The Dambusters dog gets his name changed to Digger
Broadcast personality, actor, and comedian Stephen Fry wrote the screenplay for Dambusters, which tracks the true story of how a British squadron attacked three German dams essential to the Nazi steel industry during WWII. Integral to the mission was leader Wing Cmdr. Guy Gibson's black Labrador Retriever, named Nigger, who was the mascot of the RAF 617 squadron.
After much deliberation, Peter Jackson and Stephen Fry have decided to change the beloved dog's name to Digger, and that has a few historian's in an uproar.
This is what Stephen Fry had to say about the name change.
"There is no question in America that you could ever have a dog called the N-word. It's no good saying that it is the Latin word for black or that it didn't have the meaning that it does now - you just can't go back, which is unfortunate. You can go to RAF Scampton and see the dog's grave and there he is with his name, and it's an important part of the film. The name of the dog was a code word to show that the dam had been successfully breached. In the film, you're constantly hearing 'n-word, n-word, n-word, hurray' and Barnes Wallis is punching the air. But obviously that's not going to happen now. So Digger seems okay, I reckon."
Aviation development officer of Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire Phil Bonner had this to say about the unfortunate name change.
"The name of the dog is very emotive for many people and in some respects it's a reflection of the changes that have happened across the generations. The whole core of the film is about the bravery of the people who flew from Lincolnshire on a very daring raid and it's important that this aspect of the film is not watered down."
Some historians are claiming that the name change will sacrifice the historical accuracy of the events being depicted in the movie. Filming on Dambusters began in New Zealand way back in 2009, with Christian Rivers at the helm. There is no official word on when Dambusters will be released in the States.
Dambusters comes to theaters in 2013.
Comments (13)
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Nautical
HAHA wow this is bad. I like WW II movies but this one we just dont need.
12 months agoby @nautical05Flag
RojoDiablo
The original film was good imo, even with the dog named N-word and the sometimes humorous scenes mentioned in this article. Of course, if the squadron was all African American they wouldn't have to change it to Digger! :p
Seriously though, Hollywood won't make the film nowadays without the name changed and this one inaccuracy won't destroy the film anyway.
12 months agoby @rojodiabloFlag
skywise
These soldiers and their dogs really dont get enough credit. One of my uncles was a in a Dog unit that sniffed out land mines and lost his leg. They are truly some of the US's unsung heros. The Dogs and the soldiers. Once the soldier is killed the dog will never be able to be trained with another soldier. Its a very interesting relationship. I think this will be an interesting movie regardless of the historic accuracy.
12 months agoby @skywiseFlag
Major Tom
I think this is probably a good move. Granted, it won't be 100% historically accurate, but if I were them, I'd rather risk that than risk offending millions of people.
12 months agoby @movie-nutFlag
CelluloidDreams
Great history is now being Hollywoodized!
12 months agoby @2movieguysFlag
Darrell English
I have a plate given to Flight Lt..Ropper..in 1942 he was on plane #1 and was the tail gunner...he was killed the next year....On the plate list his awards given to him...This is in my collection of WW2 artifacts
12 months agoby @Darrell-EnglishFlag
Dan
@absolute Good peoples on MW :)
12 months agoby @dan1Flag
Absolute
you guys are much more logical than when I first heard this news on a politics board of all places.
12 months agoby @absoluteFlag
Ben Greene
It sounds like this should be a good film, and it's just a common sense decision to change the name - after all it'd be a bit daft to ignore 60 years of civil rights progress just to stick to the use of a single word. Love the fact that historians are claiming it will sacrifice historical accuracy. I think perhaps 'U-571' was a bit more guilty of that. Even 'Memphis Belle' turned the pilot and co-pilot into rivals for tension when in fact they went on record to say they were actually best friends. It's just Hollywood, historians. If people want accuracy don't worry - they'll read your books instead. (Hopefully).
12 months agoby @ben-greeneFlag
ZanyZap
@dan1: Yeah, or... never mind, I should shut my big mouth. :P
I doubt a name change will effect the quality of the film. I am excited; actually I am more excited as I had mostly forgotten the project. It's good to hear production moves forward.
12 months agoby @zanyzapFlag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
Why not just call the dog Negro and pronounce it in Spanish.
12 months agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag
Dan
What if the dog's name was Cracker? Just kidding lol. I can see why they changed it. As long as the movie is good, I don't really care.
12 months agoby @dan1Flag
K-Man
LOL!!! I knew where this was going before I even clicked the article!!
This is just such a bizarre article and topic.......I find it hilarious. The chances of seeing another article like this on movieweb are slim to none.
As for the name change......I dont see the problem in the change. Yeah it sucks that you have to change historical facts like that but it's pretty obvious that it would be just as controversial if the name wasn't changed, as it has been since they changed it. That name just wouldn't work in today's society.
Besides, the changed name isn't too far off from the original.....just the first letter. The meaning, however, is somewhat different....lol.
I understand that it is part of history....but they need to stop whining about it and just accept that it's changed.
12 months agoby @k-manFlag