TV Swearing decline!

[TheShinje]

As I flicked through my favourite new-crop television shows the other day, I noticed an awesome trend. It seems that none of them has harsh swearing.:excited:

It looks like people have grown sick and tired of the big "f word" being bandied about everywhere, it's gotten old. Prison Break, a show about cons on the run, the most likely candidate for f-word-usage, doesn't even go there. If John Locke is frustrated with the Island on Lost, he doesn't go "hey, island, f-you!" Jack Bauser may raise his voice when interrogating the terrorists, biut has he ever said "tell me where the f-ing bomb is?"

How do you feel about current producers and their lack of appetite for the big f? Personally, I couldn't be happier. the new crop shows are evidence that you don't need a liberal sloshing of f-words and other such assorted expletives to make something dramatic or funny. These shows are way better off fidning a new way to express frustration and such without resorting to the big f. It makes for a refreshing change.

Because I'm absolutely sick of that f-ing word!

[Dagger]

Um... I don't know that Lost or 24 are the best examples for this. FCC restrictions prevented those shows from dropping the f-bomb from the start.

~Dagger~

[Johnny Justjohnny]

[SIZE=2][COLOR=Gray]Are you kidding...?

First off, there is nothing wrong with swearing. This cultural taboo on swearing that we have is hilarious - tell me, what's the difference between "Gosh, this darn thing is freaking annoying!" and "God! This damn thing is ****ing driving me crazy!". What's the difference? The words mean the exact same thing. This taboo is laughable. It's not the words, it's how their used - calling someone a ****** in an affectionate, personable way is worse then calling someone African American in a venemous way and then spitting on the ground? Yea, that makes sense...

Secondly, shows like Lost and 24 and CSI and the like, as Dagger said, cannot swear. It's some crazy ******** about how parents like to overprotect their kids because, as everyone knows, the only way to save their souls from eternal damnation is to ensure that they never ever hear swear words... Making as much sense as always.

Man, you make no sense. Who cares what words they use? They mean the same thing! **** and damn and **** and ************ are no different then frigg and darn and poooooo and Alabaman, man, they mean the same thing. There is nothing wrong with swearing. I leave you with a quote:

"Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense." - Robert A. Heinlein[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][quote name='Big Sky][SIZE=2][COLOR=Gray]Are you kidding...?[/COLOR'][/SIZE][/quote]Are you? I mean think about this instead of assuming people who don?t want swearing are idiots. [QUOTE=Big Sky][SIZE=2][COLOR=Gray]First off, there is nothing wrong with swearing. This cultural taboo on swearing that we have is hilarious - tell me, what's the difference between "Gosh, this darn thing is freaking annoying!" and "God! This damn thing is ****ing driving me crazy!". What's the difference? The words mean the exact same thing. This taboo is laughable. It's not the words, it's how their used - calling someone a ****** in an affectionate, personable way is worse then calling someone African American in a venemous way and then spitting on the ground? Yea, that makes sense...
[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]That?s completely subjective and your opinion only. Filtering out swearwords and ratings are designed to give viewers a choice so they don?t turn on the TV and catch the F word being thrown in left and right when it?s not even relevant to the scene other than to have the people swearing. And just as you have no problem with it, why should others have to put up with it if they don't want to? [QUOTE=Big Sky][SIZE=2][COLOR=Gray]Secondly, shows like Lost and 24 and CSI and the like, as Dagger said, cannot swear. It's some crazy ******** about how parents like to overprotect their kids because, as everyone knows, the only way to save their souls from eternal damnation is to ensure that they never ever hear swear words... Making as much sense as always.

Man, you make no sense. Who cares what words they use? They mean the same thing! **** and damn and **** and ************ are no different then frigg and darn and poooooo and Alabaman, man, they mean the same thing. There is nothing wrong with swearing. I leave you with a quote:

"Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense." - Robert A. Heinlein[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]You?re not making any sense either, the opening post clearly said they were tired of seeing the F word since as they put it ?you don't need a liberal sloshing of f-words and other such assorted expletives to make something dramatic or funny? I didn?t see anything to the effect that it damns people?s souls. lol Perhaps someone has told you that, but that isn?t what they were talking about here.

