History of Swear Words hosted by Nicolas Cage (TV Review)

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Synopsis:: An education in expletives: the history lesson you didn’t know you needed. History of Swear Words, hosted by Nicolas Cage, is a loud and proudly profane series that explores the origins, pop culture-usage, science, and cultural impact of curse words. Through interviews with experts in etymology, pop culture, historians, and entertainers, the six-episode series dives into the origins of “F**k”, “Sh*t”, “B*tch”, “D**k”, “Pu**y”, and “Damn”. 

Review: Docu-series in 2020 were dominated by true-crime series like Tiger King and Unsolved Mysteries. But, micro-history has always been a popular sub-genre on streaming services thanks to the wide array of subjects to base them on. History of Swear Words blends the best elements of shows like VH1's I Love the 80s with comedy documentaries like The Aristocrats. Taking a deep dive into the origin of profanity was always going to be a topic ripe for comedians and historians, but Netflix upped the ante by having Nicolas Cage involved as host and narrator. The result is a light and hilarious history lesson that rings in 2021 with some much-warranted vulgarity.

History of Swear Words pretty much sums up this series succinctly. Each half-hour episode looks at the origin of a particular word as well as how it has evolved over the years. Having seen each of the six episodes in this first season, I learned something new from each episode about a half dozen words I use on a pretty regular basis. We all swear and if you don't, you are a fucking liar. Understanding where these words come from is oddly fascinating and made entertaining thanks to the production team at Funny or Die who came up with the brilliant idea to put Nicolas Cage in the host role.

While many documentaries feature celebrities as narrators, Cage actually appears on screen for a substantial portion of each episode. Located in a set that looks like what I hope his actual home looks like, Cage opens each episode by introducing the word to be discussed and does so in a way only he can. Cage's career over the last twenty years has been chock full of over-the-top performances and he does not disappoint here. At times academic and professional and others totally off the wall, Cage never overshadows the history being discussed in the episode itself, leaving the experts to do what they do best. But, when he is on screen, he managed to make me laugh with him more than at him. I have always been a fan of Nicolas Cage and his notorious filmography has made extensive use of many of the swear words in this series which allows for some highlights from Face/Off and other movies to be included here.

The roster of experts included here is also a nice mix of academic and professional. On the academic side, the series includes professors of cognitive science, African-American English, and Women's Studies as well as authors Melissa Mohr and Kory Stamper, both of whom have written books on the subject of swearing and dictionaries. Film critic Elvis Mitchell also appears to shed some pop culture insight. On the professional side, actors and comedians are in abundance. Comedians include Sarah Silverman, Nick Offerman, Nikki Glaser, Patti Harrison, Joel Kim Booster, London Hughes, Jim Jeffries, and more. Since comics are experts in their own right, their knowledge of profanity keeps this series lively and allows the material to balance the line between educational and entertaining.

The prime example of this balance comes from the first episode where The Wire actor Isaiah Whitlock, Jr. discusses his iconic way of saying the word "shit". If you have seen The Wire or any number of Whitlock's movies, you know that his inclusion here is an automatic vote of confidence in this series. Each episode includes nuggets of genius like this as well as scientific experiments that the comedians participate in that will teach you something you didn't know about language and culture beyond the profane words being discussed. Think of this series as Bill Nye The Science Guy with more four-letter words.

History of Swear Words is not going to win the type of acclaim that the documentaries of Ken Burns or Martin Scorsese will but it is a damn fun series. If you can turn off your television having learned something, that is a success. If that knowledge comes with the inclusion of deepening your use of profanity, that is a plus. If you get both of those plus a heaping dose of Nicolas Cage doing his thing, then I consider that an absolute win. History of Swear Words is going to put a smile on your face as you watch it and I can only hope that Cage and the producers are game to come back for a second season since we all know there are a lot more than six swear words.

History of Swear Words premieres on January 5th on Netflix.

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