![]() Conner continued, what’s likely is that “ The Revenant’s screenwriters needed to give him words that would sound appropriate coming out of the mouth of a raw, uneducated, nearly wild man.” In other words, they needed to write something that would strike a chord with modern audiences. Its first verifiable use is recorded in 1310, and its first dictionary entry was not until 1598.ĭoes that mean, then, that The Revenant, which was set in Montana in 1823, would have been a likely setting for the word being used as we know it today? Not really.Īs Dr. As such, its usage can first be traced to Middle English, or the years approximated around 1150 to 1500. Conner told us, “‘Talking blackguard’– as cursing was often called in the 19th century – might reference someone as a whore or some relation to a whore, but the common epithets tended in the direction of denigrating God or Christ.”Īs it turns out, on a slight historical tangent, Old English, the oldest recorded form of the English language used from the 5th century to the middle of the 12th century (1150), does not include any recognition of the word “fuck.” The University of Toronto, which has been fervently writing a dictionary of Old English based on every surviving piece of writing in the world, has no entry for the word. ![]() Instead, religious blasphemy would have been much more common and profound. While the word existed and was known to be used during that era, considering it “typical” vernacular for the period is likely a bit of a stretch. Patrick Conner, former chair of the English Department at WVU and head of the University Press, is that it may be misplaced. Is this language truly characteristic of frontiersmen in 1820s Montana? Was a colloquial use of “fuck” part of standard vernacular at the time? The short answer, according to Dr. When speaking, Fitzgerald commonly uses the word “fuck,” among other expletives, many racially-charged. The answer is trickier than it might first seem. Such devotion to historical realism begs the question: What about the historical accuracy of the characters’ language, particularly Fitzgerald’s pervasive cursing. His coarse language and mannerisms mirror that image, including his pervasive cursing and use of the word “fuck.” Iñárritu and his production team went to extreme lengths to ensure the film’s authenticity, from the dangerous wilderness to the epic bear attack. Fitzgerald embodies many of the commonly perceived characteristics of a 19th century American frontiersman - rugged, uneducated, unapologetically gruff. Killer bears, brutal weather and human starvation aside, the film’s primary antagonist is John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), fellow trapper and erstwhile companion to real-life Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), a man who Fitzgerald betrays and leaves for dead. Iñárritu’s The Revenant (2015) follows a band of fur trappers through frontier Montana in 1820s America.
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