Fart: A Documentary Movie Script

So therefore, I know that Le Ptomane existed, and I don't think the tale came out of-- - out of nowhere.

-( farts ) It, you know, there was enough people who actually, um, recounted this tale and it's become-- it has become folklore.

Maybe some of his abilities were a bit, if you like, trumped up.

But still, I mean, even though the French would laugh at farting, you know, it wasn't something that was socially acceptable.

In fact, I was unable to find any sort of culture where it was truly accepted as just, you know, "Oh, yeah, yeah, fart," you know, "Yeah, sure.

That's okay." - ( farting sounds ) - ( audience laughing ) ( farting loudly ) And Japan even-- you know, even had a guy that did that and there was a-- a famous scroll which I talk about in "Who Cut The Cheese" and it told a story-- this goes back about maybe, uh, about 300 or 400 years or so, and, you know, even in Japanese society, you know, farting was funny.

In some places, like, there were some African... uh-- uh, countries where if you farted in front of the wrong person, you could be killed.

( farting )

Man:

John Wycoff, and the degree is D.O.

Flatulence in the purest sense is gas that's made in the intestines, usually from the digestion of food by various bacteria and organisms.

I don't know why people get so embarrassed about farting.

After all, it's a natural process, isn't it?

( church bells tolling ) Some people say that you get some bloating and distension in the abdomen and, uh, that can be relieved by flatulence.

Sometimes some people-- they try to hold in the flatulence and that could be, uh, can cause some discomfort.

You know, if it's a bodily function, there's cause and effect.

So something causes it.

Something causes the gas to build up.

Something causes gas to release, okay?

It's a chemical reaction.

Nothing serious is gonna happen by not passing flatus.

Female interviewer: So it's not bad for you then to hold...?

No, it's more... It's gonna cause discomfort, but noth-- nothing... You're not gonna explode or have any problems like that.

( farting ) There are a number of theories of humor, you know, and you can theorize farting relative to all of them really.

Um... It's a taboo, I suppose.

Uh, so Freud would say, it has comic potential because it's one of those things that we repress.