Today on the Open Book Blog Hop we’re talking about swearing. There is more and more swearing on TV, and in movies, books and the like. What are your thoughts on this topic?
When I look at old films made before the early 1970’s, it’s wonderful to hear the dialogue, as there doesn’t seem to be any swearing in them at all. In fact I was watching ‘Cool Hand Luke’ last night which was made in 1967, and although the film depicts members of a chain gang working on the roads, not one swear word assailed my ears. When George Kennedy can be seen saying something unpleasant to Paul Newman, other sounds block it out. There is meaningful dialogue which Donn Pearce took time and trouble to write.
It would be interesting to see a modern-day remake of this film (actually no, perhaps not). I expect every other word from the prisoners would be the ‘F’ word, violent fights amongst the prisoners would probably take up half of the film, and of course don’t forget the whooshing sounds. No film today is complete without stereophonic whooshing every few minutes if there’s no swearing, sex or violence to whet the appetite.
Do you remember The Godfather part 1, made in 1972? It’s one of the all-time greats, yet there is no swearing, very little sex, and not even one tiny whoosh. Marlon Brando mumbles a bit because of all that orange peel, but he’s not f..ing and blinding away moronically all the time.
Unfortunately many films made recently have caused me to switch off within the first half an hour, as there doesn’t seem to be much dialogue apart from swearing. Sometimes of course the plot calls for the odd F word, and sometimes, as in Four Weddings and a Funeral, the swearing at the beginning is actually funny. As I say I’m not against mild cursing if it’s part of the story, but swearing for the sake of it is all too frequent these days on TV and films, and it’s a big turn-off for me. I prefer some witty banter or dialogue and a film that leaves you feeling happy at the end of it. Too much swearing or violence etc. leaves me cold and reaching for the off switch.
As for books, I’m an author myself and add the odd swear word to a story if it’s called for, but the books I choose to read and write, just like the films I watch, are not overly littered with swearing. I was brought up to mind my language. My parents hardly ever swore around me, and I was soon put right if I innocently picked up a swear word at school and brought it home.
What does P.J MacLayne think about swearing? A computer geek by day and a writer by night, P.J. MacLayne grew up in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania and sets much of her writing in that landscape. She currently lives in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. You can check out her Amazon author page here http://www.amazon.com/P.J.-MacLayne/e/B00HVE8WZI/ and her blogs here http://pjmaclayne.blogspot.co.uk/
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Rebecca Lovell said:
Sometimes you need a little swearing! But I believe it should fit the situation, otherwise it fails to do what it’s meant to when the antagonist does it, which is shock people.
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Stevie Turner said:
Yes, sometimes it’s overdone on films and TV.
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Stephany said:
I enjoyed your post Stevie! It’s amazing watching some of the old and not so old movies and TV shows that have such enjoyable dialogue and verbal exchange. As you wrote, even in movies such as The Godfather, swearing was unheard of. As with my example, I think people have begun to accept such language as the norm and often do so because they believe it is the acceptable thing to do. It’s unfortunate.
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Nicole Sorrell said:
“Swearing for the sake of it is all too frequent these days on TV and films…” Well stated. If it’s not required i dire situations for impact, it should be left out.
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aurorawatcherak said:
Sometimes swear words belong in a story — a character may demand it, a situation definitely demands it. My 17-year-old son, who doesn’t swear for personal moral reasons, noted that he knows a lot of swear words in Japanese because he likes to watch emoji and those shows seem to require the use of swearing. Bad company corrupts good habits and so it is frustrating for those who want to interact on a higher level with regard to language. My son says its a good discipline to not use the words he knows, but I find it frustrating that our language is so degraded that we can’t avoid swear words.
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Bernadette said:
It is true Stevie that people seem to seriously lack any other adjectives or adverbs in their vocabulary. Thanks for bringing this blog hop to my attention. I posted it today on my site. I hope I did the posting correctly.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks!
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Stevie Turner said:
Why not link your post to my blog hop? Just click on the link I’ve given and comment on the others if possible. Thanks for the shout-out.
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Stevie Turner said:
If I’m able to I fast-forward through any violence. To this day I’ve never watched the scene in The Godfather where Luca Brasi dies!
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P. J. MacLayne said:
It’s funny how upset we get over cursing but not over violence in books movies and on TV.
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Stevie Turner said:
Absolutely. My husband even used to censor some films to make them suitable for our young sons to watch. He would spend hours re-recording them and cutting out cursing and any nasties. My eldest son told me recently that he used to go to his friend’s house and watch the unedited versions! However, as an older teenager he used to only show me excerpts of comedies he knew I would find amusing. He used to tell me there was some parts I was not allowed to watch! Bless him.
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piratepatty said:
What I really do not care for are the movies where children are cursing. Yes, they are actors, but they are also children and it just never seems appropriate to hear the F bomb coming out of a child’s mouth.
Adult books if the cursing isn’t the main even I don’t mind. But there doesn’t have to be the F word over and over.
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Dani J Caile said:
I work as a teacher in a city school. All children swear nowadays, from 6 years up (maybe younger). It never used to be like this. Maybe it’s the media they watch and listen to…kinda of a spiral effect. The actors/musicians use swear words and the children pick up on it…
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Stevie Turner said:
And/or the parents swear all the time and the children copy. It’s dreadfully sad isn’t it?
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piratepatty said:
Reblogged this on Books, Books and More Books! .
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks so much!
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PJ Fiala said:
I agree with you on the swearing, and that sometimes, it’s in the story as part of a character’s personality.
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ellenbest24 said:
The Rules of joining are things I’ve yet to master but I believe occasionally a rude word (i think known as cussing in the USA) is part of the fabric of a character and works. Sometimes the shock factor you are trying to get across requires a “shock word” but on the whole gratuitous foul language is unnecessary.
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Stevie Turner said:
I agree. Sometimes a plot just calls for the odd swear word. Would you like to join the Open Book Blog Hop? There’s a Facebook group you can join where you find out which topic is next for discussion, and also where you can copy the link.
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ellenbest24 said:
Thank you 😇
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