FCC Allows the F* word, rumor or truth? - Page 2

The "it's for the children" excuse is so fucking lame.

I hope not, I would have to stop watching TV. I get very offended when people use the F word. I only read about two replies to this thread because of the use of the F word in their response.

It's been broken on every episode of NYPD Blue this season. I didn't even notice until about the third episode.

M.

Well, naturally your grandfather gets upset when you refer to your grandmother that way. What do you expect?

Oddly "bullshit" seems to be more widely accepted than just plain "shit" on broadcast television these days. I've heard it used on NYPD Blue. And, of course, the formerly banned "ass" just crossed line a couple of years ago, seemingly unnoticed. It was like I suddenly became aware that I was hearing it all over the place and thought, "didn't that used to be a no-no on TV?" But it had happened so subtly I couldn't tell you when or where I first heard it.

Regards,

Joe

I've heard "piss" at least once on Scrubs this season.

Do both Scrubs and NYPD Blue (I never watched nor cared watching TV comedies and police dramas) aired in the 9-10 p.m. time slots?

NYPD Blue has always aired at 10 PM. I don't know about Scrubs.

No cop shows or sitcoms, eh? Poor fool. You've missed some of the very best storytelling in the history of television because you dismiss entire genres based on their worst examples. I've never understood that kind of thinking. Oh well, your loss.

Regards,

Joe

Ted Lee wrote (post #28):



Don't bet on it. Once you get "frellin'", "frickin'", "friggin'", "effin'", etc., as allowable, there's only a short pause before fuckin' gets past the gate as well. And, yes, at first it will be in the attenuated non-sexual usage, but once's that's through, the attenuation of the "outrage threshold" will catch up even to the explicitly sexual usage and it, too, will be allowed. Not as far off as you seem to think.

Seth--L wrote (post #30):


Probably not viewership among the "coveted" demographic group(s) to which such dialog would be thought to appeal. As Eddie Murphy and some other comics have said when criticized for their foul mouths, "It wasn't intended for a 70-some-year-old woman" (referring, in his particular case, to Lucille Ball's comments). Believe me, that's how the networks and their advertisers will be looking at it.


Joseph DeMartino wrote (post #34):


I don't get this comment.

True, Phil, but it's a famous Daltrey anecdote that he had to go into the studio just to record the line "Ahh, who the hell are you" for American radio as well. Shortest session he'd ever done.

As for the shit barrier, that was broken back in the early 80s with a network broadcast of On Golden Pond. The word "bullshit" features rather prominently in that film.

"You like that word, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"It's a good word."

Scrubs is on at 9:30 tonight, but I think it followed Friends last year, so that would have put it at 8:30.

Yes, the kids are all supposed to be in bed by nine, but in the Central Time Zone they all get an extra free hour to watch, so they can see Scrubs.

As if they haven't heard the words already. I'm beginning to wonder why they are still 'bad' words. What makes them bad? Why should the morality police restrict our freedom of speech?

For those of you that asked, my soapbox just fell apart, and I hurt my ankle.....

Anyway, most TV shows already list what to expect with their ratings. Why can't they just add a letter for offensive or dirty?

Glenn

I was wondering the same thing. They're only words. Who decided "that fucking moron" was worse than "that damn moron"? Either way, you're calling someone a moron. Does it really make any difference which modifier you use?

Why people get their knickers in a twist over some random words that someone, at some time, declared "naughty" has always been a great source of amusement. And it's this "naughty word" mystique that makes kids want to start using them in the first place.

i didn't realize nypd used "shit". hmm...

in any case, it's still certainly not as prevalent as...say...bitch is. i remember being surprised when i first heard bitch on tv, now i don't even think about it. it's become commonplace, therefore, it's lost it's "impact".

i'm sure if more cuss words were put on tv, then the rest of them would lose it's impact too. shit would be no worse then any other swear word.

i think america is too uptight.

Probably because it was a joke.



AFAIK they don't, they only use "bullshit" - hence my comments a couple of posts up about this odd dichotomy.


YES, it does make a difference. The reason people used "damned moron" instead of just "moron" was because at the time "damn" (given its theological meaning) was a very seriously "bad" word when applied to another person. (You were saying the moron in question was also evil and therefore literally damned to an eternity in Hell. Them's called "fightin' words") When "damn" gradually lost its "bite" as religion retreated from the public square and society became more secular, other intensifiers had to appear.

