The very first movie to use the C-word
The concept of swearing is one of language’s most fascinating assets. Swear words only hold their weight due to the meaning humans assign to them, with some considered invariably worse than others. The concept can be analysed through Roland Barthes‘ theory of myth, which asserts that humans give value to objects – creating enduring societal myths – by associating them with specific, often arbitrary meanings. In this sense, humans have transformed words like “shit,” “fuck”, and “cunt” into weapons of power, which can have genuine effects.
It seems absurd that a word like “shit”, a staple of the average person’s vocabulary, has enough weight to cause a movie to receive a higher age rating if used prominently. However, swear words hold significant weight due to the myth surrounding them, which also causes some words to be considered ‘worse’ than others. “Cunt” is widely regarded as the worst of all swear words, making “crap” sound like child’s play. Often used as a negative term concerning female genitalia, it never fails to raise eyebrows.
According to feminist scholar Germaine Greer, who was speaking via The C Words, “‘Cunt’ is one of the few remaining words in the English language with a genuine power to shock.” Thus, the word, which dates back centuries, is rarely uttered in mainstream cinema, and when it is, the term is almost always wielded in the hopes of surprising and challenging the audience.
One of the first instances of the word appearing in print came in 1922 when James Joyce used it metaphorically in Ulysses. Just a few years later, D.H. Lawrence would use it literally in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, aiding the novel’s controversial status.
However, the word didn’t make its mainstream cinematic debut until 1970 when it was spoken in William Friedkin’s The Boys in the Band. If we’re being technical, the word first appeared in Barney Platts-Mills’ 1969 kitchen sink drama Bronco Bullfrog as graffiti. However, most viewers probably missed the explicit wall decoration, which doesn’t pack the same punch when it’s merely written down.
Audiences were undoubtedly shocked to hear the word uttered in The Boys in the Band, which was not only a landmark movie for swearing but also a vital entry into the queer cinematic canon. The use of the word in Friedkin’s film was a watershed moment; soon after, many other movies started to use the expletive term. One year later, Jack Nicholson used it in Carnal Knowledge, in which he asks: “Is this an ultimatum? Answer me, you ball-busting, castrating, son of a cunt bitch! Is this an ultimatum or not?”
The 1970s saw the word crop up in further productions, like Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Mean Streets. Even today, “cunt” still holds enough semiotic weight to sometimes give a movie an ’18’ rating from the BBFC. While there have been instances of the word being featured in movies with a ’12’ or ’15’ rating, incessant use of the term usually relegates a film to the adults-only category.
