Swearing

alex1

alex1

Well-known member
I've been thinking about swearing in movies and television. Do you ever feel like when it's too much it some times losses the "impact" of the word? Like if you never hear it and then BAM, I can tell that person is really upset.
 
of course. Same with the n word in certain genres. It's all case by case though..is there a reason these characters talk this way all the time? Is it realistic (at least in their universe)? Or is it just cause its a low brow comedy/gritty whatever and they can?

I get the feeling much more in basic cable for some reason than other places. Like "oooh we can say 'sh i t' now so we have to do it 5 times an episode! Gotta hit that quota!"
 
Jeez, trying to write something witty with swear words isn't easy with auto-correct! But yes, swear words lose effect when overused. It's fair to say **** **** ******* wanker ****
 
alex1 said:
I've been thinking about swearing in movies and television.
Click to expand...

What's surprised me over the past 10 years is that YouTube allows as much swearing as you like, despite the fact that a large portion of their audience is kids of all ages.
 
I've never heard anyone leave a theater saying that there wasn't enough swearing. Many movies have little to none (Star Wars series, Lord of the Rings series, for examples).

Swearing to me is also how I think Robert McKee said graphic sex and violence are. He said, for example with sex, you're like "They're not really having sex," or "Wow, I think they might really be having sex." The same with gory violence: not usually necessary and pulls me out of the movie. And finally, the same with swearing. It doesn't pull me out of the movie as much, but to tell you the truth, it makes a character seem weaker.

Which sounds like the person is stronger:

"I will kill you."
"I will f-ing kill, you ________"

I don't know, for me, it seems like the character talking with a bunch of profanities is losing control.

Or even when a character is supposed to be losing it, like he heard some terrible news, I think it's more powerful if they soak it in, with a silent look of horror, than an "Oh _______"
 
The N word is a prime example. Compare how QT uses it in every movie VS how it was used in say, a movie like "Moonlight".
Completely different.

I was always taught the use of swear words was a limitation of your vocabulary, then I attended a seminar with Marc Norman after his movie "Shakespeare in Love" had just come out. Marc swears like a sailor. That's when I realized, when used effectively, swears can be used for emphasis and leaving an impression on the listener. It's all in how you use them.
 
Indy filmmakers are notorious for over-using profanity, to the point where it becomes meaningless. Especially the younger, inexperienced ones.

Like anything else, it needs to serve an artistic purpose. It can be used effectively. But profanity just for the sake of it is rarely that.
 
Do the Right Thing was one of a handful of movies in which swearing worked really well for me. What was even more entertaining was when they showed the movie on network TV and instead of dropping the words, they replaced them. In this scene, they used "Mickey Fickey". Even the network presentation, with Mickey Fickey, it worked really well.

My favorite swearing scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsFjlLXP9GU
 
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When I see movies with a lot of profanity I always think; was swearing 'necessary' to get a point across? Sometimes not, it doesn't matter for some genres I suppose. But just like sex or violence, sometimes I'll view a scene and think 'that just didn't add any value' apart from just being present in the film
 
Depends on the context and if it suits the characters involved.

The Wire, for instance, would've been very silly without ample swearing.
 
I am a total Anglophile but to me, the English have it all over us with the creative use of swearing. In entertainment, swearing is fine if not overused and used creatively. Problem is, few America writers or directors know and understand how to cleverly use it. One of my favorite shows is the Sky HD series, "Stella". It takes place in a small Welsh town, it is written and stars the brilliant Ruth Jones. It's ostensibly a family dramedy and is watched by families with kids. There is plenty of swearing in it but the overall tone of the show is sweet, family oriented and the swearing totally seems in line with how the characters would speak in real life. For some reason, it all just works. There are no American analogs that I have seen.
 
There's just something about someone with an accent- English(not American), Scottish, Irish- cursing up a storm that is hilarious.
 
Bear in mind that swearing can alienate your film from some of its potential target audience, such as, families, conservative, and religious people. My parent's didn't want me to develop the habit of swearing, so we didn't watch movies with swearing in them, consequently there were a lot of films I didn't see as a kid. So the question is, are you going to make more money by putting swearing into your film or by leaving it out? I know a lot of people who won't go see a movie that has a lot of swearing, but I don't know anyone who won't see a movie if it doesn't have enough swearing.
 
@puredrifting - don't know how up to date you are on UK comedy but definitely check out "Pulling", "Catastrophe" and "People just do nothing" if you haven't caught them already :)
 
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