Did the people of Deadwood really swear that much?

One of the most discussed aspects of the TV show Deadwood is the language the show used, in particular the swear words. But the show is based on a real place and real people, so: did they really swear that much?
History Pop is part of Complexly's first ever pilot season! Check out the other two shows in this launch, Stories Retold & Hashed Out!
/ storiesretold
/ hashedout
music: Le Chat Noir - Lucas Pittman via Epidemic Sound
Sources:
“Deadwood and the English Language” - Brad Benz (Professor, University of Denver), Great Plains Quarterly, 2007
“Waking the Deadwood of History: Listening, Language, and the ‘Aural Visceral’” - Alison Landsberg (Professor of History, George Mason University), Rethinking History, 2010
“Legends of Deadwood” - Andrew Urban (Professor, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities), The Journal of American History, 2007
“Hello, Darkness” - Mark Singer, The New Yorker, 2019
“Studio 360: Interview with David Milch” - Kurt Andersen, NPR show, 2007
The F Word - Jesse Sheidlower, 1995

[@CyclicSupporter]

History pop needs to get the greenlight, beyond a pilot. This is absolutely my jam.

[@blackrose999997]

Videos like this are what make me love to learn. I've never been interested in the history of cursing, but after this video I want to know more.

[@historypop]

It was so fun to learn more about something that I hadn't given a lot of thought to. That's kind of how I've felt about watching all 3 of the episodes develop, so hopefully that comes across in the next 2 as well!

[@blackrose999997]

@@historypop I bet it will and I can't wait to watch more!!

[@toobusytocreateaname]

ryker_gray997 +

[@toobusytocreateaname]

History Pop +

[@toobusytocreateaname]

ryker_gray997 +

[@kentuckyboy541]

In the Victorian era they had such a mastery of the English language. I loved deadwood. It's one of my favorite series of all time. I think a lot of people with poor vocabularies were lost and consequently lost interest. This was very interesting and something I've actually wondered about. Another thing I think people didn't realize is most of the characters in the show were real people who actually lived in deadwood.

[@TrekkieBrie]

I can hear the monitization draining from this video lol.

[@grigorirasputin9507]

What the fuck does that mean? xD

[@Anon_E_Muss]

The writing on this show was incredible. I loved hearing swearengen speak so poetically

[@peaceindarkness.darknessis3494]

HBO’s absolute finest Gem. Hands down

[@girlinthesouth850]

#2 for me. Boardwalk Empire is #1 😁

[@peaceindarkness.darknessis3494]

@@girlinthesouth850 boardwalk is incredible as well as underrated IMO

[@Bphillips2808]

All of these shows are great, but come the fuck on, nothing touches the first 5 seasons of GOT

[@danielamezcua3911]

@@Bphillips2808 I’m thinking the Wire is the best overall, but first 4 seasons of GOT were AMAZING!

[@4zafinc]

@@danielamezcua3911 Wire is the best with Sopranos as closest competitor. Deadwood however is my personal favourite

[@pdthorn]

First episode going hard in the motherf--ing paint. No primer, just that sweet sweet content.

[@Smico85]

Wow, this was way better than expected. The narrator does a great job!

[@historypop]

Nick's excellent radio voice is one of Complexly's most underused resources.

[@hagaikiri3682]

Agreed, I was very surprised there's such a good radio voice in Complexly and I wasn't yet familiar with it

[@karenkoning2876]

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[@f.eugenedunnamiii9452]

I specifically looked for the narrator credit, so yeah, good work. But now I'm compelled to ask what the difference is between a "host" and a "narrator". I suspect some union thing.

[@Smico85]

@@f.eugenedunnamiii9452 In my understanding a host ist someone who is introduced by name and his/her personality carries the show. A narrator supports a narrative, his personality isn't important as he takes on the personality that is needed for the story. A narrator is basically an actor, while a host is (more or less) himself.

[@mariahester4205]

David Milch is a genius. Deadwood is a masterpiece. Absolutely love every minute of Deadwood. I watch and chuckle at each turn of phrase. Let’s hear it for wordsmiths everywhere!

