ABSTRACT
In the Dutch language, the word boodschappen can mean both ‘messages’ and ‘groceries.’ When film director Dick Maas was criticized that his film Flodder (1986) was sheer amusement and consecutively void of (social/political) messages, he retorted: ‘Boodschappen doe je maar in de Albert Heijn.’ A literal translation of this sentence might run: ‘Get your groceries at Albert Heijn [the largest Dutch supermarket chain],’ which, of course, slips into the pun: ‘Get your messages at the supermarket.’ This pun is a variation upon the quote, attributed to, among others, American film directors Frank Capra and John Ford that ‘if you want to send a message, go to Western Union’ (or ‘try Western Union’). 1
