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'What the fright?' Making bad words good once again
- By Kimball Bennion
- Trail Staff Writer
- Ever since Rhett Butler’s closing line in “Gone With the Wind,” movies have known how to use naughty words to their advantage.
As cinema has evolved, so has cursing. Films such as Scarface, Pulp Fiction and Casino have almost made it into an art form.
But in the broadcast world, the canvas is a little smaller. Since television and radio use public airspace to broadcast, they also have to adhere to some extra rules.
The guys who make these rules are called the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC decides what is appropriate to hear and see on the air and what isn’t. That’s why there’s heavier censorship in TV than in movies.
So that leaves us with a dilemma. What happens when TV wants to show a movie like Fargo or any title with the name Tarantino connected to it? Is it possible for the two worlds to co-exist? Not without some kind of mediator.
There must be someone who is willing to do what it takes to make watching your favorite profanity-laced movies possible while making the FCC happy at the same time.
Such a person is out there, and while I don’t know the official job title, I like to call him “The guy who imitates actors’ voices and then dubs clean words in the place of dirty ones.”
The title is pretty self-explanatory. What he does is, well, imitate actors’ voices and then dub clean words in the place of dirty ones.
His job is to have us believe that all mobsters, gang-members, kidnappers, drug dealers and other evil-doers maintain impeccably clean language in the midst of performing horrible deeds.
In this world, a bank-robber might say something like, “Put the foolish money in the bag, you schmoozer, and I don’t want to hear one fruitful word out of your fiery mouth.”
Obviously frightened by such a creative threat, the teller asks no questions and gives in to the demands.
Creativity is key. Your average, everyday, real-life foul-mouth normally uses just one or two words of choice. Ho hum. The dubber has to think of a whole shark-load of words.
Just think how much more interesting real life would be when, the next time you double-crossed a mob-boss, he called you a “shipwreck” and threatened to “break your fishin’ legs.”
Think about it, if this guy’s creative enough to make a threat like that, think of how creative he’ll be when he actually carries it out. Not only would I be much more scared than I would be in a dub-less world, I would be very impressed with such an extensive vocabulary.
The dubber’s job is not easy, yet he successfully convinces us that while the most dastardly of villains isn’t afraid to, say, assassinate a world-leader, getting on the FCC’s bad side is where he draws the line.
The dubber also manages to answer the age-old question, “What would happen if the Beaver, Barney Fife and Napoleon Dynamite moved to the inner-city and joined a street gang?” The answer lies in an NBC presentation of Juice near you.
Some may be unwilling to admit it, but we live in a better world thanks to creative dubbers. They paint us a picture of a world where even the vilest of characters know how to hold their tongues. A kidnapper might blindfold you and cover your eyes, but he’ll make sure you won’t have to cover your ears. And anyone who doesn’t like that can go take a flying hike.
- Trail Staff Writer