Which was also a favorite insult of Captain Haddock in the Tintin comics, where it was spelled “bashi-bazouk.”
Here was me thinking that was a Belgian’s interpretation of what a scottish person says when they are drunk 
This is a word I’d heard before, but not enough to catch its meaning. It had connected with “Hot to trot” in my brain, so I thought it was just some old-timey phrase for someone who thought they were “all that.”
I also never realized it was what the Admiral was saying. I thought he was just saying some nonsense word.
I’m entirely on board with the rating change here. But, honestly, I’m the type who would be fine with the slur being removed to keep a G-rated version. Have him say “The enemy” when he’s scared of an attack, and use something like “roof walkers” when talking about dealing with the chimney sweeps.
I’m fine with changing things to better fit the original intent, as long as the original is preserved and the changed version is clearly marked.
I’ll just say that I’m happy that all other instances of discriminatory language have been successfully rectified, that the film board is down to protecting children against Mary Poppins! 
This is the sort of instance in which I wonder how hard someone would have to work at it to be offended by this. Or how protective an entity would feel they need to be to even acknowledge this.
It’s had several. I recall that it was playing in downtown Salt Lake City the first time I visited there in 1980.
That seems like such a long time since its release, but it was really just 16 years. It just took up a big chunk of my childhood, so it seems longer.
Children can still see the film. And it hasn’t been edited or censored, the BBFC just changed their rating.
And also what a weird statement, other films with discriminatory or adult language would have been rated accordingly.
And I’ll just say again, this is the BBFC. Not the MPAA. It’s still rated G in the US so don’t you worry. Rating for films are often different between the two and the BBFC is known for being way more strict in what they allow (hence the whole “video nasties” controversy in the 1980s.) This really has no relevance to the US.
The only context in which I was familiar with the word was as the name of a coffee shop in SoCal. I believe I learned the meaning and correct spelling here, several years ago.
I’m not really sure how I feel about the issue. I’ve seen the film many times over the years and that line doesn’t even register in my memory. Maybe I heard/ noticed it when I was younger but it wouldn’t have had any meaning for me as I don’t think that’s a common slur in modern U.S. (?) Is it still in common use in UK or elsewhere? Should we look at it in the same way we look at use of “nigger” in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"? Not sure, but thank you OP for giving me something to ponder today.
Yeah that is a good point. The BBFC, and other UK based media governing bodies, are infamous for flat out bonkers rulings (at he behest of the tabloid “won’t someone think of the children” scare du jour) the video nasty panic is one example of that, there is also the irrational fear of depicting martial arts weapons (because it will encourage the little darlings to brain each other, plus, you know, racism) which means all the nunchuk scenes in Bruce Lee movies are edited out in the UK (the way to be instantly promoted to the coolest kid in the universe when I was growing up was to have access to a bootleg Bruce Lee movie with the nunchuk scenes intact).
Particularly compared to that this seems completely appropriate and rational.
I’m mildly curious to know how many folk - of what ethnic persuasion - are offended by the use of the word hottentot. Hell, I’d be interested to know how many folk know what a hottentot is. And - why would it be worse for kids under 8, as opposed to over?
Hell, I don’t care if the BBFC rates it one way or another. I’ve managed to make it through 63 years without saying hottentot - except for when doing my amazing cowardly lion imitation. Just strikes me as a pretty minuscule target.
I never knew what it meant. It doesn’t come up in conversation…well…ever for me.
I’ve made it through my 62 years without seeing Mary Poppins. If the Cowardly Lion says it in WofO, I missed it.
I’m also curious to find out how many words, phrases, or images have racist or bigoted origins. I’ve heard arguments that the classic western witch, with the big nose, pointy hat, and penchant for eating children is rooted it antisemetic belief and imagery. Given the origins of barbarian, do we need to place a content warning on Conan the Barbarian? In Dungeons & Dragons circles, I’ve heard people argue with a straight face the Barbarian class should be renamed because it’s offensive. Offensive to whom? I’m not sure. Anyone who isn’t Greek I guess.
What makes the hottentot so hot?
What puts the ape in apricot?
Whadda they got that I ain’t got?
Courage!
IIRC, “barbarian” is from the Romans’ dismissal of the Germanic tribes’ speech patterns as jiberesh.
I also recall reading that the Masai use a phrase for us trouser-wearing whites as “they who trap their farts.”
I don’t understand this. “barbarian” is supposed by some to come from a clumsy approximation of foreign language as sounding like “Bar-bar-bar”* (Dan Simmons actually has a Greek God saying “bar-bar-bar-bar” in Ilium as an example of barbarian speech). Who the heck is that supposed to insult?
Raises hand Coloured South African, and it offends me.
Of course, as I’ve mentioned here before, it was the specific slur directed at me as I was being chased and whipped by Apartheid police, so I might take it a little personal-like.
We’re going to get deep into nerd territory here. Some of the arguments to rename the Barbarian class are based on it not being an accurate description of what the class has evolved into over the years. The 5th edition Barbarian is something closer to what we might think of as a Berserker with a rage ability, but I think there’s already a Berserker subclass somewhere else in D&D (I told you we were getting into nerd territory here).
Others are unhappy with Barbarian because it was used as an insult to “other” those outside the dominant group. Even today, sometimes we refer to behavior as barbaric or even a group as barbarians. Even if the word doesn’t apply to a specific demographic today, it makes some people uncomfortable using the word.
That’s 1! I’ll make sure not to use THAT term when chasing and whipping people of color - in South Africa or elsewhere.
Of course, I could imagine some persons not appreciating being called “coloured”.
It’s not. The difference between G and PG is that G is for general audiences, while PG means parental guidance is suggested. The idea with G is that it’s entirely safe for nearly all kids to watch alone. While PG movies are still generally okay for kids, the parents may want to watch with them and/or have some discussion about the content.
In this case, the term “Hottentot” is a racial slur that has a bad history. But it’s also one the kid has not likely heard before. It would thus be easy for a kid to pick up on that term and use it, not realizing the meaning. Having the parents explain what the word means and why they shouldn’t say it makes sense.
It’s a shame they couldn’t just edit out that word. It’s totally inconsequential to the film. They could have said “urchins” and it wouldn’t have made a whit of difference to the within-film world.
Some works have words or issues that are central to the story, but have become awkward since the release of the work. This isn’t such an instance.
British, not American. So the classifications are U and PG - which refer to the ages 4 and 8 (per the link in the OP.)