…

398
00:18:40,431 --> 00:18:43,601
MILF? I'm usin' that.
I'm gonna find a way to use that."

399
00:18:44,102 --> 00:18:47,522
And you hear that in American Pie,
and then, ten years later,

400
00:18:48,022 --> 00:18:51,693
on 30 Rock, there's a fake reality show
called MILF Island.

401
00:18:51,776 --> 00:18:53,987
And it's everywhere. I mean, so…

402
00:18:54,863 --> 00:18:58,491
movies still can… act as these catalysts

403
00:18:58,575 --> 00:19:02,370
for keeping the language alive
in ways that are exciting.

404
00:19:02,453 --> 00:19:03,997
I love "fuck."

405
00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:06,624
It's like the Tom Hanks of curse words.

406
00:19:06,708 --> 00:19:09,836
It can do anything, can be in anything,
and we never get sick of it.

407
00:19:11,087 --> 00:19:13,506
We need to be able to say swear words.

408
00:19:14,340 --> 00:19:16,426
We need to be able to say "fuck."

409
00:19:17,010 --> 00:19:19,304
It's a gateway for creativity,

410
00:19:19,387 --> 00:19:21,723
it's a form of protest, and…

411
00:19:22,473 --> 00:19:23,766
it's good for us.

412
00:19:25,810 --> 00:19:27,687
-[bell dings]
-I think there's a need now

413
00:19:27,770 --> 00:19:30,565
for swearing and profanity
more than any other time.

414
00:19:30,648 --> 00:19:34,152
We need the relief, the release.
That's really what profanity gives us.

415
00:19:34,652 --> 00:19:36,362
"Oh, shit!"

416
00:19:36,446 --> 00:19:38,531
Just a chance
to get that kind of stuff out.

417
00:19:38,615 --> 00:19:41,451
Bitch. Fuck. Shit. Damn. Pussy. Dick.

418
00:19:41,534 --> 00:19:43,494
I like that there are words you can't say

419
00:19:43,578 --> 00:19:46,581
and that you can only say
on special occasions.

420
00:19:46,664 --> 00:19:48,499
Like Christmas.

421
00:19:48,583 --> 00:19:52,754
Swearing is important if you need it
to get out your frustration

422
00:19:52,837 --> 00:19:54,714
or your despair.

423
00:19:54,797 --> 00:19:56,382
What the fuck?

424
00:19:56,466 --> 00:19:59,886
It's not important when
you're just swearing for swearing's sake.

425
00:19:59,969 --> 00:20:02,472
Don't swear for swearing's sake.
We're better than that.

426
00:20:02,555 --> 00:20:04,224
Swear because you mean it.

427
00:20:04,807 --> 00:20:05,934
I'm Nicolas Cage.

428
00:20:06,434 --> 00:20:07,810
Have a great fuckin' night.

429
00:20:45,765 --> 00:20:46,808
[man] G-dshh!