Was the Censorship of 'The French Connection' Inevitable?
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On this week’s episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss whether or not the digital censorship of The French Connection is the inevitable result of our puritanical desire to protect present audiences from past prejudices. Then they discuss Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Sure, it’s a little boring, but at least it’s more coherent than Revenge of the Fallen! (The FAQ referenced in the episode can be found here.) Make sure to swing by Bulwark+ on Friday for our bonus episode on toy-based movies. And if you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend!
Was the Censorship of 'The French Connection' Inevitable?
I really appreciated the conversation about the French Connection. Let me point out the biggest problem with editing movies, Agatha Christie novels, etc. In order to understand societal progress, you have to have baselines of behavior. If you don't see Popeye use the N word, you don't fully understand the world of the early 1970s. I remember reading every Hercule Poirot novel in 2018 (I had never read her novels) and being a bit aghast when she refers to a woman's "Jew nose/Jew features," etc. but it also told me a lot about the times. Clearly, there was zero pushback at the time for such descriptions. It is important to have an understanding of that period's cultural milieu for, I don't know, maybe understanding immigration policy toward Jewish people in the UK pre-WWII. Understanding the culture of 100 years ago or 50 years ago also puts current debates in a larger context.
The persons who wish to sanitize everything to the point that nothing hurts anybody are the same as the persons who consider the statue of David as pornography.