Me ranting

As an ex trucker i am no prude but i can't help asking what has happened to the movie industry that they can no longer make a movie without a thousand uses of the F word,here in Belgium it has also seeped into TV, we have one particular quiz show where the presenter uses that word frequently and also says J**** Ch**** several time during the show and this airs at 6.30 in the evening.
I know we all get angry at times and release it with some foul language but i hope not in earshot of the kids (they learn it soon enough at school)
Being disabled we tend to watch a lot of TV and we will see a film with several top A list stars in the cast only too be greeted with a stream of such language that is repeated at every opportunity,surely they can convey a point without the need for such repetitive use of these words.
My father once told me "the use of foul language is just a lazy mind not thinking" and he was a career military man so was no stranger to it but never used it in the house.

 

I fully agree with you on all points here Bill, I understand that a lot of people "can't" help it, but I mean seriously you don't need to use it every 5 seconds. If you know what I mean. I've given up on a lot of TV/Movies because of that fact. IMHO(please don't reprimand me for this.) all that language does is prove to the world how un-educated you are.:major

 

It also goes the same when comedians use this language as part of their routine in order to get a laugh - generally speaking.

 

Bill,
I know that tv here in the US has degenerated; most of the well written dramas and comedies have been cancelled in favor of so called reality shows, which are much cheaper to produce. Maybe this trend is moving into Belgium too. I share your outrage. For a long time now there are comedians who I no longer watch because so much of their material is interspersed with a steady stream of profanity. I am too old to be shocked by it, it is just unpleasant to listen to.
Sheena

 

I think swearing in entertainment is perfectly acceptable,it makes things more interesting and is good device to express emotion. Swearing done right can make things funnier and more interesting but done too much for no reason just makes me think the writer is brain dead.

Another thing that annoys me is when swearing fits but hey don't use it so they can show the show at an earlier time,or sell the movie to a younger audience. Say if a huge alien is coming toward you and you need to kill it to save the world,well I would use the F word:-D

"I'm gonna kill you,you motha shitter." It just doesn't work,makes the alien sound like its got bowel problems:-D

 

I'm an ex-military man too, so I'm definitely not 'The Last Boy Scout', (I use the term ironically if you've ever seen the Willis movie of the same name), but swearing can be over-done and can cross the line of realism and entertainment to just being crass and obtuse.
There is a BIG difference between swearing, which nearly everybody does, and just being a foul, potty-mouth. I also don't believe in bad language in front of children, (for very obvious reasons) and I don't feel comfortable swearing in front of women, either, even though some of them would even make my face turn red:-o). Yes, I am old-fashioned like that.
It's pretty easy to be rough and uncouth, but being a gentleman or a lady in the true sense does take a little more effort. Bad language and behaviour doesn't degrade others - it degrades YOU, i.m.o.
The greatest movies I know and the funniest comedians don't need to be foul-mouthing to get their point across, (once again, I'm distinguishing between swearing, (which we all do) and foul language. I find blasphemy type swearing really more offensive than the conventional type, because, regardless of beliefs, or lack there of, it is also disrespecting another's beliefs/lifestyle. Definitely not cool, i.m.o.
The spread of profanity to television and other media is just symptomatic of a world that tends to put urbaneness and morality on a much lower level than cheap laffs and shock value, i.m.h.o.

 

As a former builder and having worked in the fishing industry you can imagine I'm not exactly "Clean mouthed" but time and a place.
As Rikky said , when timed well it can have excellent effects on drama and humour alike.
But some movies etc just plow it in for no other reason than to entertain kids who are in fact legally too young to view the movie because of all the foul language..

Good one.

I'm sure many of you (especially the lads) will remember being a teenager and either you or your friends just dropping f-shots and spitting etc purposely so people can hear you because it made you col and tough.
As weget older it supposedly wears off.... unfortunately that is not the case, I often hear bad language thrown around when there re families etc, hell it doesn't even have to be a family.
When telling someone how cold you are when standing in a public place you can say

"Man it's cold" instead of "Holy *u*k bal**, it's f*c*ing cold enough out there to f***ing kill the f***ing a** off a c**t"

A good example are stand up comedians, not all but some.
Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryers or Roy Chubby Brown, basically the swearing IS the joke.
As opposed to a good comedian who can swear almost as much but times it so it just adds emphasis.

Bit in all honesty, a game show?... I am having trouble seeing how it would even fit, doesn't make any sense.

 

Seeing the references to comedians brings one to mind.
Didn't curse for the sake of it and wasn't too far over the edge.
Thinking of George Carlin.

 

What about when the swearing itself becomes an art form?

