The $180 million Tourism Australia advertising campaign
“Where the bloody hell are you?” was banned worldwide and caused an uproar,
especially in Australia.
Here is the television commercial that was banned, which
features scenic images of Australia and its beautiful landscapes, rainforests,
oceans, cities, beaches and deserts.
The television commercial was first banned in the United
Kingdom in 2007 because of the use of the profanity “bloody” in the commercial.
What a double standard coming from a country where they allow the FCUK
billboards!
In a reading by Hong, she talks about how Australians use
“bloody hell” in their casual conversation. But from an intercultural point of
view, saying “bloody hell” may be perceived differently.
I personally do not find the word “bloody” or the phrase
“bloody hell” offensive in any way. I grew up on a cattle station in a very
remote area and I have become accustomed to certain profanities due to the
nature of my father’s work and the environment in which I grew up. Dad is your
typical Aussie farmer – laidback, friendly, and hard-working. Most of the time
he is using “bloody” as an intensifier, like “What the bloody hell was that?”
or “I saw that bloody stray cat earlier.”
I do, however, understand that different cultures perceive
the word as offensive, just as we perceive some gestures in other cultures as
offensive. Hong mentions that the word “bloody” may be considered impolite in
other cultures, however it has been part of Australian culture for longer than
we can remember.
I agree with Hong, that the phrase “bloody hell” is part of
the Australian culture and it should be respected as one of the common and
casual phrases. The Tourism Australia advertising campaign should never have
been banned, as it would have done wonders for the tourism industry in
Australia.
References
Hong, M 2008, "Where the bloody hell are you?": Bloody hell and (im)politeness in Australian English. Griffith Working Papers in Pragmatics and Intercultural Communication, vol.1, no.1, pp33-39.
Hi, i enjoyed reading your blog and agree that The Tourism Australia advertising campaign shouldn't have been banned the commerical. I don't think the commerical is offensive in anyway and the word "bloody hell" has been incorparated into Australia's everyday conversation these days. I would rather my child say "bloody" then "shit, FUC@3" or any other inappropiate words. Hong, made a good point that "Bloody Hell" is part of Australian's culture and is in no way meant to be offensive and i also agree with this agruement. I liked this commerical about promoting Australia but i totally dislike Laura Bingle.
ReplyDeletehttp://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ob87nkuxb4cC&oi=fnd&pg=PA253&dq=using+the+word-bloody+hell&ots=sjMbCnbwwk&sig=sKRNHvA_PWmKSQzu3X2fkK08TAg#v=onepage&q=using%20the%20word-bloody%20hell&f=false
DeleteHi again, I have posted this link about a Book (Chapter 13) written by Angela Ardington about how the campaign used situational-appropriate language use in the commercial “where the bloody hell are you?” I though it maybe useful has it also states how the language used by the campaign contributed to its lack of success in missing its target audience. It’s very relevant to the topic you wrote about.
Lucy, I also found it interesting how different cultures, even though they may appear to be very similar to our own, interpret words or gestures differently. You gave the example of how the British found the ‘Where the bloody hell are you?”, and I think that such an example proves that point well. Having two English grandparents, I have actually noticed the differences in their use of profanities in comparison to my other grandparents who have lived in Australia their whole lives. My English grandparents, as far as I am aware, find words such as ‘bloody’ to be more offensive and I’ve only heard them use such words when they’ve got a serious ‘bee in their bonnet’!
ReplyDeleteIn addition to culture, I think that the power structures that are held between two individuals would influence the use of language and its interpretation as well. If two people held a symmetrical power structure within their interaction, then it would more than likely, in the case of Australian culture, that profanities could be used to address each other if all involved understood that it was in a joking way. However, if the power structure was asymmetrical, like that between a boss and their employee, it would obviously be much less appropriate.
Lucy I totally agree with you! Bloody to an average Australian and to me is not a swear word its as your dad would use it being an intensifier. But it's interesting how you mention that we tend to forget that some of the words we use aren't as common or innocent within other cultures or countries.. In the lecture for this topic Andrew mentioned the word bugger which to me just means something like 'oh shit' when we've mucked up or we're a little frustrated but it's hard to believe that once it was used to describe anal sex or sex with an animal.. who would have thought!! And yet it doesn't stop me from using bloody or bugger just makes me sure conscious of who I'm around when i use them.
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