In the end I agree, I don?t have a problem with swearing but I?ve seen far to many shows that depend on gore or swearing instead of genuine acting and a good script. So it?s nice to see, even if they don?t have a choice, shows that have more work put into them instead of relying on swearing to provide impact or humor. [/COLOR]

[TheShinje]

[QUOTE=Big Sky][size=2][color=gray]Are you kidding...?

First off, there is nothing wrong with swearing. This cultural taboo on swearing that we have is hilarious - tell me, what's the difference between "Gosh, this darn thing is freaking annoying!" and "God! This damn thing is ****ing driving me crazy!". What's the difference? The words mean the exact same thing. This taboo is laughable. It's not the words, it's how their used - calling someone a ****** in an affectionate, personable way is worse then calling someone African American in a venemous way and then spitting on the ground? Yea, that makes sense...[/quote][color=black]I'm not even debating the morality of swearing. My point is these shows have shown a rapid decline in the usage of the f-bomb and they are better off without it. Don't be a jackanapes, it really is unflattering.[/color]

[quote]
Secondly, shows like Lost and 24 and CSI and the like, as Dagger said, cannot swear. It's some crazy ******** about how parents like to overprotect their kids because, as everyone knows, the only way to save their souls from eternal damnation is to ensure that they never ever hear swear words... Making as much sense as always.[/quote]
[color=black]How does that make sense? The shows I'm talking about refrain from dropping the f-bomb, but they're hardly Rainbow Brite as a consequence. The shows are still not what I'd call childrens entertainment, so how does a lack of the over-used, done-to-death f-bomb really relate?[/color]
[color=#000000][/color]

[quote]
Man, you make no sense. Who cares what words they use? They mean the same thing! **** and damn and **** and ************ are no different then frigg and darn and poooooo and Alabaman, man, they mean the same thing. There is nothing wrong with swearing. I leave you with a quote:
[/color][/size][/QUOTE]
Do I not make sense, or do you just not understand anything I'm saying? You've come at me for taking a moral high ground, when I have not. I'm merely saying that the lack of swearing in these new-crop shows is a breath of fresh air, and their popularity is testament to the fact that you don't need excessive expletives to make a good show. FCC intervention or whatever the cause, long may it continue.

[quote name='SunfallE][color=#4169e1]In the end I agree, I don?t have a problem with swearing but I?ve seen [b]far too many shows that depend on gore or swearing instead of genuine acting and a good script.[/b'] So it?s nice to see, even if they don?t have a choice, shows that have more work put into them instead of relying on swearing to provide impact or humor. [/quote][/color]
[color=#4169e1][/color]
[color=black]In a nutshell, ditto.[/color]

[desertphoenix]

Taboos are funny. I personally find it sad and a waste of money to censor the middle finger. Plus society's has an issue on saying cuss words, but anyone can say the word that directly refers to it such as "crap" to $#!%. Altogether I'm against censorship, but it's not really in my power to change all that.

I don't know why, but this topic makes me think of my favorite episode of Spongebob "Sailor Mouth". Anyone who has seen that episode knows in contexts what words were used in that episode :D , but it's kind of sad since i don't think the target age group would get it too well.

[Ellerby]

[quote name='Big Sky][SIZE=2][COLOR=Gray]First off, there is nothing wrong with swearing. This cultural taboo on swearing that we have is hilarious - tell me, what's the difference between "Gosh, this darn thing is freaking annoying!" and "God! This damn thing is ****ing driving me crazy!". What's the difference? [B]The words mean the exact same thing. [/B][/COLOR'][/SIZE][/quote]
[FONT=Tahoma][COLOR=DimGray]Except... they don't. When a Christian prays to God they don't start with "Dear Gosh."

While Gosh is used to replace God, it's not a synonym. There are a lot of religious people who are offended by other people who don't even [i]believe[/i] in their God using His name in vein. And quite frankly, I can see why.

