A classic film about heroism, ingenuity, and a British run mission that was essential to the war effort during World War II, the Dambusters is being remade, from a script written by actor/comedian Stephen Fry (best known in the US for appearing on Bones, and landing the part of Mycroft Holmes in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes 2, and best known in the UK for being Stephen Fry), but has come under fire recently, after the decision was taken to rename the Dambusters dog.
Essential to the mission which saw a British squadron attacking three dams essential to the Nazi steel industry (using Barnes Wallis’ famous bouncing bomb), Wing Commander Guy Gisbon’s black labrador retriever was not only the mascot of the RAF 617 squadron, but had his name used as the codeword to show that the dam had been successfully breached, however the filmmakers now believe that using the dog’s real name; “Nigger”; in such a positive manner, would be too potentially offensive.
Fry has said that’s “it’s no good saying it [Nigger] is the Latin word for black, or that it didn’t have the meaning that i does now”, adding that “you just can’t go back, which is unfortunate” and has led to both him and producer Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings) taking the decision to rename the dog Digger; something which has disappointed a number of historians.
Fry also believes that there’s “no question in America that you could ever have a dog called the N-word”, and reminded people that “in the film, you’re constantly hearing ‘N-word, N-word, N-word, hurray’ and Barnes Wallis is punching the air, but obviously that’s not going to happen now” and stated that as a result “Digger seems Ok, I reckon.”
Phil Bonner (from the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre) has stated, regarding the name Nigger, that “for the Second World War generation that word was acceptable” but has taught his daughter’s that “the word is unacceptable now”, and doesn’t seem too aggrieved about the change; as “the film is not about the dog” and his only “big concern would be if they watered down what the Dam Busters had achieved” adding how “it’s important that aspect of the film is not watered down.”
While there’s no refuting claims from other historians who have spoken out about the fact that the name change will affect the historical accuracy of the film (aviation historian Jim Shortland stated that the remake is categorically “sacrificing historical accuracy for political correctness”), the Dambusters film is still going ahead, will be filmed in New Zealand, and released on a date that is still to be confirmed.
Matt Wheeldon.
Source: BBC News.
