We’ve looked at swearing in films before, in the obvious sense where it occurs on the audio track. But sometimes films offer visual swears, a few examples of which are presented below. Visual swears may be remarked on or alluded to in the dialogue, or they may not; they may be props, used for colour and characterisation, or they may serve comedic aims, or some combination of the above.
Here’s one that contributes to both contextual humour and characterisation: Rooney Mara’s delightful FUCK YOU YOU FUCKING FUCK T-shirt in David Fincher’s remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) (click images to enlarge):
Blade II (2002), directed with comic-book gusto by Guillermo del Toro, features a seedy joint called FUCKINGHAM PALACE, described in David Goyer’s script as a ‘shit-hole porno emporium offering the latest in bagged-for your-pleasure Euro-raunch’. The name appears for only a few frames (hence the blurred figure in the foreground of this DVD freeze-frame), so its FUCK is helpfully lit up lest viewers miss the gag:
Finally, and most elaborately, there is Michael Davis’s gleefully offensive, gun-obsessed Shoot ’Em Up (2007). On a rooftop near the end of a chase sequence we see a large and improbably positioned neon sign for FAULK TRUCK & TOOL. This image from behind-the-scenes footage shows it in full:
No-nonsense anti-hero Clive Owen, in a shoot-out with his nemesis Paul Giamatti and his goons, selectively shoots the sign’s letters to leave FUK U (initially framed to obscure the TOOL):
His attendant quip, like Mara’s T-shirt above, gets straight to the point:
Giamatti, foiled and frustrated by Owen’s subsequent escape, shoots the L from TOOL in reply:
You can watch the scene in full here. It’s NSFW, obviously, and also Owen is carrying a (fake) baby, which might bother some viewers:
Let us know of any other examples you can think of. Images get bonus points.
Update:
A classic slogan on this T-shirt worn by an extra in the 1985 thriller Runaway Train:
Boots Riley’s 2018 comedy Sorry to Bother You features an art exhibit titled ‘The New Fuck You’ on posters:
Protestors on a picket line hold signs saying ‘Fuck You Regalview’:
And there’s an in-film TV show called ‘I Got the S#*@ Kicked Out of Me!’:
Danny Glover’s character is a fan:
Strong Language 
May as well admit it: I never even noticed that on Rooney Mara’s shirt.
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The contrast is low, so the text doesn’t exactly leap out. It’s a nice touch, though.
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I noticed it immediately!
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I bet you did!
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The obvious example which springs to mind in the scene in one of the Austin Powers films (they all blur into one) where the protagonists suddenly turn out to speak fluent Japanese. Subtitles are, of course, provided for the viewer; but it just so happens that the black-and-white furnishings and scenery render certain letters invisible, with the kind of joyfully and shamelessly crass consequences that only Myers can get away with.
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Thanks for the example, Stuart. I had only a vague recollection of that scene, not having watched the Austin Powers films since their release. (Maybe you haven’t either but have better powers of recall.) Someone has helpfully uploaded it to YouTube; it is gleefully childish but quite inventive too:
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Sadly, it’s not on YouTube any more, but the TV edit of that scene is utterly delightful. “Please eat some Dungeness crab” is the key line.
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Ach, that’s a pity. It sounds great though.
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KJ Charles on Twitter has reminded me of the swear box in Hot Fuzz:
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I’m trying to remember what movie had a young woman (Juliette Lewis?) wearing a T-shirt saying “What the fuck are you looking at”. While searching for that, though, I happened on this list of slogan T-shirts, some of which are in movies:
http://ca.complex.com/style/2012/03/the-50-funniest-slogan-t-shirts/45
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OK, here’s A WHOLE FUCKING WEBSITE that I just found dedicated to T-shirts on screen, many of which are sweary: http://www.tshirtsonscreen.com/girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-fuck-you-you-fucking-fuck/
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Excellent. It’s just a pity the posts aren’t tagged or categorised in more detail so that all the sweary ones can be seen together.
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I saw the last one!!!^^ (so proud!)
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Well done!
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I know this is an old post, but I just found the site! Some notable examples occur in MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE as machines go crazy, and a bank’s electronic scrolling marquee reads “FUCK YOU.” An ATM also displays “You are an asshole” to a customer (played by Stephen King himself), who then says to his wife, “Honey, this machine just called me an asshole!”
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Great examples, thank you! I must rewatch Maximum Overdrive some day. It was the first 18-cert film I ever saw, as a young teenager in Ireland.
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