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Language on network TV in prime time

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by imjustagirl, Sep 25, 2008.

  1. schiezainc

    schiezainc Well-Known Member

    I find it funny that most people on this thread have no problem spelling out fuck, shit, piss, balls, ass, tits, and all the other words I've seen, but c**t is a special kind of dirty that no one dares spell out.
     
  2. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    Because you can't spell it out on here, idiot. It will get changed to another word.
     
  3. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

    i-t o-u-t
     
  4. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    The reason I liked Carlin so much, at least one of them, was that it didn't seem like he swore simply to swear. They were strategic, little bombs, and when dropped, they felt like they needed to be there.

    I really have no idea if that statement belongs on this thread. But it's 2:48 a.m., and there's a commercial on, so there we are.
     
  5. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    Oh, yeah. I'm not sure it's changed, but the FCC has safe harbor hours in place. A couple years ago, broadcast stations -- the basics, pretty much -- couldn't swear between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.; same with radio stations.

    As Clever said earlier, that didn't apply to cable, but they complied more for the advertisers and decency than anything else; at least that's what I learned in my law class and three years in radio and television management in college.

    I, too, have noticed things getting a bit more lax. In Fresh Prince, for example, they'd reach a little bit, and Roseanne and Married with Children went a step further (although earlier). But most other shows toed the line. Now, the vocabulary has expanded, and a lot of times, I feel, is for shock value. (Oh, this is where that Carlin statement came into play. Look above.) That's not comedy.

    Scrubs uses slut a lot. That's something you'd only hear on Married with Children and Roseanne in the '90s. In Living Color, too, another FOX program. Now it's commonplace. I don't know if it's because we've evolved -- we haven't, in my opinion. But it's just more acceptable in a public forum. I bet we'll pretty much all feel that way in 20 years. It just won't faze us anymore.

    You think anyone thought they'd hear "damn" on television in the '50s?
     
  6. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    That was but a small part of the beauty of George Carlin. The four-letter words weren't simply to be cool, to draw in fans. He knew exactly when and how to use words.
     
  7. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    I loved swearing in school. I remember, as a freshman, swearing my head off in the locker room, and the senior next to me said, "Dude, you don't have to swear to sound cool," and I said, "No, man, I've been swearing like this forever. ..."

    I never really thought about it. Swearing was a reflex for me. Until I saw someone really abuse it. I had this friend we all called Beef, and he swore every other word, and it finally got to me. One day before driver's ed., I told my buddy, Jason (which was also Beef's name; but a different friend), that was the last time I'd be hanging out with that tool. My brother got to be like that, too.

    Swearing works best in comedy and in conversation, I think, when used sparingly. Like when someone's real quiet, and the first word you hear in 36 minutes is a bomb. That'll crack me up for hours. Of course, so does a well-placed fart.
     
  8. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Did you mean 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.? Just curious, cause 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. seems like a strange time to not be able to swear.
     
  9. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    No, I meant they could swear between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

    My fault.
     
  10. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    OK.

    Actually that makes even more sense.

    Thanks.
     
  11. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    Hey, it's now 3:08 a.m. I'm getting awfully close to being completely worthless. I've just been flirting with it so far.
     
  12. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    It gets worse? :(
     
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