[@kniazjarema5809]

Mr woo was the funniest when it came to swearing.

[@charlieross-BRM]

I still remember many decades ago that for a blue collar job, part of the amusement for some dimwits was to teach the non-English speaking new guy the usual swear words, but not warn them that those are swear words. Then, turn them loose and see the reactions when they speak to the team boss or the foreman about the job or the weather.

[@jdmvette]

Who?

[@historypop]

HELLO we have the tiniest of corrections - we don't actually have any of those social accounts for History Pop that are listed in the endscreen. Maybe if the channel does well we'll look into making socials for it in the future, but if you want to find us on any of those platforms, you should actually be following Complexly!

[@toobusytocreateaname]

History Pop +

[@novenadragon]

Good luck getting that monetization for this first episode.

[@Raya-xw5ud]

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[@stephaniehendricks3537]

I was looking for the channel, so glad you cleared it up. I loved the video, hopefully there is more to come!

[@way-13]

History Pop complexly. Thank you for supporting this

[@brandonyohn]

The origin of our swear words is something I now realize I always wanted to know, but never looked up. Thanks for tackling it! Glad you made this video!

[@Peterincan]

Brandon Yohn Here’s another neat bit of swear word trivia. In France, most swear words are related to sex and bodily functions (like in English), but in Quebec, where people speak a French dialect that branched off in the 1600s, religious objects are still used as profanity. So “tabernacle” and “chalice” are two of the most common swears.

[@Stringman1950]

I was raised strictly no dirty words, but I swear the swearing was one of my favorite things about Deadwood. Kept me in stitches. Some of the best lines. Mulch is a writing genius.

[@MewWolf5]

I've never watched Deadwood but I still found this interesting.

[@historypop]

Our scriptwriter Tobin has seen it, but I put the video together without having seen the show before. I was surprised how even in the random clips I chose, I felt like I had a ton of useful context for what I was looking at, just from Tobin's wonderful script. In fact I have to admit to not having consumed any of the media we're covering in this pilot run, but I think the historical stories that we're sharing transcend the confines of the media we're jumping off from and hopefully other people feel that way too! -Nicole

[@elibundy3613]

History Pop I totally agree! I haven’t seen Deadwood either, but I still learned a ton about swearing from this video, and made me more curious about the historical context of today’s discourse. Thanks so much for your work on this Nicole!

[@Nathanscottphilipps]

It was a great series and like many hbo shows, especially back then, cancelled before it's proper ending. Just finished rewatching last night, and I'm going to watch the movie in a few minutes.

[@Nathanscottphilipps]

@Frank Castle I liked it, but thought it should've been longer. It's remarkable that they got that many of the actors back, though it was painful to see swearengen physically diminished like that.

[@themightychickens]

@@historypop I can't recommend Deadwood enough, out of all the classic, critically acclaimed dramas of the 90's and 00's, Deadwood and The Wire are the two that really had an impact on how I consume and judge entertainment.

[@thatmaia]

This show is damn good

[@SpeakShibboleth]

I think I'm going to like this channel. Take a bit of pop culture and dive into the history. Great idea

[@CanuckMonkey13]

This is a great start for this new channel. When I heard Hank talk about them I wasn't clear on whether the feedback would be determining how many of the three were continued, or which ONE would continue. Because of that, and the fact that I haven't seen anything from the other two yet, I can't "vote" for this, but if there's a chance of all three channels being made permanent then I can say based on this episode that History Pop is a winner!

[@TeresaMcD]

So good! Fantastic voiceovers by Nick and Nicole! Love love love! Excellent job, Complexly team!!!

[@torreyintahoe]

That final quote by Al sums up his character perfectly.

[@unepommeverte17]

Reminds me of the less historically accurate costume choices in Moulin Rouge- if they had kept everything more historically accurate, the modern audience's reactions wouldn't be right. So they changed the costumes so that the modern audience would react similarly to how the historical audience might have reacted to the historically accurate costumes

[@ScaryWombat]

I'm starting a dissertation about how we present the history of the American frontier through games, and the centre of that discussion for me will be around towns like Deadwood, and their in-game comparissons (or fictionalisations) - and stuff like this is pure gold! Thanks so much for this, it's given me a fascinating new lens to look at the historical records and modern-day adaptations through.