As for the whole swearing thing, I don't have much of an opinion on it. But I do respect a show or movie (especially movies, actually) a lot more if it has [i]less[/i] swearing.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR=DarkRed][quote name='SunfallE][COLOR=RoyalBlue'] I don?t have a problem with swearing but I?ve seen far to many shows that depend on gore or swearing instead of genuine acting and a good script. So it?s nice to see, even if they don?t have a choice, shows that have more work put into them instead of relying on swearing to provide impact or humor. [/COLOR][/quote]Agreed, swearing to me is something that is used to build the story or show or to give it depth, not a crutch to cover a poor script or terrible acting. And sadly I've seen far to many that once you remove the gore or swearing, are terrible shows.

So I've found some of the switch in shows a bit refreshing as well since it can be harder to express things once those cuss words are stripped out, forcing them to be a bit more creative. At least in my opinion. All it takes is watching some of the older movies and then comparing it to the more modern re-make that is essentially a gore and swearing fest to see that more gore and swearing isn't a good thing.

Personally I prefer it if swearing is left out and saved for when it really does give a deeper meaning and impact instead of a '[I]Oh my God! How dare they censor me! I'll cuss if I want to![/I]' type of deal since at that point you've left behind worrying about whether or not the script or acting is good just to get those swear words in.

And because I like sitting down and watching a good dramatic or funny film that I can recommend to anyone of just about any religion or age and not worry about whether or not they will be offended by swearing. Because in the end, if I really want to watch the mature stuff, it's easy to find.[/COLOR]

[DeadSeraphim]

[size=1][color=indigo][font=arial][I]"It's the supression of [a] word that gives it the power, the violence, the visciousness."[/I]
~Lenny Bruce[/font][/color][/size]

[Rachmaninoff]

I haven't really noticed, but then I haven't watched a lot of TV lately. But I do agree with the sentiment that there is a lot of shows and such out there that completely suck and attempt to use violence, gore and swearing to cover that fact. It kind of makes swearing redundant since you start to just tune it out instead of taking it as something meant to emphasize the scene or give it depth.

It's a pity that it takes restrictions on using swearing to force them to be more creative, I'd rather see them do it on their own. Though I'm sure there are shows that do, Dr. Who is a good example. Unless I tuned it out, it doesn't have much in the way of swearing and yet it's definitely a good show.

[RobinWH]

[QUOTE=Dagger]Um... I don't know that Lost or 24 are the best examples for this. FCC restrictions prevented those shows from dropping the f-bomb from the start.

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]

exactly....
these shows you used as examples are RESTRICTED BY LAW from using the f-word.
although i have seen/hear alot more use of some of the less harsh words in the recent past (bi**h amongst others).

kids will either hear it on the playground, in a movie, from a parent, or ON TV

there is no SURE way to ever guard them from EVER hearing swear words
.....unless you live in the middle of nowhere with no TV, internet or socialization....

[Nerdsy]

[QUOTE=RobinWH]exactly....
these shows you used as examples are RESTRICTED BY LAW from using the f-word.
although i have seen/hear alot more use of some of the less harsh words in the recent past (bi**h amongst others).

kids will either hear it on the playground, in a movie, from a parent, or ON TV

there is no SURE way to ever guard them from EVER hearing swear words
.....unless you live in the middle of nowhere with no TV, internet or socialization....[/QUOTE]

[color=deeppink]I don't think the point here is to protect the kiddies. It's saying how great it is that writers aren't equating cussing with good writing.

Of course, the only television shows this (that is, the bandying about of the f-bomb) would really apply to would be the original series on HBO or Showtime. I have neither station, so I really can't comment on whether they've declined, although I'm pretty sure Penn and Teller hardly hold back.

Personally, I couldn't care either way. If they're used well, then by all means! Cuss up a storm. I mean, some things require it. If I ever see a Samuel L. Jackson parody on TV, there better damn well be some cursing.[/color]

[Doublehex]

Well, I am on a mixed bag when it comes to curses. On one hand, I am not insulted by swears in the very least, so if an actor cusses on TV, I won't do as much as wink. However, if that same character swears just for the sake of swearing, because its cool to swear, I will instantly be turned off. Cursing should be used only when it will help set the mood for the story. A person who just saw a man get run over, and his body parts are spewed all over the streets, is going to curse like crazy, for example. There's no doubt about that.

But a mother screaming to her kids 'We need to ****ing get to school!'? No, that's just a big, fat, NO.