Dambusters movie; they are changing the dog's name
 

Hasn't this been discussed on here before, mebee more than once?

It's political correctness gone mad! heh heh heh

The name of the dog isn't a big deal compared to the lives lost in the training and execution of the extraordinary operation is it?

Sure has! I recall this subject here from several years ago. Peter Jackson has been tinkering with this project for a long time. He wants to recreate a lot of it using CGI, so I guess the longer he waits, the better and more affordable some of that technology becomes.

Interestingly, I see that the name 'Digger' is being suggested. I recall that 'Trigger' was being bandied about a few years back. Revisionist history, eh? I can understand why 'African-American' wouldn't work .......

I favour Nogger used alternatively with Digger.

Or there is Niggle, Nagger, Knicker ..........

Come to think of it, what about Knackers?

Trying to change history is pointless, inappropriate, and wrong for so many reasons.

Historically, black people in South Africa were called Kaffirs, in the US Niggers, and so on. It's history, it may have been wrong, but get over it.

Snigger? Laughable subject

Perhaps they should call it 'Nimrod' - a word beginning with 'N' that should not be used in polite conversation.

Duncs:ok:

Pathetic.

However, if you wish to sell your film in the US . . . in the real world.

Remember it was the Americans that recovered the U-boat's code books and Enigma machine . . .

More seriously, the raid will now be carried out by a squadron of B17s (the 617th?), led by Tom Cruise, with Will Smith playing one of the other captains, and Morgan Freeman taking the Barnes Wallis role. "Trigger" will no longer be a black lab, but one of those loveable mutts from the Walt Disney cute dog farm.

You don't think so? Well as Dengue Dude pointed out, they made U257 - gotta sell that film in the US to make it pay.

......and won the Battle of Britain after John Wayne had fought the Japanese to a standstill at Iwo Jima all by himself and then raced halfway round the world to be the first ashore on D-Day.

Why change Nigger's name when the word is used in many movies in far more derogatory terms these days?

In those halycon inter-war years (great depression/mass unemployment/soup kitchens etc) the use of the N word was part of common parlance in the UK, used primarily to describe a dark colour in clothing & other items of apparel. Indeed, a popular shoe polish of the day was thus labeled. It is not surprising, therefore, that Wg Cdr Gibson should have had a dog so named. The vast majority of the UK population had never even seen a coloured person in that era, unless they lived in a maritime port city. The arrival of the first coloured US troops during the D-Day build up came as a shock to many.

Enough of this PC tosh; does anybody know when I'm going to get to see this movie? Is it true that Mr Jackson is financing the airworthy restoration of Lincolnshire's taxi-only Lancaster?

I was passing through Steenbergen in Holland last year, & visited the grave of Gibson & his Nav (ashamed to say I can't recall his name). Their graves are in a civil cemetery in the town, and are beautifully tended; almost a shrine, in fact.

HB

It's all rather amusing, I think - Stephen Fry (poor dear) says it's pretty well unthinkable to call the dog Nigger in these enlightened times, whilst the word motherf****r appears to be more popular in films and TV with every passing moment...along with lots of other words that regularly get an outing. What do they think will happen if the name is left intact? Do they really believe the film will bomb (oops), as the entire black (is that the in word?) population of the USA boycott the film?

By the way, you can't change it to trigger - I may be mistaken (but, like all old farts, I refuse to admit it) but weren't the codewords for 'bomb dropped, the rotten damn is still there' and 'bomb gone, gerry's gone paddling' trigger and nigger? Oops...can I say that on here? Might make the film a bit difficult to follow if the same codeword means opposite things.

Incidentally, does anyone else listen to the morse in fillms and make 'grrr' noises when the morse is actually three of four random letters (if that) and the hero 'reads' about 5 lines of script?

...No, thought not, I'll get me coat...

Sq Ldr Jim Warwick


Photo of the graves

There is a perfectly simple solution to all this.
Who are the only people allowed to use the N word these days? Rappers!

The role of Wg Cdr Guy Gibson VC will be played by 50 Cent...

XV105, thank you for that. May they both RIP.

HB

i think i`ll go and buy myself a black lab and call it n***** or will that be illegal?


gs

Aside from the debate about the dog's name, which is frankly trivial, I will be delighted if this film gets made and even more so if it does justice to an event which is about as epic in real life as it will appear on the big screen (again).

Fingers crossed and I will await to see it before passing judgement.

PS And take it easy on Stephen Fry, he is a genius who (along with others) brought us the magic of Blackadder.

BAAAHHHHH