Movies and entertainment are art and art is all about breaking down barriers and pushing boundaries to encourage freedom of expression. In the past genitals were removed from beautiful statues and replaced with a fig leaf's or even destroyed completely,great paintings burned because they depict something that the current popular social circle didn't find acceptable. Censoring language today is exactly the same thing,just as you may find destroying art from the past a bit silly,I think in the future people will find censoring words silly.

All MHO.

An example of what I consider genius from one of my favourite shows of all time the wire,to me this is the peak of entertainment and art but at the same time many people would consider it vulgar. Youtube considers it PG13 but I haven't posted simply because of the amount of expletives in:-D If you would like to see the greatest scene in modern television search for 'The wire F/// scene' on youtube.

They communicate only with one word "can you guess what word it is?:-D' but that word means different things and shows what the characters were thinking without explaining anything,it's genius IMO.

 

That was great Rikky.

Swearing or foul language doesn't bother me at all, unless it's around peopkle who are clearly bothered by it. A friend of mine swears "out of context" around his wife all the time and I can freel her cringing when he does. It's like he does it to bother her.
There's an art to swearing and that is knowing when to turn it on and off without even thinking about it.
Movies and TV depict real life and in real life people swear.

 

Well, then you become a B.S. artist, I guess. LOL

I'm not particularly bothered by swearing or bad behavior. I just choose not too see too much of it in my living room. I have things that entertain me much more than listening to some yobbo saying the 'F-word" or any other profanity every second syllable because they think it's funny/tough or cool. Like watching a documentary and actually learning something, or a decent Sci-Fi, or something. ~ I mean do you seriously think think that Star Trek would be improved if Captain Kirk said "Go to Ef'ing Warp Factor 3 Mr.Sulu, and don't make a mistake, or I'll beat yer Ef'ing head in!" "Then we'll beat the sh*t out of those Klingon b@stards!" - Don't sound very artistic to me.rolleyes

Yeah, yeah, some movies, like gangster flicks, etc., it is appropriate and adds to the atmosphere. But like like I said, I'm not really entertained by just plain crassness. It's neither artistic or skilled, just crud for the lowest common denominator. Okay, so the lowest common denominator is pretty common, (that's why they're common), but not something I chose to to spend my time with, unless it IS actually entertaining, i.m.h.o.
For example, there's nothing really entertaining about watching a so-called 'reality show', depicting neighbors swearing at each other and fighting, because the can't agree where to place their trashcans rolleyes.
Yeah, I agree that things like pasting little black squares over various strategic points on the human body doesn't make it any better than just showing it in the first place.

A lot of things in "real life" are very common. It doesn't mean that one should chose to embrace it. If that's what people think should be a parameter and a guide to living, then they need to think again, i.m.o. As said, it depends on who, and what context it is being said anyway. Like I don't speak to the church Pastor the same way I might speak to an ex-army buddy, for obvious reasons.

 

I agree Bill - swearing is way overused in modern film and I think it detracts from a story line (if there even is one).

There is a time and a place for such language in film, I agree, as there is in real life . . . but some people simply don't get that, or dont' care. Like Phantom, I do not swear in front of children or women. It makes me uncomfortable for one thing. For another my old man, even in his 70's, would still kick my rear for it! Besides, as someone else said here, it makes you look base and uneducated.

It's not about censorship . . . it's about respecting others you interact with. I'll curse like a sailor with my friends when we are hunting, or tearing down a small block chevy 350 over a case of beer . . . but not when we are in other venues. Time and place. Words have power for good or ill. I agree with Rikky insofar as there can be an art to swearing . . . but not all art is "good", nor is the use of profanity for its own sake "art". Time and place.

Film fare these days, by and large, seems to rely heavily on shock scenes of CG gore, violence, and gutter speak. A few films have successfully incorporated such into their storyline - but they tend to be the exception rather then the rule.

Just my opinion. If you don't like it you can #$% well kiss my ^&* and go %$#@ yourself sideways with a @#$% on one wheel. :-D

Just kidding. Trying a new art form

 

I agree with many of the comments here, that in context it has a place but gratuitous profanity just debases the language.
I have enjoyed seeing some of the comedians mentioned Billy Connolly,Eddy Murphy,Chubby Brown and have laughed hard and long but the point is i knew what i was going to get at such shows.
What urged me to post this rant in the first place was a film on TV yesterday afternoon, it was Great expectations but set in a more modern time http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119223/ where Robert De Nero played the escaped convict, when he meets the young boy Pip who is about 10 or 11 years old and his opening line was "get me some f$$$$$g food boy and f$$$$$g bolt cutters,if you don't i will come to your f$$$$$g house and kill your mother and your f$$$$$g sister".
In the original film the convict conveyed the same thing to the boy without all the gratuitous use of the F-word.
As to TV it is totally uncensored in Belgium where you quite often see full body shot both male and female.