When you hit your thumb with a hammer, or when some idiot backs into your car in the supermarket parking lot, you reach for a "bad" word to express your feelings. If there were an international conference of English speakers tomorrow that declared "fuck" an acceptable word, people would immediately start inventing new "curse words" to replace it. The whole point of using "strong language" is that it is strong and not considered acceptable for use in general conversation. Otherwise its just another adjective and not at all suitable for describing the lunkhead who just jumped into the cab you flagged down on a rainy day.

"Curse words" don't exist because some group of prudes decided they were unacceptable, they exist because of human nature and our need to give certain words power so they can be used as weapons.


Exactly, which is why you now hear mean using "the 'C' word" in cases where they'd likely have said "bitch" a few years ago - because some people still have an emotional desire for a vile insult to apply to women and "bitch" just doesn't do it any more.

This isn't a matter of being "too uptight". If anything it is a matter of having a respect for the power of words. Saying "fuck you!" to somebody used to be the ultimate insult, the last words spoken before fists flew. Now it is practically a greeting thanks to ridiculous over-use. That means to get to where "fuck you" used to be we have to go to even more exaggerated verbal violence.

Basically it isn't a matter of morality or even taste. TV, the great leveller, is just continuing its tradition of dumbing down America. The problem is mostly driven by laziness. If you can't describe a car as "fuckin" awesome, you might actually have to think of a way to convey your appreciation of a car. If a screenwriter can't have a detective say "bullshit" he might have to come up with a creative way of getting the same idea across. This is the same phenomemnon that turned every hostage situation into a "hostage crisis", every woman who ever appeared in a Wal-Mart sales circular into a "supermodel", and every room temperature IQ thug who convinced two other thugs into a botched robbery attempt into a "mastermind". It is sheer mental sloth. (See also the thread on "alot" not being a word. )

Regards,

Joe

If you ever visit another country and watch TV, you will understand how "up tight" our television system is.

Along that same line, what is it about words that make some people near orgasmic to hear them on radio or TV? Does it truly enhance the show?

[rhetorical]If it does 'enhance' a product, then why are most of the top grossing movies completly or near-completly devoid of them? Maybe "Finding Nemo" would have doubled it's intake if they would have included alot more offensive language? [/rhetorical]

As out of the 'mainstream' it is, I for one do not watch shows and movies and think "Wow, that would have been alot better if there was just more dirty language"


Chris

Or you'll understand how "decadent" those countries are. That other countries do things differently than we do doesn't make them "right" or us "wrong". (Nor is the reverse true.) It all depends on your point of view. That there is nudity on Italian or French television is not "evidence" that U.S. television is "uptight" or that we are "wrong" for not having it - anymore than we are "wrong" and they "right" (or vice versa) for any of the other political and cultural differences between us. You only point to the Europeans as "evidence" for your position because they happen to agree with you. This kind of "evidence" "proves" nothing.

Regards,

Joe

Maybe you're joking, but I do believe some people actually feel that the regulations should be based on what's embarrassing to parents. This always irritates me.



No, most shows won't be improved by more foul language, but some definitely are. A show like "Six Feet Under" would feel much less vigorous and real if the characters weren't allowed to talk like people talk in real life.

I really don't understand why there is a restriction about which words that can be used. If you can't teach your kid not to say "Hey fucking bitch, wazzup?" to grandma, don't blame the TV.

I know, old thread, but given this recent ruling against the FCC and its "vague" indecency policy, thought it was appropos:

 

http://slatest.slate.com/id/2260380/entry/2/?gt1=38001

Patrick, no offense but..

 

 

The ruling is aired primarily at fines based on live broadcasts or events, and the inability of broadcasters to always catch  (see: MTV Movie awards this year for an example of how to NOT use the button to bleep)

Yeah, the ruling tossed out fines for so-called "fleeting expletives". If Bono or Mel Gibson loses his shit on national television, the FCC can't punish the broadcaster any more. If dirty words are used during a broadcaster's scripted programming or by the broadcaster's regular on-air talent they can still expect fines.

Patrick, did you really just use the word "appropos " as a shorthand/cool-speak for "appropriate"?  If so...for shame!  

F-Yeah!

I'm glad this ruling got handed down. Broadcasters can try as hard as they can, but they won't be able to catch every single expletive uttered on the air. Of course, the PTC interpreted the ruling wrongly.