(18+) The c-bomb in films/TV shows?

[Pubey]

So settling down to another HBO series (Game of Thrones) and it's clearly obvious that more and more US films and TV shows are dropping the c-bomb. We watched Bridesmaids (a 15) and it was dropped, and I commented that it seems to me to be more used and maybe more acceptable in the US, which is strange as historically they haven't been into swearing much.

To me, **** is a very English term and I'm glad it's seen as the ultimate swearword as it retains its effect when used. IMO it'd be a shame for it to be more acceptable. Films like In Bruge, Sexy Beast and Trainspotting use it superbly. US films like Silence of the Lambs and Magnolia also use it to full effect.

Anyone else noticed this? Anyone agree that it should stay the ultimate swearword and not turn up in chick flicks like Bridesmaids??

I ripped this out of wiki, which seemed to agree with what I've noticed...

In the United States the broadcast use of "****" is still rare; nevertheless, the word has slowly infiltrated into broadcasting:
The HBO TV shows Oz, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Deadwood, The Wire and True Blood, as well as the Showtime series Weeds, Californication & Brotherhood also make frequent use of the word; and two episodes of the sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm[59] are devoted to the comical repercussions of its inadvertent use.
An episode of the NBC TV show 30 Rock, titled The C Word, centered around a subordinate calling protagonist Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) a "****" and her subsequent efforts to regain her staff's favor. While the word was never uttered on camera, it is strongly implied that this is the offensive term used.
Jane Fonda did utter the word on a live airing of the Today Show, a network broadcast-tv news program, in 2008 when being interviewed about The Vagina Monologues.[60

 

[Rudi Luftwaffe]

Travis Bickle/Henry Krinkle used the word to full effect.

 

[South Bank Hank]

So settling down to another HBO series (Game of Thrones) and it's clearly obvious that more and more US films and TV shows are dropping the c-bomb. We watched Bridesmaids (a 15) and it was dropped, and I commented that it seems to me to be more used and maybe more acceptable in the US, which is strange as historically they haven't been into swearing much.

To me, **** is a very English term and I'm glad it's seen as the ultimate swearword as it retains its effect when used. IMO it'd be a shame for it to be more acceptable. Films like In Bruge, Sexy Beast and Trainspotting use it superbly. US films like Silence of the Lambs and Magnolia also use it to full effect.

Anyone else noticed this? Anyone agree that it should stay the ultimate swearword and not turn up in chick flicks like Bridesmaids??

I ripped this out of wiki, which seemed to agree with what I've noticed...

Game over for that thinking now. Society has been going through a "paint by numbers" approach to just about everything for the last 5 years - pop music, films, fashion, architecture, etc. A large proportion of what used to be creative is now just commoditised and produced to a formula (think Simon Cowell and his 'music' production line). There are still some great films coming through but there's also a huge genre that seem to be built on "introduce plot, introduce sub-plot, put someone on a journey of change/discovery, throw in a love interest with a quirky sidekick, etc". The glass walls around dropping the c-bomb have already been smashed when the first B-rate film producers realised they could shock the audience, raise a film's profile, get a cheap laugh, show their "bleeding edge" thinking, blah, blah.

Expect it to become the norm now.

 

[BrettieAngell]

Curb Your Enthusiasm has used it quite well on a few occasions.

 

[Uncle Leo]

I clearly remember the first time it was used on mainstream British TV. The show was Molesley, about that charming chap Oswald. When he was arrested, the police sergeant dealing with him said (along the lines of):

"I hope you realise what you've done. You ****"

The shock value of that, at the time, was amazing.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

The glass walls around dropping the c-bomb have already been smashed when the first B-rate film producers

...who are c**ts.

They still don't use it over there as well as we do over here... both of these are fine examples, near (or at) the end of the clips...

[video=youtube;qXRuoSHI6eQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXRuoSHI6eQ[/video]

[video=youtube;GsX5KlYkr1g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsX5KlYkr1g[/video]

 

[BrettieAngell]

Ha, spot on matt!

 

[MK Shrimper]

I remember a fairly recent Germaine Greer documentary (or sub docu), where she attempted to remove the "mystique" around that word. Jerry Sadowitz also did a similar thing where he said that if we used other swear words regularly then they'd lose their power. For example, "bloody" and "bugger" where a no-no (at least on TV and film) 50 years ago - now they're (probably) said on CBBC.

The whole issue of swear words and why they are so offensive is rather odd don't you think?

I can quite happily type vagina into SZ and it's not censored, whilst **** is. And they mean the same thing at the end of the day.

 

[Pubey]

I get what you're saying Paul, a word is just a word. However with the c-bomb usually it's used when offence is intended, although I appreciate that more people just drop it into normal conversation or it's used as banter. That's unlike vagina which is an anatomical term rarely used to cause offence. My issue is that having a range of swear words is useful... if I ever met Anders Behring Breivik then the c-bomb rather than tosser would be most appropriate. On TV, as SBH says, it's a shame it's being desensitised as when it's used properly it's really effective.

 

[Another Surrey Shrimper]

I don't like the word as it sounds so harsh, especially with an Essex accent! What I did love was when Silence of the Lambs was shown on TV and that one word was dubbed really badly with the word 'scent' that was shouted just to make sure.
'What did Migs say?'
'He said I can smell your SCENT'.
Classic

 

[pickledseal]

I remember when at uni, I walked into a college bar and greeted my friend Dave with "'Ello you ****" and he did the same. These Americans he were drinking with were totally speechless!

Regardless of whether it is used on US TV isn't it bleeped out anyway?

 

[MK Shrimper]

I remember when at uni, I walked into a college bar and greeted my friend Dave with "'Ello you ****" and he did the same. These Americans he were drinking with were totally speechless!

Regardless of whether it is used on US TV isn't it bleeped out anyway?

NBC, ABC etc shows don't use any kind of harsh swearing, even after 9pm (I think, especially not the shows that end up over here). HBO however, there are no restrictions, because there's no advertisers. Long may it be so.

 

[Pubey]

NBC, ABC etc shows don't use any kind of harsh swearing, even after 9pm (I think, especially not the shows that end up over here). HBO however, there are no restrictions, because there's no advertisers. Long may it be so.

Explains why Game of Thrones is nuts. loads of swearing, shagging and fighting.

 

[BrettieAngell]

**** is probably my favourite word!

 

[Another Surrey Shrimper]

**** is probably my favourite word!

I prefer ****, am also a big fan of **** but rarely use ****.

 

[BrettieAngell]

I prefer ****, am also a big fan of **** but rarely use ****.

Good point, well made!