Why did they censor out "jesus christ" in The Matrix?

Question

I remember I was watching The Matrix on TBS one time and while Neo was sparring with Morpheus and everyone was watching, and Mouse (was that his name? the young kid) said "Judas Priest! Look at his telekinetics. They're way above normal." or something like that. I watched the uncensored version of the Matrix and it was "Jesus Christ" rather than "Judas Priest". So what's up with that?

Answer 1

Because the Censors at TBS didn't like it. If the same movie was on another network they might leave that in but change something else that TBS left alone.

Some strong Christians might be offended by hearing a name Sacred to them used in this fashion, so the network changed it to something less offensive. Had they left it the way it was in the original film, they would have gotten countless letters protesting it as an abomination.

Also, if people are offended by a network's content they boycott the companies who advertise there, and therefore the advertisers stop doing business with that network

no advertisers = no money = no network. It's basic survival, really... appease the masses.

Luckily, the scene still makes sense with this change... It's just one of those things that make you scratch your head. I have seen censors on other networks (FX and Bravo are two examples off the top of my head) where they censored scenes in such a way that the scene didn't even make sense any more.

Answer 2

I've wondered that myself many a time. It's not just The Matrix. Many network television shows (or anything else considered to be family viewing) will in some way censor "Jesus Christ" in that form. If the character just says "Jesus", they might or might not alter it, but "Jesus Christ" is always blocked. Perhaps adding Christ (which means "anointed one") would somehow suggest one's belief in the founder of Christianity, and would offend non-Christian viewers. Who knows? Censorship is a joke anyway...

Answer 3

They censor out many things when R rated movies appear on TV. They wanna "protect" people from the real world where people swear and use God's name in a way that they don't like. It's like their living in their own Matrix, where such things don't exist.

Answer 4

It's considered taking the lords name in vain or blasphemy to people. You used to get stoned for throwing around a gods name like that. I think it's absurd also but that’s how people feel. You might have just misunderstood the actor the first time or something though.

Answer 5

I remember watching a movie on an American channel once.
It w3as funny, the used the F word and C words but at was *Bleep*damn in the middle of it all.
Yup they could show blood and gore, and swear worse than sailors, but had to bleep any use of God or Jesus' name as cussing.

Answer 6

Because all people watching the movie do not belive in christ as the god or the son of god wich is normal ,, no group of people are more important to that TV station wether it be christian muslim or jew

Answer 7

Using Jesus Christ as a swear word, as it would be if used in a sentence like you quoted, would be oafish indeed in a story of a redeemer.

Answer 8

Ultra-sensitive PC culture. Rowe called it "rampant moralism."

Answer 9

same reason you can't say "fart" in comic books, even though superman and wonder woman had explosive sky sex that ran a fissure all the way around the earth's surface--censors are stupid

Answer 10

Because they don't want non-Christians see that Christianity is held up higher than their own religions.