Here’s one of the more amusing stories about censorship gone too far, courtesy of the Associated Press:
So much for God and country, at least during some in-flight showings of the Oscar-nominated movie “The Queen.” That’s because all mentions of God are bleeped out of a version of the film given to some commercial airlines.
Even in these politically correct times, censoring references to God in the film wasn’t a statement of some kind. Rather, it was the mistake of an overzealous and inexperienced employee for a California company that edits movies selected for onboard entertainment.
The rookie censor was told to edit out all profanities including any blasphemy for the version of the movie distributed to Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Air New Zealand, and other carriers.
So the new censor mistakenly bleeped out each time a character said “God,” instead of just when used as part of a profanity, said Jeff Klein, president of Jaguar Distribution, the company that distributed the movie to airlines this month.
“A reference to God is not taboo in any culture that I know of,” Klein said. “We excise foul language, excessive violence and nudity.”
In-flight viewers of the film at one point heard “(Bleep) bless you, ma’am,” as one character spoke to the queen. In all, the word “God” is bleeped seven times in the version.
Fortunately, at no time in the original film is the common phrase “God save the queen” spoken or else passengers from the United Kingdom might have been royally irritated to hear “bleep” invoked to save Her Majesty. . . .
Can’t wait to see which version gets used for clips on Oscar night!
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