Posted on 08/06/2017 6:36:49 AM PDT by rktman
It seems clear that everyday conversation in America has become coarser in recent years, but it doesn’t mean that the typical Hollywood film laced with language your grandmother would have punished with soap reflects reality or even makes good economic sense, contends a prominent film critic.
In fact, a new Harris poll shows that filmmakers who use the f-word and take the name of Jesus Christ in vain risk losing some of their audience.
The poll confirms extensive, in-depth surveys by Ted Baehr’s family-friendly publication Movieguide that examine some 150 different criteria that affect box office receipts.
“One of the things that annoys audiences most is foul language, and one of the largest audiences is the 115 million to 145 million that go to church,” Baehr told WND.
Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, pointed out that among churchgoers, it’s estimated that only about 25 million go to movies, meaning Hollywood likely is leaving millions of dollars on the table.
The Harris poll, the Hollywood Reporter said, found that using “Jesus Christ” to swear is the biggest offense, with 33 percent of the general public saying they would be less likely to see a movie if they knew it contained that language. “God d—” was second at 32 percent and the f-word was third with 31 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
They use profanity to carry the story just as many stand up comedians do.
Its a sign of laziness.
Used judiciously its never really been a problem for me.
“One of the things that annoys audiences most is foul language, and one of the largest audiences is the 115 million to 145 million that go to church,” Baehr told WND.
Sorry. I don't believe a word of this.
There’s the qualifier. JUDICIOUSLY. They seldom do that anymore. Going back to watching some of the old comedians, they could make us laugh with ZERO vulgarity. The shock value has worn off folks and it isn’t funny any more.
Scatological language is a poor substitute for real dialog. Anything uttered on the screen should advance the story and improve characterization. Excessive cursing does neither and lowers the investment the audience has in the character.
An author should scan though a script and substitute something substantial for every cussword. If a curse is used, it should be short and rare and in a context where it has actual meaning. If a point of view character looks out the plane’s window and sees a missile heading right for him, then use it and let it be the only one. It will carry more weight for that.
Well F off then. LOL! I can’t attest to the veracity of the piece. Only that it was published. 100% of this household is over all the cursing. Like I said, stub a toe, get a curse.
We’ve been commenting more and more lately while, watching some shows, as to certain passages and scenes and what relevance they have to the story.
After awhile, one stops looking at movie schedules. Any quality movies there might be don't get enough publicity to even know about them.
It substitutes for interesting dialog. Shakespeare didn’t need offensive language to get characters’ emotions across. The arts in America are devolving.
Milton Berle, one of the great comedians of television’s “Golden Age”, had famous disdain for the use of vulgarity. He thought vulgarity was a sign of laziness on the part of the writer and performer, substituting swearing for cleverness. He was correct. It’s all part of the “dumbing down” of the culture.
We are part of that group that will not pay money to see a movie laced with foul language or homosexuality. If I happen to rent a movie from Netflix that has that language, or that theme, we stop it, eject and back it goes with a blistering review. Hollywood can’t seem to make a movie without either. Needless to say, we watch mostly documentaries on the TV. And, we’ve learned to rent movies from Netflix that are made in the UK. I know more actors & actresses from England, Scotland & Ireland that I do in this country, LOL.
It's just that I'm not going to believe a poll commissioned by a Christian organization that claims blasphemy is driving away moviegoers when the most popular TV shows in America right now are orgies of sex, violence, nudity, gay sex, and on and on.
An act that has practically zero impact on Hollywood's bottom line.
The box office isn't struggling today because Christians are staying away from movie theaters over blasphemy. It is struggling because movies can't keep up with Game of Thrones.
I saw Dunkirk last Friday. There's little character development and not much of a plot, and plenty of violence. However, I was pleasantly surprised that there are no nude scenes, sex scenes, and no politically correct propaganda. It also seems to be free of profanity, although all of the dialog was in an English brogue that is at times hard to understand.
I got ya. Like an ‘americans for progress’ poll/study needs plenty of grains of salt to be taken with it.
Most Christians are not watching TV shows that are nothing more than a brackish, putrid swamp of such content. It’s straight from the bowels of Hell, and anyone who truly loves and follows Christ will flee from it. I leave the TV on a channel that plays old Westerns all day long.
Puking. Ever notice that in 4 of 5 movies someone pukes??
I am sure you are correct, however, I do not care.
“If I happen to rent a movie from Netflix that has that language, or that theme, we stop it, eject and back it goes”
One of the few movies I have ever walked out of a theater on in my life was one of the Die Hard series with Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson. Every other word began with F and it became tedious and painful.
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