I still remember the first time I cursed in front of my Mum. We were walking across a supermarket car park when a big fucking dog jumped up against a car window, barking it’s fucking head off, eliciting a startled “FUCK” (what else?) from me. Despite some initial concerns about Nic Cage’s hosting role and a talking heads format that can be the downfall of many a documentary series, Netflix’s History Of Swear Words turned out to be an educational and entertaining look at how and why those short, punchy swear words are the first ones we reach for in so many situations, as I did, and what effects they have had on us, and language, over time.
Despite the giggles produced by Nic Cage cursing up a storm in the trailer for History of Swear Words, I wasn’t too excited for the show. Cage’s presence is no longer the guarantee of the weird kind of quality he used to put out in the heady days of “The Holy Trinity.” For the uninitiated, that would be The Rock, Con Air, and Face Off. Amen. Even relatively unCaged performances in Primal and Jiu Jitsu weren’t enough to save those films.
I suspected that even if full on Cage mode was engaged, his involvement would be reduced to witty bookends on a choppily edited cavalcade of interviews with scientists, comedians, and commentators. The kind of show that was run into the ground with the BBC’s “I Love the 1970s,” “I love the 1980s,” and their imitators in the early 2000’s.
Big Nic Energy
Thankfully not only is Cage’s presence worth the price of entry alone, looking like the bearded love child of Ron Silver and Tony Stark, but he’s a near constant presence throughout a far more cohesive show than I anticipated.
The segments featuring a raft of comedians, from Nikki Glaser to Sarah Silverman, Nick Offerman, to Jim Jeffries, all feel like they were exploring the same thoughts, instead of just being cobbled together. Each interviewee plays cleverly off what has gone before, as the series delves into the history and evolution of the swear words “Fuck,” “Shit,” “Bitch,” “Dick,” “Pussy,” and “Damn.”
As short and punchy as the cuss words whose histories they chronicle, each 20 minute episode delves into the origins of each swear word before discussing their evolution over time, in as vulgar a language as possible. Any historic uses of note or major sociological impacts are talked about and interspersed with more Cage and clips of famous cinematic utterances for good measure.
Overall, it’s pretty fucking funny, just don’t watch it with your fucking kids!
Cage is on form in what amounts to a series of one man sketches and, for the most part, the comedians deliver enough laughs without overstaying their welcome. Jim Jeffries’ “Fuck Family Tree” is a standout, but the experts on hand more than live up to the comedic standard.
It was a pleasant surprise to see PhD cognitive scientist Benjamin Bergen join the comedians in finding out how much longer he could hold his hand in a bucket of ice water when he’s swearing, versus when he is not allowed swear.
It was also a thrill to hear the woman responsible for updating the definition of “Bitch” in the Mirriam-Webster dictionary, highlighting it as a gendered slur, sarcastically list the activities women can engage in to provoke being called the “Bitch” by a man, i.e. pretty much everything.
Cecily Bumtrinket
HOSW doesn’t shy away from the less comedic aspects of bad language either, taking time to cover how swear words themselves, as well as accusations of vulgarity, have been used to stifle African American culture and women in general, and how efforts to reclaim those slurs are proceeding.
Any worries I had about the format becoming tiresome or rote were washed away once the second episode broke format to spend some time with Isiah Whitlock Jr., known to fans of The Wire as the owner of one of the most unique ways of pronouncing “Shit.”
HOSW is worth your time for a light, frothy, and filthy start to 2021, even if only to see Nic Cage’s neck muscles clench as he bites off another “Dick” or as he inserts syllables at the end of the sentence “fuck, pussy, and ass,” and then leans on every single one of them… hard.
I know I learned plenty about the words I end up using a worringly frquent amount. Now to test the claim that cursing can increase your grip strength by 5% while waiting for the inevitable Christmas Special episode all about c*nt.
The History Of Swear Words is now streaming on Netflix.
The History Of Swear Words
Netflix, Season 1, 6 Episodes
Director: Christopher D’Elia
Writer: Bellamie Blackstone
Cast: Nic Cage, Nikki Glaser, London Hughes, Elvis Mitchell, Melissa Mohr, Kory Stamper, Nick Offerman, Sarah Silverman, Benjamin Bergen, Jim Jefferies, Patti Harrison, Zainab Johnson, Mireille Miller-Young, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Open Mike Eagle
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