[@lizabee484]

Allanna Please please tell me you’re looking at the UnDeadwood ttrpg miniseries on Critical Role’s KZbin channel. Despite some of the more supernatural elements, I think it might be a good research source for you to look into. And I know the creators are working so hard on it. 😁 good luck with your dissertation! It sounds fascinating!

[@ScaryWombat]

@@lizabee484 I hadn't heard about that actually, so I've added it to my list of research. Thanks for the heads-up. =)

[@alleyoop4465]

Fascinating ! Good luck.

[@briancrawford8751]

Are you talking about a doctoral dissertation? Who approved that topic? Are you in history or media studies of some kind?

[@connissia]

Loved this! More History Pop please! 😄

[@PARPLEpeep]

oooooh i love the whole aesthetic (graphics, editing) of what this channel is looking to be and amazing content too ofc

[@bornontotrouble]

This was extremely interesting to watch, especially since I've found trying to research the history of swear words a bit difficult. Hope to see more of these History Pop videos!

[@kayceegreer4418]

I am validated as well as LMAO because the style in which you are doing this narration is exactly how I have done things from time to time to make a point, and I have been known to make long complex sentences in paragraphs which contain only two, particularly noted upon by those who apparantly have done no classical reading withal.

[@cheesepuff5292]

Oh yeah, I'm going to love this channel. I wrote my senior thesis on the show LOST, and connecting pop culture to society is right up my alley. Please, please, please continue!

[@jrbship]

What a bold topic for a debut episode. I love it!

[@Ash-xu2fv]

Love this! These types of videos are among my favorites. I actually don't watch many tv shows or movies, but I love videos that use them to explore history, storytelling, or art.

[@odditybose]

Please continue this! Learnt so much more here than the other two!

[@Caterfree10]

I am so down for more videos like this. I hope this channel continues!

[@TheDevler23]

Of the three new channels, I like this one the most. Pop culture and history have a unique relationship with each other and it's fun to see it broken down like this!

[@keeganhunt5075]

This video really works. Never seen or heard of deadwood before, but this format is very entertainingly educational. Love to see this continued

[@TinyFlame4]

Such a fun, informative, quick video! Loved it! Can't wait for more

[@SelbyKatt]

Love this series already! Keep them coming!

[@Who-Am-I...]

Of the three, History Pop is definitely my favorite. Very interesting. The narrator is also really good and the subject matter engaging.

[@MsDafiM]

For me, this is the best pilot of the three. I didn't really find myself in 'Stories retold' - I didn't know the tale, was not captivated by the graphics style (though the narrating was very good), it kind of felt like listening to a bedtime story but a creepy one and I would have liked to see a discussion about it and not just a presentation of the story as is. Especially since many of this type of stories have so many versions that changed according to place or time and the discussion of the different versions may be really illuminating. Though the first 'Hashed out' episode was well executed, I can't put my finger on why but I think it may reverbarate in an echo chamber, but not outside of it, if you get what I mean. The subject of the problems with today's media just hits too close to home for me, and as I don't feel like I can make a difference in how media is communicated to me, I think I will just find it too depressing and discouraging to see all the places where the media negatively affected the way I precieve the world. This episode was really well executed, it was fascinating despite the fact that I never watched 'Deadwood' (and frankly forgot was it was, not being an american), and though the subject related to pop culture (which made it more accesible and less antagonizing) I felt like it managed to convey something beyond the historical facts and analysis of the story (a 'moral' for the lack of a better word) without being preachy - the creators could have written the show in a more historically accurate manner, but by veering from the way things were, they managed to make the show more impactful for a contemporary, which serves the goal much better.

[@dominictemple]

This is great stuff, really hoping to see more of this soon.

