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The Dam Busters (film)
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== Censorship == Gibson's black [[Labrador retriever|Labrador]], [[Nigger (dog)|Nigger]], whose name was used as a single codeword whose transmission conveyed that the [[Möhne Reservoir|Möhne Dam]] had been breached, is portrayed in several scenes; his name and the codeword are mentioned fourteen times. Some of these scenes were sampled in the film ''[[Pink Floyd – The Wall]]'' (1982).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thewallanalysis.com/turns.html|title=Analysis of the symbols used within the film, "Pink Floyd's The Wall"|publisher=Thewallanalysis.com|access-date=23 January 2011}}</ref> In 1999, British television network [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] broadcast a censored version of the film, removing all utterances of "Nigger". ITV blamed regional broadcaster [[London Weekend Television]], which in turn alleged that a junior staff member had been responsible for the unauthorised cuts. When ITV again showed a censored version in June 2001, it was condemned by the ''[[Index on Censorship]]'' as "unnecessary and ridiculous" and because the edits introduced continuity errors.<ref>Milmo, Dan. [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/jun/11/itv.broadcasting "ITV attacked over Dam Busters censorship."] ''[[The Guardian]]'', 11 June 2001. Retrieved: 4 December 2009.</ref> The code word "nigger" transmitted in [[Morse code]] upon the successful completion of the central mission was not censored. Some edited American versions of the film have used dubbing to change Nigger's name to "Trigger". The British [[Channel 4]] screened a censored American version in July 2007, this screening took place just after the planned remake was announced. In September 2007, as part of the BBC Summer of British Film series, ''The Dam Busters'' was shown at selected cinemas across the UK in its uncut format. In 2012, ITV3 showed the film uncut a few times, but with a warning at the start that it contains racial terms from the period which some people may find offensive. The original, uncensored, version was also shown on 1 and 5 January 2013, by [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]] without any warning. It was the version, distributed by [[StudioCanal]], containing shots of the bomber flying into a hill. On 17 May 2018, an uncut version was shown on the UK channel [[Film4]] with a warning explaining the film was historical and that some would find it to be racially offensive; "While we acknowledge some of the language used in ''The Dam Busters'' reflects historical attitudes which audiences may find offensive, for reasons of historical accuracy we have opted to present the film as it was originally screened". The film was also shown uncut in cinemas.<ref name=independent>{{cite news |last1=Hilton |first1=Nick |title=Racist name of Dam Busters dog will not be censored in 75th anniversary screenings |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/dam-busters-dog-racist-name-n-word-censored-digger-screenings-guy-gibson-a8355561.html |access-date=22 May 2024 |work=The Independent |date=17 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-05-22|title=The Dam Busters' dog will still be called the n-word in return to cinemas|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/dam-busters-film-dog-name-royal-albert-hall-155070|access-date=22 May 2024|website=inews.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guernseypress.com/news/uk-news/2018/05/16/the-dam-busters-return-to-cinemas-to-include-dog-name/|title=The Dam Busters' return to cinemas to include dog name|website=guernseypress.com|date=16 May 2018|access-date=2024-05-22}}</ref> Since 2020, following the [[George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom]], Film4 has broadcast an edited version, re-dubbed in a few places, where the dog's name is removed, addressed as "old boy" or referred to as "my dog", although the warning is retained at the start. Channel 5 airs a dubbed version with the dog being called "Trigger", with no warning shown at the start. In his book, journalist Sir [[Max Hastings]] said that he was repeatedly asked whether it is an embarrassment to acknowledge Nigger's name, and stated that "a historian's answer must be: no more than the fact that our ancestors hanged sheep-stealers, executed military deserters and imprisoned homosexuals. They did and said things differently then. It would be grotesque to omit Nigger from a factual narrative merely because the word is rightly repugnant to twenty-first-century ears."<ref>Hastings, Max. ''Operation Chastise: The RAF's Most Brilliant Attack of World War II.'' HarperCollins, New York, 2020. {{ISBN|978-0-06-295363-6}}</ref>
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