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> Yesterday I re-read in a history book the account of the US warship-building effort after Pearl Harbor. This led me to
recall the two books by Chester Himes which I had read, e.g. "If he hollers let him go". Himes worked in a shipyard at
that time (He also spent time in prison). His language graphically conveys the atmosphere. I don't think the books were
ever censored? Or do you know otherwise?
I can't honestly say wsieber, cos I've never heard of him but the censorship laws in Britain and Ireland are (were) extremely strict right up until the late '70s. Lady Chatterly's Lover was banned until the late '60s.
Roddy Doyle's Barrytown trilogy is full of colloquial Dublinese (as anyone who has seen The Commitments or The Snapper will attest) and because of their critical acclaim the whole language issue has been dropped when it comes to the printed word. It is still taboo to swear or curse on TV or radio. The changing attitudes in this country alone over the past twenty years have been astonishing to say the least.
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>>It is still taboo to swear or curse on TV or radio. The changing attitudes in this country alone over the past twenty years have been astonishing to say the least.<<
I have noticed a relaxation of those attitudes here in New Zealand over the past two years - radio talk shows seem to be the place where expletives are heard fairly regularly, and there seems to be little censorship by the radio station.
Perhaps this has something to do with the much-vaunted freedom of speech in this country.
In South Africa, "live" radio is always controlled by a device that puts a three-second delay on an incoming telephone call, and a technician has a "beep" button to censor whatever is considered unacceptable. That seems not to happen here, and I have heard callers swearing freely.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Its the same here. I haven't heard a bleep for a long time.
With television there is a 9pm watershed which means that the language should be suitable for a family audience before that time. There has never been a similar rule for radio, so it tends to be down to the individual programme.
They ran a series of "alternative" comedy radio shows at around six pm. Whilst the material from the same comic at 11pm would include more adult material, it didn't seem particularly censored for language.
It used to be considered to be funny to include a long string of f-words in a comedian's act, because it was meant to be challenging. Wasn't Lenny Bruce an exponent of that? These days, in the main, people have got bored with it and have, in general moved on to finding other things funny. Comedy used to be happily racist and sexist, the f-words just replaced all those "mother-in-law" jokes that no-one would dare tell any more. I think we've absorbed most of that now and want to move on.
There is a much greater commitment to realism now, rather than hiding behind the idea that everything is "nice". If the programme is about prisons or dockyards it uses the language that is found there without making a judgement.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Do I find the use of expletives in films, books, etc. irritating? Sometimes. The purpose of expletives, surely, is to show extreme emotion. I have been known to turn the air the deepest shade of blue imaginable when I hit my head again on the hanging lamp my landlord is so fond of just outside my door. Unfortunately in films the words often seem to be used not to express emotion but to arouse it. If the acting is convincing I don't really notice the expletives; if it isn't they're just irritating. Similarly with unclothed scenes, if they are acted well, yes, fine. If not, which is usually the case, I just think, "Do get on with it and let's get back to the story."
Another point, in books v. films. There are a lot more words in books and so expletives are, I think, a lot less obtrusive. Also imagining the scene, one doesn't have to worry about acting ability...
Another b***** lunch time taken up with AWAD!
Bingley
Bingley
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>>Unfortunately in films the words often seem to be used not to express emotion but to arouse it. If the acting is convincing I don't really notice the expletives; if it isn't they're just irritating. Similarly with unclothed scenes, if they are acted well, yes, fine. If not, which is usually the case, I just think, "Do get on with it and let's get back to the story."<<
Bingley, this is exactly what I think! I presume the
poorly-acted sex scenes are intended to shock or titillate,
but oh, they just get it the way!
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And have you noticed what an inordinate time women (and it usually is women) in films seem to spend wandering around in their underwear for no readily apparent reason? Were they interrupted as they were getting dressed or undressed? Surely if so, any normal person would either finish what they were doing or slip on a dressing gown or something instead of then proceeding to cook breakfast or whatever. I mean, you could get some nasty burns!! If there's a comprehensible reason, no problem, but there so very rarely is.
Bingley
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Pooh-Bah
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>I mean, you could get some nasty burns!!
I was thinking of popping round to cook you breakfast - can you mail me your address. I'll slip into something comfortable to test your theory - bacon and eggs?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Edinburgh to Jakarta is rather a long way to pop, don't you think? But if you do decide to come, bring your own bacon, it's almost impossible to get decent rashers here.
Of course, it is on the way if you're going to Australia.
Bingley
Bingley
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Hey, guys and gals (if I may call you that -- you partygoers you!).
This wasn't planned as a 'come-as-you-are' party and, anyway, it's rather cool in Hobart this time of year with snow on the mountain. So you will at least all bring thermal underwear and heavy dressing-gowns, won't you. That's our brand of titillation!
… and the 'slab' was chocolate not beer (I may be a teetotaller but not a party-pooper!).
More to come (as they say …)
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Gosh, where to start? Jo--I am shocked!!  bingley--how awful for you. Bacon is one of life's best things! Kind of you to remind us of the party at paulb's! paulb--the australia-speak website gave beer as the meaning of slab. My apologies for misusing the term. And now, to complete the circuit: here, we use the phrase "a slab of bacon"!
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