The Toronto Star doesn't like it when Young People are Fucking

  • Posted by Ryan C
  • Filed in Film
  • September 5, 2007

so that's how he gets his teeth all white and shiny
Journalistic integrity be damned, if an artist titles their work with a word that is deemed by society to be a curse word it shouldn't be a vocational faux-pas to refer to the work in question by its actual title. The Editor in Chief of the Toronto Star, Fred Kuntz, is telling his team to refer to the movie Young People Fucking as Young People F------ for any and all coverage of this year's TIFF.

For the record, a man with the last name Kuntz is demanding his team adhere to this rule. That is 5 kinds of awesome wrapped up in a sushi-like roll. Hit the jump for further thoughts as well as a reader poll on the fucking matter.

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I'm of the mind that The Star's insistence on retaining their "family friendly" image is flawed. Words like fuck, shit, cock, ass and bitch are no worse than words like bloody, hell, damn, God and corn hole (technically, two words). A curse word's power comes from it's context.

In other words, there's a big difference between a movie entitled Young People Fucking, which I presume is exactly what they'll be doing, and telling your neighbor to "bloody well go fuck himself in the ear."

And even then, what if the neighbor ran his lawn mower over your hammock? Framed that way the sentence is entirely merited. If he went near my Dreamcast I'd fuck'im up even fiercer.

The Star and Fred K----- claim that readers have voiced their concerns over the paper not retaining their family-friendly image when they've printed curse words in the past, so I put the following poll question to you, BlogTO's uber-wicked readers. Answer honestly and thoughtfully is all I ask.

Reader Reviews and Comments

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Ehh... it's their /paper/ - let them set their draconian little rules as they continue the painful slide into uselessness.

Posted by: Hamish Grant at September 5, 2007 3:11 PM

Going with Hamish here. The Star has been slipping further and further into irrelevance in the past few years.

Frankly, any paper that insists on whitewashing news -- the only bit of reality we have in the media (however distorted or filtered) -- is a laugh.

Posted by: Gloria at September 5, 2007 3:25 PM

What's wrong with the name Kuntz? I wish my last name was Kuntz. My last name is Brown. I'd much rather be vagina-relatable than shit-relatable.

Posted by: Matt at September 5, 2007 3:27 PM

I expect this sort of snark, making fun of a man's name, from Torontoist, but not here. You were always the better blog, BlogTO. Don't slip so easily. Help keep blog standards up.

It's quite possible to discuss this issue in an interesting way without letting some writing get off making fun of a name and seemingly taking great joy in pretending he's George Carlin.

Posted by: Jim Funk at September 5, 2007 3:53 PM

Dreamcast: I refuse to "upgrade" to a newer system when mine still works fine. I was just playing the roller coaster game the other day.

Posted by: Ben at September 5, 2007 4:21 PM

All I said was that his name was awesome. You, Mr Funk, interpreted it as mockery. Also, Torontoist makes a great drinking buddy, so don't be dissin'.

Ben, you gotta get Rez, Shenmue, and Jet Grind Radio. Then and only then will your life be complete.

Posted by: ryan c at September 5, 2007 4:33 PM

Ryan: I've got Shenmue I and II on the Dreamcast AND my Xbox... fucking rocks man. I love the Dreamcast. I still have to find that Japanese bus driving game, though.

Posted by: Hamish Grant at September 5, 2007 5:57 PM

lmao @ matt

Posted by: Jerrold at September 5, 2007 6:43 PM

Oh, fuddle duddle.

Posted by: Adam Sobolak at September 5, 2007 7:08 PM

What's a newspaper?

Posted by: Frank at September 5, 2007 7:09 PM

Here's the letter I just submitted to Letters to the Editor:

I was informed of the Star?s decision to not publish the word fuck in relation to the title of a film at this years TIFF. I?m ashamed to be a resident of this city. I fully support the statements made on BlogTO [http://www.blogto.com/film/2007/09/the_toronto_star_doesnt_like_it_when_young_people_are_fucking/]and you?d think that pressure from independent media outlets, like BlogTO, would force more traditional media sources, like the Toronto Star, to modernize. A 1968 headline in the Toronto Star read ?This One-eyed Negro-Jew Lacks Class? (in reference to Sammy Davis Jr.), yet they have issues running the word fuck in relation to art? Would the staff at the Toronto Star also fight a display of the Statue of David stating that it is pornography and children shouldn?t have access to it? I was surprised and disappointed by the decision... In such modern, open times... a time when censorship should be all but gone, we?re finding out that one of our primary sources a news, a RESPECTED source of news, would rather censor information than upset a few old fashion people.

Posted by: Tyler Reguly at September 5, 2007 10:29 PM

Hm call me old school but I still read The Star every morning. Maybe it's habit, but I think with their recent redesign where they moved the GTA section right into the front, I find it much more interesting.

Posted by: Adam at September 5, 2007 11:20 PM

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