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Post by politicidal on Dec 3, 2017 2:33:37 GMT
I generally don't mind it, especially if it suits the genre like crime, war, drama, stoner comedy. You know, something heavy or irreverent. However, I have sat through some films and it just didn't seem to add anything; as though the writers used profanity almost like a fill-in for actual dialogue. TEXT: Filmmakers using “fuck,” “Goddam” and “Jesus Christ” as a swear risk losing some of their audience, according to a new Harris poll. Using “Jesus Christ” to swear is the biggest offense, with 33 percent of the general public saying they’d be less likely to see a movie if they knew beforehand of that particular piece of dialogue. “Goddam” was second at 32 percent and “fuck” was third with 31 percent. Naturally, various demographics disagree on the acceptability of profanity in movies, with young people not minding nearly as much as the elderly. In fact, more than half of those 72 years of age and older will avoid movies with “Goddam” and “fuck” in the dialogue. Also, Republicans are turned off by swearing more so than are Democrats, and it’s not even close. “Fuck,” for example, will repel 45 percent of Republican moviegoers and only 25 percent of Democrats. Opinions also vary among the sexes, with 37 percent of females saying “fuck” bothers them in movies while only 26 percent of males agree. While Harris conducted the poll, it was commissioned by the filmmakers behind Generational Sins, a faith-based movie with 32 expletives that was recently rated PG-13 by the MPAA. Those behind Generational Sins were also interested in the opinions of Christians vs. non-Christians, though they say they target both in their movie, which deals with abuse, alcoholism and redemption. Indeed, Evangelical Christians have the biggest problem with swearing, with 90 percent saying they might avoid a film using “Jesus Christ” to swear, 86 percent saying the same about “Goddam” and 74 percent objecting to “fuck.” Evangelicals, which the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life says make up about 26 percent of the U.S. population, also object to milder swearing like “shit,” “damn,” “hell,” “piss” and “crap” far more so than do secular audiences, though none of those words scored above 50 percent even among Evangelicals. “Despite everything that's been coming out in the press about how profane and decidedly un-Christian the film is, we always knew we were making a PG-13 movie,” said director Spencer Folmar. "We didn't set out to be exploitative ... it isn't gratuitous." www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/some-audiences-tire-swearing-films-study-finds-1026571 |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2017 2:58:38 GMT
I'm OK if it works in the context of the movie. So I don't have a problem with Pulp Fiction. I have a big problem with The Ladykillers remake, and that scene where Sheen and Bersen fight in the clubhouse in Major League. Sure, jocks would probably swear a lot but it came across as forced.
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Post by ck100 on Dec 3, 2017 3:00:20 GMT
I'm generally OK with it, but I'm sure in real life people don't say "Fuck" or "Shit" every 10 seconds like in an HBO show. Excessive profanity doesn't really make a show "edgy" or "hip".
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Post by Reynard on Dec 3, 2017 3:18:17 GMT
Quality > quantity
The more you use anything the less effective it becomes.
I watched John Carpenter's The Thing again today. It has very few swearwords for a movie that is about a group of rather "macho" men in an extreme situation, but each time one is used it is there for a reason. Who could forget "I know you gentlemen have been through a lot. But when you find the time... I'd rather not spend the rest of the winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!" It's a classic scene. Would Garry had been going "fuck this" and "fuck that" all the time the scene would not tell anything about the character, the situation he is in, or provide a moment of comedy between more intense scenes.
I'm not against any kind of profanity in films. I'm against bad writing, and today's Hollywood is full of it.
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Post by MCDemuth on Dec 3, 2017 3:42:54 GMT
I don't like to hear excessive profanity... anywhere...
As pointed out, very rarely, do you hear anyone say profanity with every other word... Most of the time, it just isn't natural or necessary to do so... So hearing it in a movie, just seems out of place... When you do hear someone actually say it in real life, that person clearly has a number of unusual problems, and many people try to steer clear of them. It's not a good thing to make someone think you are "uneducated" or just don't care.
Also as pointed out, when you hear the same word over and over again, in a film, it DOES lose it's effectiveness... (unless you are Samuel L. Jackson, of course...) People should be shocked by it, or should only expect it when there is a proper time and a place for it...
I remember having a discussion with my Grandmother, when "Back To The Future" (1985) came out... She was really against hearing any profanity in movies. I guess part of that was that her generation was taught that profane language was just something that you don't do, ever, unless it was a life or death kind of situation, or if you were hurt... You know, Like: smashing your finger with a hammer, while trying to hit a nail...
But, when I watched the edited version of "Back To The Future" (1985) on Cable TV, it was just wrong, without those FEW profane words that were in the film. NO ONE, says "Holy Cow!", when terrorists, who just killed your best friend, are about to kill you with a rocket launcher. It was the perfectly expected to hear Marty say: "Holy Shit!"...
A couple of words, here or there, like that is no problem and fine.
However, I do wish movies would tone it down a bit. Writers (& Many Website Posters too) seem to forget that there are plenty of words in the dictionary that can be used for most conversations, that will get your point across, which are also perfectly acceptable for most people of all ages to listen to.
