MovieChat Forums > Joan of Arc (1948) Discussion > Interesting word choice at the stake...

Interesting word choice at the stake...

posted 14 years ago by rgcustomer
2 replies | jump to latest

I'm surprised nobody has yet commented on the quote "Now the executioner has lighted the *beep*

Although the term is correct, historically, the film was made in the mid-20th century when the word had lost its old meaning, and gained an entirely different one. It's somewhat shocking to hear, these days.

I guess in a more general sense, I wonder what people will think of 20th-century film a few centuries from now... will they make any sense at all?

[–] molarmaven59 13 years ago

rgcustomer:

Suggest an alternative word?

[–] doug7347 13 years ago

The word *beep* (meaning a bundle of twigs) developed it's slang meaning of a male homosexual early in twentieth century. The origin is reportedly from poor English schoolboys who were forced to gather twigs, and were sometimes sexually assaulted by their wealthier classmates.

However by 1948 people were not yet obsessed either with political correctness or homosexuality. Hence it was still acceptable to use the word in it's original meaning, and in this context could anyone possibly misunderstand the use? By the way, *beep* is also a metalurgical engineering term, and can also be used as a verb, meaning to bundle together.