[@penelaine8782]

Loved it, could imagine lots of episodes for this

[@intensewhatever]

This was so interesting and I never even watched Deadwood! I really hope you keep making episodes for History Pop 🙏🏽

[@thefrogue6970]

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[@starvingscientist]

Even if this channel doesn’t make it, I’m glad this video was made while you had the chance.

[@GaubHefta]

This is so good!! I absolutely love learning about pop culture trivia I really hope this show continues!!!

[@xMasterxRazorx]

Hank, I hope other people like this video as much as I do because I think this pilot will wind up being a huge success. More, please!

[@davidcripps3011]

This understanding has increased my enjoyment of the show...I'm literally watching for the first time. Thank you :-)

[@koningbolo4700]

"As a base of operation, you can not fucking beat a Saloon." (also Al Swearengen)

[@bhargav201093]

This concept is amazing. Please continue making more.

[@beatriceengman4916]

This is sooo awesome. It something that you've always wondered about when it comes to historical movies and this is a perfect combo to make it understandable.

[@meredithblack8360]

What a cool concept! I learned a lot from this episode and it really helped me understand why tv shows may sometimes sacrifice historical accuracy (it's always been a pet peeve of mine). Will definitely recommend it to my friends! I hope you keep making it!

[@thefrogue6970]

Usually when I find things that are blatantly wrong (historically) it annoys me a bit as well, but looking at it this way, it definitely makes more sense that they would account for what will impact the audience in the same way

[@ultimateo621]

This is such an interesting pilot. I’m sold!

[@TerryEinstein]

More of this please!!

[@VloggingThroughHistory]

As a fan of the show and of the history behind it, this was a fascinating dive into the language. Really enjoyed this and learned a lot.

[@happypirate1000]

I've never watched a video with so much swearing BUT I AM HERE. FOR. THIS.

[@n.a7993]

This is really cool! Loved this, can't wait to see a little more

[@outdoorlife5396]

If you took the cussing out of Deadwood, it would be a silent movie.

[@FesterWerks]

"Everyday takes figuring out all over again how to fucking live." - Jane Cannery, Deadwood

[@caitlinb7669]

Love this video, I hope you will make more episodes

[@iunboxstuff635]

That was fascinating. Great work and thank you.

[@sielthesnail5628]

This actually cleared up questions I had about swearing as a kid.

[@DFTBAiden]

This is great! And I LOVE Nick as host!

[@kthfox]

Wow. This is actually really informative. I look forward to more History Pop.

[@thefrogue6970]

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[@DanielBoutinAwesome]

Okay, I love that this is a mix of sociolinguistics and history! I'd totally watch more of this!

[@thefrogue6970]

It’s such a good combination, since they’re both constantly shaping each other

[@makermeliss]

This was a very intresting story on the history of cursing and how language has evolved I hope this series continues in the future with new content on today's pop history!

[@Skirmitch]

Excellent!!!! It was worth it subscribing!!!! I can't believe we will be forced to choose the show... I'm so sure that all for of them are going to be this good

[@Xeelia]

Wow! I loved this info!! Great video!

[@mybingobrain]

Wow! Great video. You explained what i was wondering about for a long time. Thanks!

[@beowulfthedane]

The Sioux stole the Black Hills from the Cheyenne. Tribes were fighting each other quite frequently. Someday it will be taken by someone else.

[@seopark7467]

...wow. Im going to take words like "damn" and "christ" in classic novels differently now.

[@thechefrandy5555]

This is one of the most intelligent articulate videos I've ever seen thank you very much

[@stever6894]

Thanks. That was nicely done, to say the least. It's not often that the internet offers 10 minutes of history or sociology that is as well researched, written and narrated as this.

[@GetToKnowNature]

That was fascinating and fun. I don't know anything about Deadwood but that didn't matter, the video was thoroughly engaging anyway.

[@toobusytocreateaname]

Get To Know Nature +

[@thirdculturekid1529]

Once again, proving that education is AMAZING. I love watching videos like this, they spike my curiosity and make me want to know more. Thank you for inspiring learning everywhere.

