Cussing on TV

I am in my late 40s, old enough to remember a time when foul language was strictly prohibited on TV. I also swear. Frequently.

My issue is, with the rise of all the great HBO series and all the other stuff our there now, there seems to be a trend towards increased use of the F word and all the other favorites.

And, for reasons I can't precisely identify, it irritates the %$#@ out of me.

I have two hunches, which I humbly submit here for discussion.

1. My making it commonplace, it kinda takes the fun out of it. Actually, my favorite use of TV swearing was on Arrested Development. The strategic bleeping was often one of the beat aspects of that show; most notable perhaps in Jobe's speech to employees about appropriate workplace behaviour.

2. I also kind of feel like people are treating it like it's oh-so-cutting-edge, risky, daring and all that. And it really isn't, anymore, is it? And that 'can-you-believe-we-just-said-"*&$%"-on-TV?' vibe irritates me. In fact, the rampant cussing on TV is, I feel, taking some of the fun out of it.

Feel free to jump in with your *&#@in' opinions...

 

cursing is a cheat. similar to how it's employed in stand-up comedy (or music), it's both a(n) convenient placeholder and easy way to get an immediate reaction. most TV writing uses it in lieu of an exclamation mark, and truth be told it's easier to "act" with profanity than an exclamation mark. that said, HBO's been doing it for years, as have the late night cable shows - not F, but virtually every other word. I did notice that Mad Men started dropping F into its episodes every so often and that was a bit surprising to see on broadcast cable. I'm not sure I really care one way or the other but at times it's so forced you can't help but marvel how just how lazy the writing is.

 

It can be kind of gratuitous at times, yes.

I swear I'm not a prude, but the sex on some HBO shows can be gratuitous at times, too. One of my favorite shows, Boardwalk Empire, was on HBO and suffered from gratuitous sex for the first season or two. A lot of times it just feels shoehorned in simply because the show is on HBO. Like just because you can show more graphic sex or use more four-letter words doesn't mean that you need to or should.

 

I think it's pretty awful on TV. Look up the I Love America scene from The Newsroom to see what is becoming commonplace on tv.

 

I don't have a problem with cussing, until it hits the point of diminishing returns, where a constant barrage of profanity becomes most of the vocabulary and loses impact. This point is rather subjective. AMC shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men were permitted, not sure by whom but I'm guessing the FCC, around 1 or 2 F-bombs a season and even then, when I saw them broadcast, they dropped the audio.

I remember Buddy Hackett saying "You're walking in the garage, and an anvil drops on your foot. What do you say? Spring is here?" Most of the time, it makes for some more realistic dialogue, but there certainly are instances were it's overused.



Dan

 

utterly dreadful television from an utter hack writer

 

For me, Veep was a show where this really struck me - a great show, superb cast, very funny, and yet the cussing irritated me.

 

ain't no such thing

 

As far as I'm aware, the FCC technically has no regulatory power over cable networks. It's only broadcast networks that they can police.

Technically, cable networks could drop F bombs and whatnot left and right all the time. For a number of reasons (many obvious, perhaps a few less obvious), they choose not to for the most part.

 

And I thought the exact opposite, the cursing was what these people would say, so to me it was true to character and not a problem. I also thought the show was very funny.

 

I think the whole concept of "dirty" words is just silly, and the faster we can get past that the better.

 

You're right, of course. I am in a similar line of work, and people swear like sailors.

 

Is this a reenactment of a debate from the 80s?

 

Nothing against boobies, just don't want them on my screen in the office, in case of prying eyes.

 

Well the good old BBC does give a warning before the program begins, warning about bad language and "scenes of a violent or sexual nature". From then on, it's up to the viewer.

 

The term "cussing" is pretty much obsolete. Language is, and has been, out of the bag - to use another tired phrase. Can certain words really remain sacrosanct and prohibited forever? No. Language is a living thing, good bad & ugly.

 

or people could just opt to not fall back on lazy writing

 

Very true. I love the way the bleeping is used on this show. The bleeping is much funnier than the actual vulgarity would have been.

I must admit that I'm saddened by your post. As an Arrested Development fan, you have to know that the name is spelled GOB, rather than the way it sounds JOBE. This is the source for several jokes on the show.

 

I swear, and with passion, but usually in the car alone, or when really upset over something and then usually regret it later if it was in front of family or friends.

I don't mind it if said in kind on tv, but when f-bombs are dropped in like msg in food as a way to simply 'add flavor' to every other word - don't like it, would prefer not to hear it.

I had friends that used profanity like that in normal everyday conversation - kinda embarrassing really.

 

Knowing something of our hosts feeling regarding such things I'm pretty sure that full flown boobies won't be allowed here, so that should not be a consideration. It's interesting that your work would care about the hint of a boobie but you surfing an audio forum is ok?

 

I am appalled at this oversight. Having said that... The guy wearing the $4,000 suit is getting his spelling corrected by the guy who doesn't make that in four months?? COME ON!

 

Profanity is filler for people with insufficient vocabularies, commonly the result of an undisciplined mind combined with incompetent education and lack of basic social training.

. . . and I can shred with the best of 'em when something gets me going.

 

I'm actually really thankful that, for example, Mad Men didn't end up on HBO, because then you know every other word would have been f, making the writing much weaker, in my opinion.

 

If it fits, it fits.

Can you imagine "Lawyers, Guns and Money" with 'The crap has hit the fan"?

Can you imagine "Closer" with "I want to screw you like an animal"?

Can you imagine "Killing In The Name" with "Screw you, I won't do what you tell me"?