Fart: A Documentary Page #2

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that you don't do this thing

in front of people,

and that's it.

But there are some people

that do it.

Because men like noises.

Or a reaction.

And I have to wa--

I have to wait

to expect--

expect is the word,

I have to expect that my fart

will be a silent one.

- So nobody hears it.

- ( laughing )

That's when your cheeks

start to bulge.

( church bells tolling )

( man farting )

I get really upset

about this. Honestly.

- So you want equal rights

for farting.

- Exactly-- of course.

This is for my ladies

out there

Who have a problem

with their gas

- ( glass shattering )

- Man:
In contrary

to what they would have

you believe...

girls do fart.

Fart is the bodily function

of passing

intestinal gas

also known as flatus

through the anus.

Female interviewer:

Have you heard

of Mr. Methane?

- No.

- Gentleman that does the...

I guess you could give

a little...

Male interviewer:

He's a professional farter.

Female interviewer:

Do you know of any

professional farters?

Uh, no,

as a matter of fact...

No, but do you know

who might pay him?

He could become one.

Oh, really?

Well, they've been around,

I think,

professional farters, for a--

for a number of years.

( record player

needle scratches )

( man speaking French )

Jim Dawson:

Because, you know

in France for example,

in the late 19th century

one of the top, uh...

one of the top stars

in Paris

was a guy named

Le Ptomane whose act

at the Moulin Rouge

was farting.

Paul Oldfield:

Le Ptomane, um...

Well, Le Ptomane,

whose real name

was Joseph Pujol,

performed at the Pink Windmill

at the Moulin Rouge

in Paris.

And he was--

where the famous

can-can dancers perform,

and he was

the highest paid act.

He grossed more than

the pop stars of the day,

which were

the opera singers,

and he performed

a fart show.

Even back in the days,

you know, in Roman days,

there was Le Ptomane

character then.

Beyond that

it's very difficult

to get the actual facts.

And he could suck wind

into his anus

and then he could

expel it at will.

And he had such control

over his sphincter

that he could--

that he could imitate

musical instruments,

animals, birds,

and he would often add,

"My mother-in-law."

( laughs )

Oldfield:

See, you get this thing

you don't know

how much he's become...

Hollywood-ized,

if you like...

How much of it it's been

pumped up for the movie.

And--

it's-- it's--

I suppose it's difficult

to know how...

It's difficult to get

to the bottom of it, really.

I would say that's the--

that's the problem.

And for a couple of years,

they would

actually have

medical people

in attendance

because women,

especially with their corsets,

you know, with--

They would go into these

hysterics over this guy.

He was so funny

that they would--

they couldn't

catch their breath

and they would be

passing out and--

and-- and so these people

would rush up

and, I guess,

loosen their corsets.

But-- but he

was extremely funny

and-- and-- and,

you know, even today,

there are people who,

you know, are still

doing that like

Mr. Methane

over in England.

- ( farting )

- ( audience laughing )

Oldfield:

I know that I can do it.

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.

It was difficult to...

Would you just excuse me

a minute?

( farts )

Oh, excuse me.

I just-- ah.

Uh, it was difficult

to actually--

Ooh, that's a bit..

Actually,

I shouldn't have done that.

- Two, one.

- ( laughing )

Well, farting is--

yeah, we all do it.

Yeah, farting

is something that--

it's a very, very funny,

uh, for young children.

Once you reach

a certain age,

and you're supposed

to grow up

and grow out

of childish humor.

Fart four,

fart five, fart six...

Fart five,

fart 11,

fart 12...

I think that, uh,

the younger generations

tend to be more open

with a lot of things.

than when

I was coming up.

I mean, that's just a totally

different environment.

For them

it's somewhat...

It's-- it's--

everything is about humor.

So, yeah,

it's more accepted

because of the humorous

aspect of it.

You were talking about

the 16-year old

that stays

in the household.

It's about "funny."

Whereas before it was

about where you were at,

and if it was proper

based upon who was around you.

And now,

that's irrelevant.

Dalai Lama:

We are mentally,

emotionally,

intellectually,

we are same.

Man:

A point he rather

inadvertently proved

through an unexpected

story about gas.

When in airplane,

sometimes this

gas problem comes.

Then, you see,

difficult to let out.

( audience laughing )

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