Netflix’s History of Swear Words Season One Early Review

For as long as there have been words, there have been swear words, words that are deemed offensive by a certain subset of a population. But we also live in a multicultural society therefore different subsets of the population are offended in different ways that are just as complex. These words have also evolved over time as their impact changes alongside the changes in society. Nevertheless, some of these words are just fun to say as they have consistently been a prevalent part of pop culture which in turn has also evolved over time. That being said, where did these words come from and how did they get to where they are today? History of Swear Words is a quick docuseries that does exactly that, exploring the history, context, and cultural impact of some of the biggest swear words. Who better to guide us than Nicholas Cage? The actor has had quite the reputation of being out there and he definitely taps into that history, taking some shots at himself and his career, in what was a more restrained Cage. Suffice it to say that he is well worth the price of admission but the writing also deserves some credit here.

Co-produced by Funny or Die, History of Swear Words that explores the origins, pop culture-usage, science and cultural impact of curse words over the course of 6 20-minute episodes containing interviews with experts in etymology, pop culture, historians and entertainers such alongside fun narration, animations, and interludes featuring Cage himself as they cover such curse words as “Fk”, “Sht”, “Btch”, “Dk”, “Pu**y”, and “Damn” (everybody can surely figure out what those words really are). The perspective provided by the entertainers, including famous actors and comedians, and the experts was both entertaining and surprisingly insightful and well-researched as they all talk about their experience with the word of the episode. Its impressive how the series can fit so much content (and people) within its 20 minute episodes. Maybe they could have been longer and given more time to its subjects or maybe 20 minutes was as long as the subject matter warranted but nevertheless, it was a hilarious watch more often than not and one where viewers may learn things as well.

At the end of the day, History of Swear Words is a quick watch, which is probably the best thing going for it, that Nicholas Cage fans are sure to get a kick out of while anything that will make you laugh and also learn something is always worth it.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.