Netflix Documentary Roundup: Pretend It's a City & History of Swear Words

Netflix has delighted me this month with two comical documentaries about two things I love: swearing and New York. If you're in need of some cheer at the end of a long day, settle down for a twenty or thirty minute episode from either of these shows and have a little giggle. Don't we all need that these days?

History of Swear Words: The clue's in the title. You're going to get six episodes, each focusing on a different swear word, that explain the etymology of said word, how its uses have changed over time, and the current status of this word in our vernacular. The show is hosted by Nicolas Cage, just to add that extra soupcon of silliness, but mostly you will get talking heads with linguists, comedians, and even Women's Studies professors to offer up jokes and fascinating facts about swearing. For example, did you know that if you stick your hand in a bucket of ice water, you will be able to hold your hand in there for longer if you start swearing as opposed to if you go "oh fiddlesticks!" Turns out swearing is actually a great coping mechanism, which may account for why my work day is never complete without getting on the phone with a colleague and going "what the fuck" at least once.

The show is at its best when it's looking into the various intersections of cursing and culture. "Shit" was great purely because of Isaiah Whitlock Jr. offering up his best rendition of that word. I loved the episode on "Bitch" and how politicized it is, where its usage can vary widely depending on whether a man or a woman is using it and whether they're using it to talk about a man or a woman in turn. The episode on "Pussy" delved into the recent reclaiming of the word during Women's Marches. In "Dick" they discussed how the SNL skit "Dick in a Box" won an Emmy despite TV censorship rules forbidding them from saying "dick" without a bleep (the censorship rules around "dick" are particularly remarkable and varied, as everything depends on context). And finally, they devoted a whole episode to "damn," a word that isn't even considered a swear these days, but would have gotten you in a lot of hot water in the Middle Ages. As such, the show offers up insights into how language evolves, and suggests that in a few more decades, words that we currently find objectionable could become prosaic. 

Go ahead and give this show a watch. It's silly and fun and bizarrely educational. You won't fucking regret it. 

Pretend It's a City: This is a seven-episode series about the writer, Fran Lebowitz, that is directed by (and also periodically features) Martin Scorsese. It's all about her life in New York and her thoughts on the world, and every episode is like watching a New Yorker article come to life. This show was definitely made for me. I realized this within the first few minutes when Fran started talking about how she loves to read the plaques on the ground in NYC, but no one else in the city does, so it feels like these plaques were placed just for her. But I too love reading those plaques, so I immediately felt a great kinship with this fantastic woman. As I made my way through the series, I would keep texting my friends with my favorite quotes, until it all got a bit ridiculous since every sentence out of Fran's mouth is pure gold. Some choice musings include, "No one can afford to live in New York, yet eight million people do. How do we do this? No one knows, it's a mystery to us," "What's the point of a private plane if other people are on it?" "I hate money but I love things." Same, Fran, same.

The episodes are loosely themed, and interspersed with wonderful footage of old New York or scenes from classic movies and TV shows. The music selection is lovely, with one of the end credits featuring Ray Charles' "New York's My Home." There are discussions on #MeToo, LGBT laws, climate change, the health and wellness industry (when Fran was a child, "we were sitting in the front seat of the car on the laps of our smoking mothers"), and the ubiquity of technology (Fran owns neither a computer or a mobile phone). She talks about her time working as a cab driver in the 1970s. We see her old TV interviews and talks and it's clear this woman has been this witty and winning throughout her life. And most importantly, she discusses her love for reading and books. She bemoans people who don't read because they want to see themselves represented in their literature. According to her, "a book is not meant to be a mirror, it's a door." She had to get a large apartment she couldn't afford simply because she needed space to store the ten thousand books she owns. I've never wanted to go to someone's apartment more. 

Fran Lebowitz is a New York City treasure and this series is a marvelous ode to both her and the city. It has added a little extra zing to my daily walks as I wander the city and look for the places Fran talks about and revel in my own enjoyment of the city. I realize this may not be the best recommendation for people who don't have any attachment to New York, but I still think you could get a kick out of this just for Fran's worldview. She is a curmudgeon who still gets so much pleasure out of life. In these difficult times, that is the kind of attitude we all need to embrace.