MovieChat Forums > The Castle (1999) Discussion > Is the word "wog" not as offensive as I ...

Is the word "wog" not as offensive as I thought?


I was always led to believe that "wog" was a pretty offense term for a non-white person, but Darryl Kerrigan uses the word in reference to a friend of his and it seems to be okay? Is that word not as bad as I thought it was? I'm from the States and it's not a racial slur over here so I don't know what it could be compared to that some people here use.

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I didn't think he said wog as he was talking about Arabs but it did sound as though it was some racial slur that I hadn't heard of before.. I'm guessing whatever it was, it was more a jokey term than an actual racist word

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Apparently it is a term in Australia for southern European and middle-eastern people and can be totally appropriate or derogatory, depending on the way it's used. I guess in England it's just considered derogatory though. It seems like the way "black" is used in the States. Like if you just describe someone as a black person that's fine, but if you say "Those damn blacks" it sounds offensive.

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Apparently it is a term in Australia for southern European and middle-eastern people and can be totally appropriate or derogatory, depending on the way it's used.
Yes, more so the former and frequently almost a term of endearment, especially with friends or relatives of Mediterranean heritage.🐭

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Many Arabs, Serbs, Italians, Greeks etc call themselves wogs. It depends how good a friend the man calling them wogs is to them.

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That line always makes me laugh. As someone who comes under the label of 'wog', Darryl's comment is on the mark regarding their preference for paying in cash. It does depend on the context in which it's used. If there's familiarity and friendship, it's fine. You say it to a total stranger, it's a slur. In the film, Darryl's good mates with Faruk, so it's said with blunt honesty which is a healthy part of being mates. It's also part of Darryl's character- he speaks using colourful, blunt language- which is what makes him so likeable. He's honest, upfront and genuine, and it makes his predicament all the more unfair.

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