Swearing in entertainment. Wrong or right?

[Everin]

What is your view of swearing in games/songs/movies/tv/novels? Do you think it adds to the story, or do you think it's a little unnecessary and just cranks the viewer ratings up?
I think a little bit is fine in movies and maybe games, but I don't like reading it in novels, don't know why, and it's okay in songs sometimes. But what do you think?

 

[SilentCom]

It really depends on the audience. If the form of entertainment is targetted toward older or more mature people, then swearing isn't so bad. Sometimes it's funny or conveys a sense of strong emotion (anger mostly). Swearing should not be used in entertainment targetting little ones. I mean seriously, it would be more than strange to hear Dora the Explorer or some other children's show swear.

 

[Not PvP Flagged]

when someone is swearing of a mic while you're playing a game it gets annoying really fast, but in a movie, tv, novel, or single player game it develops the character somewhat, I mean one instance I can think of is in WoW when Garrosh calls Sylvans a ***** it pretty much tells you what he think of her and most of her Forsaken.

 

[Biodeamon]

In modearation it is accepted

 

[Not PvP Flagged]

In modearation it is accepted

I agree 100% in House of the Dead: Overkill when Isaac is calling everyone 'Motha f*cka' every chance he can it gets annoying very quickly, I mean the first few times I laughed, but by the time I was done with the 1st level I was ready to blow his brains out...

 

[Stammer]

In modearation it is accepted

Quoted for truth. If it's used in a realistic and moderate way (like, the way someone may curse around that audience normally) then it's funny. But if every second word is a curse word then it just detracts from the experience.

There's this one commercial on the radio station I listen to, like a car commercial or something. It's perfectly normal all throughout with a person describing the vehicle, and then all of a sudden he shouts out "GUARAN-DAMN-TEED!" Why? For what reason did you need to say "damn" in the middle of a commercial? (And yeah I know "damn" isn't a swear word, but it's a lot more exciting and emotional than "dang") It would be like "Come to McDonalds and enjoy our new McFlurry. It's abso-frickin'-lutely delicious!"

 

[Lilani]

Depends on the audience and the purpose. Personally, I thought Rango used "damn" and "hell" quite excessively for a film that was advertised right alongside Spongebob Squarepants. It sort of irked me that they'd market that sort of language to such a young audience.

On the flipside, I didn't mind the swearing in Boondock Saints at all. The difference with that film being it wasn't advertised for a younger audience. Plus, it was appropriate for the situations they were in (like when they accidentally blew up the cat).

But when it slows down and clogs up communication, that's when it gets on my nerves. For example, I have a friend that swears very often and very loudly. One time, he was trying to talk about a female character in a video game, and he kept referring to her as "That *****," and must have said those two words a dozen times by the time he was finished. It was grating. He sounded like an 11 year old who just discovered the word and was trying to figure out every possible way he could use it.

THAT is when swearing transcends offensive and just gets downright annoying.

 

[BreakfastMan]

It is fine if it fits the situation. One wouldn't expect nuns to be swearing like a sailor, but you would definitely expect that of prison inmates. Just so long as it is not thrown in there for the heck of it, I am fine.

 

[Jamboxdotcom]

as already stated, it's all about moderation. a little swearing can improve any piece of writing, simply because it can help it sound more "real". but throwing it in just to fill gaps in a moron's vocabulary or just to sound "cool" is really off-putting.

 

[badgersprite]

I don't give a shit. They're just words. Who really cares? Why are people so uptight about meaningless words?

Also, it's way more distracting when people can't say the word God or Hell or Damn on TV because of ridiculous censorship rules. Believe it or not, FCC, people in real life use these words.

 

[gigastar]

To us British, swearing and comedy go together hand in hand. However, somehow we picked up the media watchdog plauge that originated in America and now they jump at every vauge excuse to try and get theese shows cancelled.

 

[Cain_Zeros]

In the dialogue of teenage or older characters in content intended for a similarly aged audience, it just makes it more realistic. It's actually more jarring to me to not see swearing in a novel that's about characters of an age where people swear. So, basically, if you're characters would swear, and you're audience is old enough to handle it, then no matter the medium, fucking put 'em in. As far as TV goes be respectful of timeslot and network guidelines, of course.

 

[Saelune]

They are words. There is no morality in play. Swear words' power is all in the negative reactions of prudish people. If people would be appauled by Butt Muncher, it would become a swear. If people did not freak over fuck, it would eventually not be bleaped anymore.

 

[octafish]

Two of my favorite films are Glengarry Glen Ross (AKA Death of a Fucking Salesman) and In The Loop. Can you imagine Malcolm Tucker without swearing?

 

[InnerRebellion]

Depends on the person. In novels, it depends on the character; for some, swearing is a fluent language for them. For other characters, a swear coming from them is meant to surprise the reader.