The censors danced all night
Today, I really don’t know – but still,
with much thanks to Times columnist Dominic Lawson, we say that
Censorship, to give its proper name – can make even the most innocent excision appear suggestive of infamy and depredation. For example, the nuns in charge of the Belgian Ursuline convent where my wife was educated used to “redact” both incoming and outgoing letters in an attempt to control the thoughts of their unfortunate pupils.
The girls responded by composing the following redacted version of lyrics from the then popular musical My Fair Lady: “I could have XXXXXXX ed all night! / I could have XXXXXXXed all night! / And still have begged for more. / I could have spread my XXXXXX / And done a thousand things I’ve never done before.”
Perfect, or else. Sort of…
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June 23rd, 2009 at 00:43
Surely you, Jantar, are Anglophile enough to be aware of ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue’, which had a game just like this? Contestants were invited to sing a song, bleeping out all potentially offensive words.
I think the finest exemplar was a rendition of “My Favourite Things”:
***** **** and *** *** and *** **** and *** ***,
**** *** and **** *** and *** ***** and *** ***,
**** *** *******, tied up with string,
These are a few of my favourite things!
June 23rd, 2009 at 05:48
I should be but I’ve never watched much TV. (Only ever had one for three or four years - and that’s more than ten years ago…) And I never watched quizes or game shows (if you don’t count QI & HIGNFY.)
Hm, for all I know it could have been a radio show…
Either way, I have never watched/listened to it. (Though I do have heard the title before; it is indeed one of those English institutions, like Coronation Street or the Archers (neither of which I ever watched or listened to either, I’m afraid.)
J.
June 24th, 2009 at 00:04
Radio show, billed as “the antidote to panel games”. Read all about it at http://www.isihac.co.uk/
I see they’re continuing with it despite the loss of the incomparable Humphrey Lyttleton. I can only hope it doesn’t suck now…