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Robin Hood: Men In Tights was on the ABC Family channel earlier today. (11pm - 1am, I think.) ABC Family, which airs fluff and silly things and "Whose Line Is It Anyway" reruns and, oh yeah, conservative Christian ministers. It's a family values channel.
So when they aired the movie, they censored it to fit their values. I didn't watch the whole thing because I've seen the movie and the season finale of SNL was actually pretty decent. But two things did jump out at me:
1. When Rabbi Tuckman first meets the band, he looks at them, waggles his hand, and says "faigeleh?" (Which is, of course, Yiddish for "gay?" Clear in context, even if you didn't know the word.) "No, just merry." Except that in the ABC Family version, "faigeleh" is muted. Which is kind of funny, in a way. It's not like it does anything. You still see his mouth moving, still see his hand waggle, still hear Robin's reply. The only thing taken away is an obscure word in another language that the Poor Innocent Little Children wouldn't have understood anyway. But it's also offensive that they felt the word was inappropriate and had to be muted. (Perhaps worth noting, too, that there was no muting of the lyrics of "Men In Tights," including the lines about how the tights make them look like "sissies" or "pansies.")
2. Marian comes to Robin's camp to warn him of the evil plot. Robin takes the occasion to woo her with a song. "The Night Is Young (And You're So Beautiful)" Part of the scene has the two of them behind a sheet, with the band watching their silhouettes. At the end, there's a visual gag where Robin's "amorous" feelings are conveyed by the rising angle of his sword (which is, of course, attached at the hip). The band makes appreciative and impressed noises and catcalls. Except... ABC Family had someone go in and paint over the sword. Since they're in silhouette anyway, it's almost seamless. (Until the sheet falls down and you can see Robin tucking his sword - which just mysteriously appeared or somehow failed to cast a shadow - back down and away.) And then Robin goes off to talk to Marian privately. She says she's a virgin. She admits that she has almost nothing on under her dress. They get close. Robin audibly clangs off what turns out to be a metal chastity belt. He backs off, covering his crotch. ... And none of it is muted or cut out.
So weird. Inconsistent. Kind of funny. But also... disturbing and off-putting.
So when they aired the movie, they censored it to fit their values. I didn't watch the whole thing because I've seen the movie and the season finale of SNL was actually pretty decent. But two things did jump out at me:
1. When Rabbi Tuckman first meets the band, he looks at them, waggles his hand, and says "faigeleh?" (Which is, of course, Yiddish for "gay?" Clear in context, even if you didn't know the word.) "No, just merry." Except that in the ABC Family version, "faigeleh" is muted. Which is kind of funny, in a way. It's not like it does anything. You still see his mouth moving, still see his hand waggle, still hear Robin's reply. The only thing taken away is an obscure word in another language that the Poor Innocent Little Children wouldn't have understood anyway. But it's also offensive that they felt the word was inappropriate and had to be muted. (Perhaps worth noting, too, that there was no muting of the lyrics of "Men In Tights," including the lines about how the tights make them look like "sissies" or "pansies.")
2. Marian comes to Robin's camp to warn him of the evil plot. Robin takes the occasion to woo her with a song. "The Night Is Young (And You're So Beautiful)" Part of the scene has the two of them behind a sheet, with the band watching their silhouettes. At the end, there's a visual gag where Robin's "amorous" feelings are conveyed by the rising angle of his sword (which is, of course, attached at the hip). The band makes appreciative and impressed noises and catcalls. Except... ABC Family had someone go in and paint over the sword. Since they're in silhouette anyway, it's almost seamless. (Until the sheet falls down and you can see Robin tucking his sword - which just mysteriously appeared or somehow failed to cast a shadow - back down and away.) And then Robin goes off to talk to Marian privately. She says she's a virgin. She admits that she has almost nothing on under her dress. They get close. Robin audibly clangs off what turns out to be a metal chastity belt. He backs off, covering his crotch. ... And none of it is muted or cut out.
So weird. Inconsistent. Kind of funny. But also... disturbing and off-putting.
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I'm just still uncomfortable with them feeling that they had to ineffectually bleep out the gay reference. And amused by their whiting out what was always very obviously a sword.