Is the "F" word o.k. on network TV now?

conversation only ^ | 11/12/01 | self

[Rome2000]

There is a time and a place for everything and 8:00 on Sunday night is not the place for the F word.

If I can't type the godammned F word on this forum I sure as hell don't expect to hear it coming out of the TV on ABC at 8:00.

[poet]

Anything goes on the "swill" box. "The garbage pit of human thought"

[Dianna]

LOL!

I could understand the outrage if the word was inserted into a sit-com, or some ho-hum movie just for shock value.

The fact is that Private Ryan is an oustanding movie. Part of the reason it is such a good movie is because it pulls no punches. The best thing to do IMO, is simply air the movie as is. Parents surely can keep their little hothouse flowers away from the tv for one evening.

[katnip]

I saw this movie first time on a large screen T.V. The first 1/2 hour was agony watching. I covered my eyes most of the time and cried. If I had seen it in a Theater on a large screen, I am quite positive I would have run out of there screaming.

I cannot imagine what strength or bravery or grace men have to face this? How could the rest of us deserve this?

Thank you.

[Arkinsaw]

If I can't type the godammned F word on this forum I sure as hell don't expect to hear it coming out of the TV on ABC at 8:00.

Turn the clicker to another station. They warned you prior to the show about mature language. If you chose to ignore it, can't help you.

[Rome2000]

Sex and death are real too, how about XXX porno and snuff films on Saturday morning?

I'm sure that's in Bloombergs and ABC's master plan.

[Dianna]

If I can't type the godammned F word on this forum I sure as hell don't expect to hear it coming out of the TV on ABC at 8:00.

Your potty mouth offends me much more than any realistically made movie ever could.

It seems so obviously overdone that I wonder if you are trying to make a point. If so, please clarify.

[gcruse]

 "We train our pilots to drop fire on people, but they
can't write 'f**k' on their aircraft, because it is obscene."
                         --Marlon Brando, Apocalypse Now

[Rome2000]

Nice comeback, hey if you don't like your kids watching men kiss each other on "Friends", just change the channel.

Get ready, these people will do anything for ratings.

[gcruse]

Get ready, these people will do anything for ratings.

Not really.  A Clinton expose' would have been
blockbuster. Never happened.

[Arkinsaw]

Nice comeback, hey if you don't like your kids watching men kiss each other on "Friends", just change the channel.

Correct answer.

[Rome2000]

The point is simple. There is a time and a place for everything.

Bloomberg wouldn't like it very much If I stood outside his house while his wife and kids were inside at 8:00 on Sunday night and started yelling out the F-word.

I bet he would call the cops.

[satan]

Thank you for your post. My wife and I were discussing whether or not that generation (fathers/uncles) used the "F" word as liberally as it is used today. The answer is no. My generation used it all the time, but that was a made-for-TV war. On the other hand, the "N" word was used but our revisionist history, as written by Hollywood, would never admit that happened.

[Dianna]

I bet he would call the cops.

If he could shut you up by changing the channel, I bet he'd do that instead.

[Arkinsaw]

If he could shut you up by changing the channel, I bet he'd do that instead.

bada boom.

[skr]

It's rather amazing. I've seen plenty of war movies that got the point across without assaulting the ears. Even children could watch and be moved by the sacrifices made. All without the "f" word.

[Norb2569]

How could the rest of us deserve this?
Thank you.

On behalf of all the veterans of the United States of America,
You're welcome!

Semper Fidelis,
Norb

[SamAdams76]

Thanks for trying to explain but I still don't get it. I don't make any distinction between "cable" and "broadcast." It has been over 20 years since I fussed with a TV antenna. Nobody I know receives TV through an antenna except the portables that some lug on camping trips. Whether it is HBO or ABC that says the swear word, it's all the same to me.

[jiggity]

3. " Saving Private Ryan Not a Kid's movie" is right. All the more reason to edit it so it can be properly watched by kids.

So you will let them see depictions of actual war, with people being killed and suffering in some very horrible ways, but feel they should be sheilded by profanity?

If everyone stopped worrying about everyone else's kids and started focusing on their own, then they wouldn't have to worry about what kind of language is on TV. Parents should do one of the following:

A. Use the parental lock features built into just about TV, VCR, cable box built in the last few years.

B. Watch the movie with their kids, then talk to them about everything they saw. Give them your whole "Only horrible, heathen soldiers say the 'f' word" bit if that's your thing.

C. Not let them watch the movie at all and hopefully keep them from experiencing this America-has-changed-forever attitude that is sweeping the nation. The only thing that has changed for me is the number of times I hear "terrorism" and "anthrax" in one day.

I'll give all parents this advice, which my mother gave to me: "Try not to swear. It makes you look stupid." And, of course, don't swear in school, at least until college. It gets you in trouble - I would know :)