 

You may have something there. How about a gameshow all about foul language? CALL MY AGENT!

 

The basic rule of entertainment is "Give the people what they want." How many viewers express their "want" by tuning in or buying a ticket is what separates a blockbuster from a bomb.

Chris Rock is one of the most successful comedians of the past 10 years (and, in my opinion, the best living comic who calls things as they really are). My thought is he uses the "F" and "N" words for deliberate shock value: The politically incorrect words match up perfectly with his politically incorrect (but usually true) observations on life.

I learned the "F" word in second grade; my grandmother (a first generation Italian immigrant and devout Catholic) taught me the use of "J---s C----t" was an all-purpose expletive whenever she burned something on the stove.

If you're offended by foul language, don't watch shows that use it. Personally, I'm much more offended by the rhetoric of idiots like Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck that advocates a return to the Dark Ages of tolerance.

 

Not to be confused with artists who mould bull poo:-D

I just LOL'd roflmao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp_q1M1WxXs

On an urelated note I think Chris Rock is funny but I can't stand listening to his voice for more than about20mins then I need a break,he makes my head buzz!

 

I believe this as well, the problem being is the more it is used for shock value, the less shocking it is and requires more and more use.

Go back 30 years, very few comedians used that amount without being known for just being foul mouthed.
I remember the conversations about Roy Chubby Brown. No one could remember the actual jokes unless they had a lot of swearing.

Personally I think the measure of a good comedian is to be able to make people laugh WITHOUT shock value as well.

Perfect example of this would be Dave Allen, rarely swore yet was hysterical.

The same thing goes for TV and Movies, compare the blockbuster horror movies of the last 30 years.
Look how much more graphic it's getting, the Saw and Hostel movies for example.
I see these kind of movies as attempting to remove all imagination by showing you absolutely everything.
This also implies that the makers are not good enough to offer the same effect without actually showing it, Saw 1 and Seven, giving you quick glimpses of what happend and letting you make the rest up in your head.

Basically with regards to visualizations and Foul language I think it simply boils down to each new generation is becoming more and more De-Sensitized to it and so the industry fels like it has to "Up" it's game in these areas.

Man I could actually go into how it would be a paradox created by the media and entertainment companies that caused it in the first place......... but I wont.... for your sake.... because I'm nice :-D

 

LOL Saved to my favs . . .

 

Hollywood has to target the lowest common denominator for the sake of the almighty profit. VERY FEW movies ever target the more more intelligent among us. The unnecessary profanity, and the general crap quality of films that hollywood pukes on the world is just a relection of this strategy.

 

Amen to that.

 

[+1 David! ]

Big difference between entertainment and catering to the lowest common denominator; between humour and crassness; between artistic license and just license to smut.
Remember the 'Golden Years" of U.K. T.V. in the sixties, seventies to early eighties era? They had some of the funniest, entertaining, and informative programs ever made. That fact is born out b the fact that they are still popular to this day. Swearing was low-level, if at all, 'smut' was more by implicit wit than just obscenity in your face for cheap shock value.

As for it being art. It is no more art than throwing up on a piece of canvass is 'art'.rolleyes

(And for those wondering - I have many faults, but being a "Wowser" aint one of them.)

 

Nah I don't think its art either I suppose its entertainment,I don't even know what art is and the term gets flung about way too much to protect crap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wowser

 

One point everyone has missed so far is the paradox that started with Adam and Eve: Tell someone they can't have something and they'll want it even more.

Admit it. When you were young, if your mom said "stay out of the cookie jar", didn't it register as both an order and a challenge to try it without getting caught? For both children and adults, the same subconscious reaction often occurs when it comes to graphic language, violence and other "adult" media: I'm not supposed to do this; ergo it makes it twice as much fun.

Although I don't have research to back this up, I suspect male teens and men under 35 are the prime consumers for naughty media (look at who snaps up the "M" rated video games in between watching the latest slasher films).

Ironically, for those who find media content offensive, the best advice might be to ignore it completely since ranting about it is akin to screaming "don't go in the cookie jar". The less attention it gets, the less tantalizing it will be to others.

 

Heres the thing with Gordon Ramseys use of foul language, for me it makes complete sense having worked in kitchens and seeing thats the normal language for most of em, to me its just part of that kitchen/restaurant atmosphere.

