Simple and direct language is very harsh and sometimes creates problems for the speakers. Therefore, euphemisms are used to gloss over the harshness of realities. Some of the best euphemisms used in movies are as follows.
Example #1
From Forrest Gump
FORREST
Now remember how I told you that
Jenny never seemed to want to go
home? Well, she lived in a house
that was as old as Alabama. Her Momma
had gone up to heaven when she was
five and her daddy was some kind of
a farmer.
Forrest Gump speaks these words about his beloved, Jenny Curran. His simplicity and innocent speaks through his words that he knows where Jenny lives and where is her mother. He is aware that Jenny is his beloved and it is not appropriate to call her mother dead. Therefore, he uses the euphemism of “gone up to heaven” which means she has died.
Example # 2
From Gladiator
JUBA
Life is a gift from our fathers to
Who are you to give it up for
lack of lifting a spoon?
This conversation takes place in Gladiator, a movie about the gladiators. Juba is talking to Maximus. Giving birth is a simple process and the role of a father in this process cannot be denied. However, euphemism could gloss over this harsh reality as Juba says that life is a gift from fathers which means we should be thankful to fathers for giving birth to us. The second one is to give up life which is to commit suicide or become reticent or lethargic in the face of death and simply die without making effort to live. Both of these euphemisms have made these dialogues catchy and interesting.
Example #3
From The American President
KODAK
The country has mood swings.
LEWIS
Mood swings? Nineteen post-graduate
degrees in mathematics and you
explain going from a 63 to a 46
percent approval rating in 5 weeks
on mood swings?
This conversation takes place in the movie, The American President. Kodak is talking to Lewish and asking him about the behavior of the voters. As they do not want to discuss in clear terms why the public is moving against them, Kodak suggests mood swings, a psychological terms. It also shows how they have used this euphemism to gloss over the situation of the public against them.
Example #4
From Legally Blonde
ELLE
They wanted me to grow up and become a
Victoria’s Secret model who marries a
rock star. Now, for the first time, it
seemed like someone expected me to do
something better with my life than wear
underwear for a living. But I was kidding
myself — Donovan didn’t see me as a
lawyer. He saw me as a piece of ass.
Elle has used several euphemisms in her conversation. She wants to say that she has never been taken seriously as her parents still want her to become sensible. She uses the word “grow up” for becoming a sensible girl and “kidding” for joking. The use of these words shows that she still respects her parents and only wants to state that they do not take her seriously.
Example #5
From Cold Mountain
MADDY
You look at nature, a bird flies
somewhere, picks up a seed, shits
the seed out, a plant grows. Bird’s
got a job, seed’s got a job.
Maddy speaks these words in Cold Mountain. She uses the metaphor of a bird that takes food, shits, and then makes plants grow. “Shits that seed out” and “seed’s got a job” are euphemistic expressions that Maddy has used in the sense of giving birth to children.
Example #6
From Titanic
JACK
See, my folks died in a fire
when I was fifteen, and I’ve been on the road since. Somethin’ like that
teaches you to take life as it comes at you. To make each day count.
Although Jack does not use a euphemism in the first part of this conversation, he uses it when he says “on the road” which means he is living as a tramp. This expression is too harsh to speak to a girl. Therefore, he uses euphemisms of taking life and making easy days to state that he is enjoying, though he does not want to talk about his life.
Example #7
From The American Sniper
CHRIS
Did you lose some friends?
MADS
That too, but I’m talking about guys that
lived. They made it back but they’re just
not back. They can’t seem to get right.
This conversation takes place in The American Sniper. Chris does not want to disturb their mental state of Mads. Therefore, he does not ask him how many have been killed. He makes it personal but somewhat less harsh for him and uses the euphemism of “lose” instead of killed. He also uses “made it back” and not back in almost the same sense and “get right” which means not able to walk or live a good life. Almost all of these euphemisms have reduced the intensity of killing or being killed or injured.
Example #8
From Alone in the Dark
DELIVERY GUY
Abkani? What the hell’s Abkani?
GUARD
Ancient Native American civilization.
They were this super-advanced culture,
but something like ten thousand years
ago, they just disappeared.
This conversation happens in Alone in the Dark. Guard answers the delivery guy’s question about Abkani and says that those people have disappeared. This is a very good word to replace devasted or faced devastation and death. Therefore, this euphemism has been ranked 8th among the best euphemism used in movies.
Example #9
From Braveheart
CAMPBELL
Does it hurt?
WALLACE
What do we do when Longshanks sends
his whole northern army against us?
They have heavy cavalry. Armored
horses, that shake the very ground.
They’ll ride right over us.
Acting as William Wallace, Mel Gibson used two euphemisms in these lines when talking to Campbell. He tells him that the heavy horses shake the ground, which means they terrify them and second is “ride over us” which means they would crush them. Both of these euphemisms lessen the tension rising up due to the impending battle between Longshanks army and the Scottish rebels in the movie. The purpose is to encourage the rebels so that they should not lose heart.
Example #10
From Benjamin Button
THE MAN
He was in very poor health… he
was taken to the hospital… He
doesn’t seem to know who or where
he is… He’s very confused… The
doctors who looked at him think he
may be autistic.
Although The Man used just a simple euphemism, it shows that he does not want to describe the true condition of Benjamin who is very sick. He just says that his health is very poor, or he is in poor health to hide the actual situation behind the use of these words, which is a good euphemism.