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Post by mslo79 on Dec 3, 2017 4:40:21 GMT
It's mainly using the Lords name in vain types of swearing i would rather do without. like JFC is worse than the two the OP mentioned as it's simply a more offensive way of saying JC.
as for the general F word... i know there are some people who don't care for it but it's a standard word many people use who use bad language. like for the more serious bad words, it's pretty safe to say it's the most commonly used word. hell, i use that word here and there myself. i have cut back on bad language vs when i was in my teens or 20's (i am 38 years old now) but i still use the F word etc here and there. but, thankfully, i cut back on using the Lords name in vain words like GD as about the only time that slips out now is usually in those more reflex moments like if you smack your finger on something or something annoys you quickly and you just react without thinking. but outside of those moments using GD (and the like) is next to non-existent for me lately even though i still use the F word etc here and there.
but with that said... if the F word bothers you, you might as well not watch R rated movies as it's going to turn up in a easy majority of R rated movies, at least a little bit.
Not surprising as I expected this.
I expected this to because bad language is mostly affiliated with us guys in general.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Dec 3, 2017 13:08:22 GMT
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Post by simplemoviecommenter on Dec 3, 2017 15:33:18 GMT
I'm okay with it when its something like Pup Fiction. It knows how to do it well.
But Black Sails made profanity boring and annoying.
Stephen King's It (2017) almost ruined it for me but it was limited to one character.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2017 15:38:54 GMT
Black Sails was boring, period.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2017 15:40:41 GMT
Don Ameche was very against saying the F word once in Trading Places, and they only had one shot at filming the scene. I'm glad he went through with it and created one of the most memorable lines/scenes of a great film.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2017 15:41:59 GMT
The problem nowadays is everything has been done, so how do you stay relevant and cool? For many filmmakers, they think the only way is tons of swearing and "edgy" scenes that push the envelope more and more. If you need that to sell your story, you don't have a story.
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Post by koskiewicz on Dec 3, 2017 17:30:54 GMT
...the dialogue in the series "Deadwood" goes beyond the pale with cussing...
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Post by fangirl1975 on Dec 3, 2017 17:37:44 GMT
...the dialogue in the series "Deadwood" goes beyond the pale with cussing... You haven't seen Scorcese's The Wolf Of Wall Street have you? |
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Post by ck100 on Dec 3, 2017 18:54:17 GMT
...the dialogue in the series "Deadwood" goes beyond the pale with cussing... You haven't seen Scorcese's The Wolf Of Wall Street have you? I've heard that movie has set a record for the most usage of the F-word in a film. The writer of the film, Terence Winter, was a writer on the HBO show "The Sopranos" which is known for excessive profanity. |
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Post by Eλευθερί on Dec 3, 2017 20:34:42 GMT
Quality > quantity The more you use anything the less effective it becomes. I watched John Carpenter's The Thing again today. It has very few swearwords for a movie that is about a group of rather "macho" men in an extreme situation, but each time one is used it is there for a reason. Who could forget "I know you gentlemen have been through a lot. But when you find the time... I'd rather not spend the rest of the winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!" It's a classic scene. Would Garry had been going "fuck this" and "fuck that" all the time the scene would not tell anything about the character, the situation he is in, or provide a moment of comedy between more intense scenes. I'm not against any kind of profanity in films. I'm against bad writing, and today's Hollywood is full of it. This is usually true. But it depends. In some cases "excessive" use of profanity help define a character or a culture. Examples being Jesse's liberal use of b**ch in Breaking Bad and all of the junior officers' (especially Starbuck's) use of "frack!" in Battlestar Galactica (2004). Take those out and you have changed the shows in small but significant ways. |
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Post by Eλευθερί on Dec 3, 2017 20:38:01 GMT
They also claim that they would avoid seeing anything with "excessive" nudity/sexuality or "excessive" violence yet can't seem to stop themselves from indulging.  |
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Post by hi224 on Dec 4, 2017 2:30:55 GMT
The problem nowadays is everything has been done, so how do you stay relevant and cool? For many filmmakers, they think the only way is tons of swearing and "edgy" scenes that push the envelope more and more. If you need that to sell your story, you don't have a story. Thats a problem i see in alot of comedies going all the way for shock and awe regardless of how irrevrent it is. |
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Dec 4, 2017 3:09:05 GMT
Profanity in a movie doesn't really bother me one way or another.
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Post by kingkoopa on Dec 4, 2017 6:20:46 GMT
No prob for me, but I get why the repetition could bother someone.
Fvck is an interesting word to write effectively with because it can often be used as a stalling device or function almost more like a gesture than a word. Sounds corny, but there is a rhythm to the word that actors/writers can employ (guys like Tarantino and Kevin Smith can get some rhythmic motion of out 'fvck'). More often it's 'fvckin' that is used...which is a nice rhythmic word that can be mumbled or shouted, but is (admittedly a sometimes weakly veiled one) it's such a general expression, that it's usually almost always successfully used for something emotional (maybe gutteral?). Frustration, desperation, anger, etc. The word itself means pretty much nothing...used correctly it can even be useful in implying context...
Think about stubbing a toe. I usually yell "goddammit" (I spell it like I do because I'm not religious and don't want those who are to confuse it as a slur against their religion. It just rolls off the tongue so well and I heard it a lot growing up in my American Irish-Catholic family). My mother yells "god bless a milk cow!" Never heard it anywhere else. My dad just yelled "FVCK!!!" Three different phrases, meaning the same thing. Profanity can create a bit of identity, but it has to be handled well in the writing.
All that said, it doesn't work for me if it's gratuitous or meant to be shocking. The Coen Brothers, Tarantino, and Kevin Smith are a few I can think of who know how to effectively use and write profanity. Seth Rogen (though I do enjoy most of his stuff) is sometimes a bit over the top for me in this department.
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