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, Gibson chose his dogs name (after hearing of it being killed just before embarkation) to be the transmitted code word for a successful breach of the Mohne Dam, and as such the word is somewhat fundamental to a film about the raid
Actually, I would have thought the fundamental and important facts of the raid to be covered in any film would be Wallace, the development of the bomb, the convincing of the Military of the bomb's viability, the testing, the modified aircraft, the training, development of the height setting lights, the crews, Gibson, the planning, the execution of the plan, the weather and impact on the targets, the failures of the attack, the dangers and losses of the attack, the casualtys of the crews, the success of the raid, the returning crews, the damage to the German wartime production, the loss of civilian lives?, I dont see the name of a little dog, or the mission code (what ever word was used) being of a greater fundamental importance than any of the issues listed above, and there is only about 120 minutes to fit perhaps 6 months or more of story into?
I think its totally incidental to the story,
- would the outcome have changed if the dog had lived not died, or not existed at all? no not at all!
- would the mission failed with the use of a different mission code?? of course not!
The Film could easily leave out the dog and the mission code all together, or have them covered without the "name" or word ever being uttered! -
Is Gibson emotionally touched by the dog's death on the eve of the mission, perhaps, but that can be told in the scale of its minor importance (did it really affect his performance positively or negatively? or the success of the mission - probably not), but he could even be shown talking to the dog on its death without its name having to be mentioned at all???? and what would that matter? I dont call my pet by its name everytime I interact with it?
It is an offensive word, no different than painting Swastika's on the wall of a synagogue, if such things dont offend you, dont assume they wont offend others, I suspect you will have your own sacred cows and no go issues to defend.
Political Correctness can get out of hand, but dismissing everything as being PC is simply a tactic to excuse ongoing bad behaviour.
The recognition of this word as being highly offensive to many people is simply obvious common sense and understanding, arguing that some rappers use it, therefore its not offensive to the rest is niaive and illogical. Offending someone is clearly measured by their feelings and reactions, not the user's opinion.
It is rather difficult to call someone a Maimed son of a bitch to their face, but argue its not intended to be offensive and I didnt intend it to be? (or I thought it was a term of endearment)
Why seek to distract the educating of a whole new generation of movie goers to such an interesting and heroic wartime story by involving a contentious aspect that will attract complaints when it can be avoided with no real loss to the true important and fundamental story.
Comparisons to the old movie are pointless, it lives on in some video library's, occasionally late night TV or cable, or our own aviation DVD collections, but I bet our children dont watch this out of date B&W movie as their program of choice?
For those who mourn the rise of PC, feel free to boycott it and protest in the streets if its that important an issue to you, personally I am happy to leave it to the film maker to decide.
For those who cant bear the thought of it not being historically accurate to include the name of a dog and mission code, dont go see it, to those concerned it is using CGI do the same?, stay home, and watch the original.
For the rest go and enjoy some entertainment trying to bring a heroic story to new generations - but everyone should remember that it is entertainment, not a text book or documentary.
I consider the word is offensive and do not support its use anywhere, for any purpose, however I will still go and see the movie, regardless of its use accurately or replacement for consideration of others, and am happy to enjoy the movie even the dog and mission code are not mentioned at all, - It the big things in life that really matter!
In the end its "just" a movie.
regards
Mark Pilkington