[@brucemoyers1006]

Milch himself produced a special feature on the D.W. DVD box set and talks about just this. I took the show for what it was, entertainment, and think it ranks top shelf. You may come to be a Milch fan.

[@mokanger97]

I love this show a lot. I really hope you get a full run

[@jerryyager2601]

I'm still pissed at the crew for abandoning the series, which HBO has a history of.

[@readergonerogue]

Pop culture and history? It's all of my favorite things! I can't wait to see the next video.

[@jennieivins]

This is fantastic! I'm sharing this with all my writing groups. :D

[@hagaikiri3682]

I have never even heard if the show deadwood and yet loved this episode, thanks for a great new show complexly!

[@samnuva]

Ugh, FANTASTIC show! Hoping for many many more!

[@brodiemcclure-kunc7752]

Nick’s Narration is ridiculously good and is a salve for my broken heart over missing Reel Bad. I’ll totally sign up for another way to listen to Nick tell me about film for a while!

[@emilymicah1150]

This is good stuff Hank and friends!! Subscribed!

[@CinemaScares]

This was really interesting! I hope you make more of these after the first three. One thing I would suggest though is keeping those little circles away from the text. They make it hard to read what's onscreen. Otherwise, great stuff!

[@DaenerysStormborn-cw5ws]

A bunch of drunk men in a mining camp? OF COURSE they swore that much!

[@janiew5561]

So, this is awesome. More please!!!

[@fridun007]

Good point, but there are some beautiful quotes as well contained in this show. " I will be so grateful if you will trust me with your sadness, and I will trust you with mine, so that even when we are sad…we will be grateful for how much we love each other, and know that we are in the world as much in our pain as in our happiness. "

[@mariapetrenko6240]

Love it! Thank you for this insight)

[@c.i.demann3069]

good stuff. i'd watch more of this.

[@blockieran]

This is what I didn't know I needed. I knew I loved history, but this new approach is so cool

[@alissa6380]

as someone deeply interested in both pop culture and history, this channel is *absolutely* my thing, much more than the other two pilots. hope this gets greenlit!

[@kaiserwilly4234]

This sounds like my family on a daily basis.

[@JuliahistoryLover]

This is the coolest video/topic, thanks!!! I wish creator stayed more authentic with the cuss words. Before this video family and I have been arguing weather the overuse of those types of words in those days were authentic or not. Now I know. They seemed to do such a good job with other aspects I wish they were more authentic in the cuss words too so you’d fully feel like you stepped into history when you turned on the show

[@SP-cp3qu]

Great vid!

[@samtheanthro]

This was really interesting! As an anthropologist I love looking at little cultural details like this, especially when it comes to cultural evolution. I hope that this channel does well as I'd love to see more material from it

[@ThePrimevalVoid]

The premise is great! And thank you so much for not censoring the swearwords. I love this series, and I'm looking forward to seeing more videos. However, I feel like because of the "grammar" established by media criticism KZbin, we need either a face that is talking to us (ie Lindsay Ellis style), or we need clips over the narration (ie Every Frame A Painting style). The minimal clips and the overwhelming amount of text on the screen does not engage visually, so I hope you guys work on that. Good luck!

[@TheGeekyHippie]

That was frakking awesome!

[@TheTravelVal]

D--n, this was really interesting to watch!

[@ryanlafleur]

This was really well done. I'm just concerned there is enough content to fill a full channel.

[@clayfellows4283]

This is brilliant!

[@bojackbojackbojack]

I noticed this channel has very few subscribers. So here's a nice comment - This video was well-done. Good job.

[@hunterglass1840]

This was very informative and correct. I subscribed.

[@mrmja50]

Great series!

[@EveloGrave]

I didn't know it took 100 years to go from the first transcontinental railroad to landing on the moon. Hot damn that is impressive.

[@im.empimp]

In the 50 years since, we got the internet :-) , but haven't even been back to the moon :-( , yet alone beyond :-( .

[@EveloGrave]

@@im.empimp Soon!

[@im.empimp]

@@EveloGrave fingers-crossed However, with the current politics in America and Britain, I really feel like we're moving backwards not forwards.