The first “fuck” said in cinema history
Censorship in cinema has been a major concern for many artists since the first half of the 20th century. While the early years of silent cinema were more liberated because nobody properly understood the nascent art form, the transition to The Talkies attracted stricter regulation as government bodies realised the medium’s potential for mass mobilisation. That’s exactly why censorship has played a key part throughout cinema history.
American cinema was largely impacted by the implementation of the Hays Code, a guideline for self-censorship that was designed to eliminate anything that was considered transgressive. Notably, the gangster genre experienced a significant downturn after the Code came into effect since it required crime to be viewed in a rigid context. According to the text published in the Code, what the government wanted was “correct thinking”.
It read: “[Film Producers] recognise their responsibility to the public because of this trust and because entertainment and art are important influences in the life of a nation. Hence, though regarding motion pictures primarily as entertainment without any explicit purpose of teaching or propaganda, they know that the motion picture within its own field of entertainment may be directly responsible for spiritual or moral progress, for higher types of social life, and for much correct thinking.”
In addition to the strict regulation of the narrative content, the language was also policed by the Code, and it did not allow for any profanity. The Code specified that all kinds of “vulgar” language were prohibited, including references to religious figures: “Pointed profanity (this includes the words, God, Lord, Jesus, Christ—unless used reverently— Hell, S.O.B. damn, Gawd), or every other profane or vulgar expression, however used, is forbidden.”
A rating system eventually replaced the Hays Code, but before 1968, these strict guidelines were closely followed by artists who managed to innovate by playing the system. When we think of the usage of “fuck” in modern films, it’s ubiquitous, but it was unthinkable when the Code was in effect. That’s exactly why many film fans associate the first usage of the word with Robert Altman’s subversive 1970 comedy M*A*SH*, breaking into the mainstream.
Before that, “fuck” was used in many underground productions by experimental artists like Andy Warhol, who didn’t care about the Code at all. However, when it comes to feature films that had to adhere to stricter censorship standards, the first films to feature the word are the 1967 British movies Ulysses and I’ll Never Forget What’s’isname.
Although there are some reports that cite a deleted segment from the 1963 war film The Victors as the first proper example, it is the 1967 James Joyce adaptation and the comedy-drama featuring Orson Welles that lead the line in the “fuck” boom.
Check out a clip from the film below.
