Language on network TV in prime time

[friend of a friend]

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.

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.

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.

I love Mikey's stories.

 

[mike311gd]

It gets worse? :(

I have references.

 

[schiezainc]

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

My point exactly. It's one of the only words that will get changed.

Now, let's try it.

****, ****, ****, ****.

smelly ****

big, hairy, smelly **** with a fist in it.

Ok. that clearly didn't work.

*****? Vag? tw*t? ****!

Why is that third one (which i added a * to after previewing it) ok but **** isn't?

 

[friend of a friend]

What a tool.

 

[imjustagirl]

schiez, I hope you never reproduce. And I mean that more than I might have ever meant anything including "I love you" and "Yes, that was the best I've ever had."

 

[mike311gd]

y question, Schiez, is if it didn't work the first time, why try spelling it out the other times? It's not like you're going to fool the computer. This isn't Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball, where the left fielder just might get stuck in the foul pole at Wrigley Field.

 

[JackReacher]

I'm always interested to hear discussion on this topic. We talked about it a bunch in my Comm Ethics class. Personally, as long as f bombs aren't being dropped on network TV, I couldn't care less. I think f bombs cross the line, obviously, but everything else is so ingrained in our society now (which is a whole other matter) that it doesn't bother me. And in any case, parenting should trump TV. Pay attention to what your kids are watching and use the channel blockers or whatever they're called.

 

[ArnoldBabar]

I find it funny that most people on this thread have no problem spelling out ****, ****, ****, 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.

OK. Spell it out.

i-t o-u-t

That was awesome, Meat.

 

[friend of a friend]

I'm always interested to hear discussion on this topic. We talked about it a bunch in my Comm Ethics class. Personally, as long as f bombs aren't being dropped on network TV, I couldn't care less. I think f bombs cross the line, obviously, but everything else is so ingrained in our society now (which is a whole other matter) that it doesn't bother me. And in any case, parenting should trump TV. Pay attention to what your kids are watching and use the channel blockers or whatever they're called.

I think they're called **** blockers.

 

[JackReacher]

I'm always interested to hear discussion on this topic. We talked about it a bunch in my Comm Ethics class. Personally, as long as f bombs aren't being dropped on network TV, I couldn't care less. I think f bombs cross the line, obviously, but everything else is so ingrained in our society now (which is a whole other matter) that it doesn't bother me. And in any case, parenting should trump TV. Pay attention to what your kids are watching and use the channel blockers or whatever they're called.

I think they're called **** blockers.

that ain't bad.

 

[mike311gd]

We're going to America, where there are no cats.

 

[Singapore Slim]

I don't mind that. I have kids, and they're not going to be in the living room watching TV at 8:40 unless it's a family deal, and I wouldn't put "Earl" in that realm.

What bothers me more is the lascivious ads for prime time shows that are played during the afternoon. I honestly see no problem with a show like Desperate Housewives even throwing in a "****" or "*******" or "****" because it's on at 10 (right?), but for an ABC ad for the show to say the word "boobs" or "sex" (I've heard both) during a mid-afternoon ad with my kids in the room or nearby during a football or basketball game on a Saturday or Sunday, not cool. I'm not pulling this out of my ass, either, because both have happened.

 

[friend of a friend]

I would definitely not pull things out of my ass when the kids are around.

 

[imjustagirl]

I would definitely not pull things out of my ass when the kids are around.

But only when the kids are around.

 

[mike311gd]

I'll never forget my eighth birthday party. ...

 

[ArnoldBabar]

I would definitely not pull things out of my ass when the kids are around.

You are a model of restraint, foaf.

 

[outofplace]

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.

Even if you hadn't expanded on it later, an appreciation of Carlin is always appropriate, especially so on a thread about the proper use of language.

 

[outofplace]

I don't mind that. I have kids, and they're not going to be in the living room watching TV at 8:40 unless it's a family deal, and I wouldn't put "Earl" in that realm.

What bothers me more is the lascivious ads for prime time shows that are played during the afternoon. I honestly see no problem with a show like Desperate Housewives even throwing in a "****" or "*******" or "****" because it's on at 10 (right?), but for an ABC ad for the show to say the word "boobs" or "sex" (I've heard both) during a mid-afternoon ad with my kids in the room or nearby during a football or basketball game on a Saturday or Sunday, not cool. I'm not pulling this out of my ass, either, because both have happened.

I've seen those things, too, and they also bother me more than any use of naughty words I've heard on network television. It is frustrating to me to have network television on in the middle of the afternoon and some commercial comes on that has my 5-year-old crying and begging me to turn of fhe TV.

Of course, she also does that if she even sees a commercial for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, so maybe I shouldn't go by her reactions.

 

[joe]

I remember the first time I heard something other than "damn" or "hell" or "jackass" on network TV. It was in the '80s, and Hawkeye was furious (again) with some insensitive colonel or general or whatever and said "you son of a ***** ..."

I don't know if that was the first time it ever got on-air, but it seemed like a turning point to me.

Anyway, the cursing on network TV doesn't bother me, but I do have a problem with curse words in TV ads. If you need to use one in a 30-second spot, you need to go back and ask for a little better imagination because your's is lame.

 

[hockeybeat]

I remember the first time I heard something other than "damn" or "hell" or "jackass" on network TV. It was in the '80s, and Hawkeye was furious (again) with some insensitive colonel or general or whatever and said "you son of a ***** ..."

I don't know if that was the first time it ever got on-air, but it seemed like a turning point to me.

Anyway, the cursing on network TV doesn't bother me, but I do have a problem with curse words in TV ads. If you need to use one in a 30-second spot, you need to go back and ask for a little better imagination because your's is lame.

If that was the turning point, NYPD Blue crashed through the glass ceiling.