 

They obviously want a character for the show and I think he plays up to it.

I don't know how some of them put up with being treated like that though,its a kitchen not the army,if I were in that kitchen he'd only call me an F-ing idiot once:major

 

I have been called far worse that what i have seen Gordon dish out on tv, in the resturant i worked at lol, i mean we had kitchen managers that would make the wait staff cry there were so profane/rude.

 

I'll play the devils advocate a bit here. If it doesn't make sense, it's 1:01am.

I believe in swearing. Studies, and Mythbusters which I trust more, have shown swearing not only is cathartic, but that it's also a tolerance increaser. Smash your thumb with a hammer? It hurts less when you swear.

I swear a lot. More than some people would like, but I have a response to them, and I won't repeat it here, because you can guess it. I have anger problems. I'd much rather swear as a release than hit things. Mostly because hitting things makes my hands hurt and thus makes me swear and angrier. So I cut out the painful middle step and jump straight to the swearing.

I also believe in exposure. No, not THAT kind of exposure, except under proper circumstances. No, I believe that we should be exposing our children to all thethings that are 'bad for them'. Why? Let's have a look at some of the examples. In Greece, children start drinking small amounts of wine, at family meals under adult super vision. In the US we force them to wait 21 years, then turn them completely loose with no super vision what so ever. Is it any wonder we have a drinking problem? Of course not, because they're not taught to be responsible about it so when they finallly can officially, they go far over board and kill themselves, or other people.

We have an issue with sex as well. The first thing most babies see is a vagina. (Yes, I can say that because it's the medical term.) Unless they're delivered by C-section, then the first thing they see is the doctor, and I don't blame them for crying. But from that moment until they turn 18 in most of the country, we tend to treat sex, and nudity, and the ideas there of as something that does not, cannot, and should not exist. Then suddenly with as little preparation as we can manage, we turn them loose and more or less say, if it moves, hit it. As long as it precisely conforms to guidelines set down several thousand years ago.

And don't let the so called sexual revolution fool you. I suspect that we are more oppressed than at any other time in history. I mean, a female singer releases a new video and if she's wearing less than a nun's habit, there's an outcry. Mostly of 'think of the children'. I am, and I'm thinking it's better if you watch it with them, than hiding them in a cave until they turn eighteen, go wild and end up as a guest star on COPS.

The older I get, the more I think that it's the 'adults' that need to grow up. (Majorgeeks excluded.)

And as long as we're ranting, something that really bugs me. Or grinds my gears if you will: Everyone always seems concerned about teenage drivers, and how scary they are. Yet I seem to see more accidents involving 'experienced' drivers, most of whom were busy nattering imbecilically on cell phones, or trying to do seven things at once. I have this suspicsion that as drivers become 'experienced' they start to forget that they're still supposed to be paying attention and attempt to rely on 'experience' to drive for them. I think that instead of trying to regulate teenagers until they never can get the experience necessary to become competant and comfortable, we should start regulating 'experienced' drivers instead.

 

Bah! - That is a little "tiddler", man! Come to Aust. and the 'top end', and let's see them mess with 10 meter, (32.8 ft), 1 tonne real Croc. Then I might be impressed.

 

Late in this thread, but agree with Bill.

Rikky has a point too- in regards to comedic punch.
But even when errm.. appropriate, I get an ear ache after 5 Mins of repetitive profanity.

Ramsay in "Hell's Kitchen," makes me cringe, when I watch.
But the nut must have been warned by the producer when he shot for the "Indian escape." Not a foul word was muttered. :-D He would have got hammered in India using french in front of ladies. Show or no show!! He played it safe. :-D

Cheers..

 

Watching from the outside, rather than the inside? rolleyes

 

I agree, it is a lot easier to not care and just let everything out ... I think there is a player that censors words ... that might help.

 

Now interestingly enough, this is where my earlier points take a detour.
While Ramsay clearly plays up to the camera's to some degree, that kind of behaviour is fairly common in fast paced "Chain of command" environments.

Some use it more than others, some over do it, some under do it.
The whole point of swearing is emphasis.

It's kind of like the military, they voice commands clearly and loudly and aggressively depending on urgency.

Crab fishing was like that too, everyone was shouting at everyone else with a healthy dose of foul language :-D

 

If you want to hear normal Americans go nuts with words you can't say on TV, simply insert a tornado. Check out this YouTube clip that was linked at AccuWeather.com

Warning: The audio in this clip is UNCENSORED, NSFW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEJT6jEEqAg

If it wasn't for the noise of the tornado, the dialouge sounds a bit like the audience at a Spring Break wet t-shirt contest. :-D