Shrek removes slur

[Tag]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 2:20pm

Halifax theatre alters Shrek musical after LGBTQ complaint over offending word used by Big Bad Wolf

Oy

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 2:22pm

Was that in the original show?

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 2:31pm

Yes it was. And if Shrek were written today, I doubt that word would have been used. 

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 2:32pm

I'm glad they removed it and hope others follow suit. I'm kind of surprised it wasn't removed already. 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 2:39pm

The line "hot and tranny mess" was actually a topical pop cultural reference when Shrek the Musical debuted, to Christian Siriano of Project Runway fame.

Not to excuse its use, but rather to provide context. Updated On: 4/15/16 at 02:39 PM

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 2:42pm

Thanks, Kad. That makes a little more sense in context. I remember that tagline from Christian Siriano. (As you say, not that it excuses it, but it does make more sense.  It seems the word has evolved since then.)

[Jshan05]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 2:46pm

I'm surprised it wasn't taken out sooner...hopefully more productions will follow suit!

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 2:47pm

I've been revisiting Queer as Folk lately and was amazed how many times "tranny" was thrown around and that they never made a real distinction between a drag queen and being transgender.   How far we've come.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 2:47pm

Considering the entire lyric is structured around making this specific cultural reference, it would be better to just... totally rewrite it.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 2:49pm

Kad said: "The line "hot and tranny mess" was actually a topical pop cultural reference when Shrek the Musical debuted, to Christian Siriano of Project Runway fame.
Not to excuse its use, but rather to provide context."

 

 

Yep, same with [title of show]. It was not uncommon for people to say that in those years, and wasn't considered a slur. not to excuse, just saying.

Updated On: 4/15/16 at 02:49 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 3:13pm

Amy Poehler's delicious Christian Siriano impersonation on SNL: 

 

http://youtu.be/jUB7tBJh8Iw

[gypsy101]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 4:34pm

I've been watching RuPaul's Drag Race for the first time and I was surprised at the use of the term "you've got she-mail!" I believe I heard the show has stopped using the term.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 8:04pm

neonlightsxo said: "Kad said: "The line "hot and tranny mess" was actually a topical pop cultural reference when Shrek the Musical debuted, to Christian Siriano of Project Runway fame.
Not to excuse its use, but rather to provide context."

 

 

Yep, same with [title of show]. It was not uncommon for people to say that in those years, and wasn't considered a slur. not to excuse, just saying.
"

 

 

 

Frankly, even back in the day, I cringed every time Siriano said it on PR. (I believe the expression was usually just "hot, tranny mess"; Kad adds the word "and". Either I misremember the episodes or his reference is a typo.)

I'm not accusing Siriano of malice, but the usage is exactly equivalent to teens using "gay" to denote anything they consider uncool. Siriano should have known better (but he was what, 21?) and so should the writers of SHREK.

Updated On: 4/15/16 at 08:04 PM

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 8:27pm

I've heard RuPaul say several times in interviews that he doesn't think the she-mail line was offensive and it was the network's decision to change it, not his. He likes to play around with these words and labels and not take any of them seriously, even if some (all?) labels can cause pain and offense. Drag Race is one show that I would not take seriously, no matter how extreme or offensive the language got. 

Back to the topic, yes, saying "tranny mess" was definitely trending (as the kids say) at the time Shrek was written. No reason to keep it in the show any longer. 

[Broadway_Boy]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 9:53pm

It's only offensive if you choose to let it be.  I don't see how it's any different than the word "queer," which has evolved in the opposite direction. 

[Tandrews]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 10:08pm

Agree 100% Broadway_Boy. Everyone has an opinion. I am more concerned about the restrictions on college campuses regarding free speech. Now just imagine if every movie/show/tv sitcom had to be re-written or edited for today's PC police? I worry that we lose sight of how far we have come.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 10:35pm

Good point. What about all the DVD copies of the show legally sold to consumers? Do police storm every house and confiscate them? What happens if someone does the same thing at a Broadway show? This becomes a very slippery slope.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 10:54pm

No one is suggesting all DVD copies and cast recordings are altered. But to say future productions shouldn't use that word is completely logical. 

Company has been revised to remove a gay slur. If Company is not untouchable, pretty sure Shrek isn't. 

[mikey2573]

Posted: 4/15/16 at 11:01pm

God forbid people should be "offended" when they go the theater.  Hopefully, we can eliminate ALL things offensive in theatrical productions.  Theater will be SO much better that way. 

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 4/16/16 at 12:07am

No one is calling for all theatre to be white-washed for the sake of being made inoffensive. Rather, this is all about context and an awareness of the meaning of words. Shrek the Musical used the slur for a cheap laugh and showed no understanding of that. There was no intelligence behind the joke, and the piece does not even remotely call for that word in order to tell the wolf's story. Not to mention, he isn't even a transgender woman but rather a cross-dresser in that one all too infamous scene. There's a difference. 

Given the current political climate, this "PC Police" debate has been coming up rather frequently in my Facebook timeline. Nine times out of ten it reads to me as members of a majority being disappointed that others are deeming it unacceptable for them to continue to oppress minorities in whatever way being discussed. I see the same thing cropping up here.

Updated On: 4/16/16 at 12:07 AM

[Princeton Returns]

Posted: 4/16/16 at 1:21am

I'm surprised people have an issue with tranny being used but don't seem to have an issue with the gay fairy joke in finding neverland, again used for an outdated cheap laugh.

Musical theatre, considering how supportive it is of the gay community etc, does love to use stereotypes for cheap laughs in general.

 

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 4/16/16 at 3:18am

I wonder how many of the people complaining about the PC Police even knew this lyric was in the show? Seriously, does it really bother you that much that a lyric was changed in Shrek the Musical? Get a grip- this is not the thought police on a crackdown, just someone rightfully acknowledging that this word hurts a segment of the population and isn't necessary in what otherwise is a harmless show. 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 4/16/16 at 5:21am

Back in the day, "tranny" was slang for "transvestite," which is a term for a cross-dresser and has nothing to do with sexuality or gender identification. 

 

According to the Wikipedia entry for "tranny:"

"The trans and drag performer community is believed to have originated the term,[3] and many members of the gay community feel the word is a term of endearment.[4]"

Updated On: 4/16/16 at 05:21 AM

[MannPhan24601]

Posted: 4/16/16 at 8:20am

I was in my school's production of Shrek a few  years ago and I remember  an alumni who was a LGBT activist wrote a rant on social media on the slur, They took it out quickly and changed it to "I'm a hot and Granny mess".....

[Kad]

Posted: 4/16/16 at 10:32am

GavestonPS said: "Frankly, even back in the day, I cringed every time Siriano said it on PR. (I believe the expression was usually just "hot, tranny mess"; Kad adds the word "and". Either I misremember the episodes or his reference is a typo.)"

 

I was actually quoting the reference from Shrek- "and" is added in the lyric to make it scan. It's forced.