Yes they do, get out of your mansion and in to the real world.
When exactly did language in entertainment get so profane? It bothers me.
- Thread starter JimmyRustler
- Start date
ForAcademicPurposes
Member
Everything needs to be categorized, programmed or easily referenced.
JimmyRustler
Member
If by real world you mean big city ghettos you're right. Such speech is rather unusual in middle class suburbs. And for a reason… it's pathetic. Name one intelligent or cultured person that talks like this.
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DKehoe
Member
KrakenIPA
Member
I was cursing like a motherfucker at work last night, sons of bitches left me with a shit show and I'm trying to gather up all the bullshit as the new guy with nothing but clueless limpdicks to "help". I was checking in a prick Railroad engineer and he backed the fuck off when he realized I was the only asshole with solutions. It has it's place sometimes, but I agree it can make media a bit obtuse.
Rran
Member
The whole "people talk like this," "no they don't," "yes they do" thing pretty obviously points to the truth that different social circles are going to have wildly different manners of acceptable speech.
Cursing has its place but I don't like how it's seen as uncool or whatever stupid non-hip term used now to think there can--theoretically--have too much cursing in shows and movies. Can any of you honestly say you've never watched something that was too dense in swearing? It's like the equivalent of having the volume all the way up; there's no baseline and everything is extreme (so in a way, nothing is). Is cursing such a popular thing that someone can't criticize its use without being called a Helen Lovejoy?
For me it really depends on the media. I think shows like Archer can be hilarious, but it was off-putting hearing more swearing in the new King of the Hill episodes. Beavis and Butt-head has a lot of vulgar, weird words (like "Buttmunch") that make me laugh but I wouldn't want to hear those two say the harsher curses.
And there's something to be said for shows that have a ton of f-words but have to be super-sensitive and "progressive" and walk on eggshells in every other way possible. An annoying disconnect that I associate with certain people as well.
Cursing has its place but I don't like how it's seen as uncool or whatever stupid non-hip term used now to think there can--theoretically--have too much cursing in shows and movies. Can any of you honestly say you've never watched something that was too dense in swearing? It's like the equivalent of having the volume all the way up; there's no baseline and everything is extreme (so in a way, nothing is). Is cursing such a popular thing that someone can't criticize its use without being called a Helen Lovejoy?
For me it really depends on the media. I think shows like Archer can be hilarious, but it was off-putting hearing more swearing in the new King of the Hill episodes. Beavis and Butt-head has a lot of vulgar, weird words (like "Buttmunch") that make me laugh but I wouldn't want to hear those two say the harsher curses.
And there's something to be said for shows that have a ton of f-words but have to be super-sensitive and "progressive" and walk on eggshells in every other way possible. An annoying disconnect that I associate with certain people as well.
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0neAnd0nly
Member
Degeneracy running rampant, including among children. People don't care about kids anymore, in fact, I know someone will quote this and mock caring about kids (pretty norm when this argument is brought up).
Western society has replaced westernized religious beliefs with "my truth" society, where societal ideology is the new god instead of God himself, and now we just care about our feelings and nobody elses. Parents will take their children to a rated R movie because they want to see it and can't be burdened by having children while a film they want to be entertained by just got released.
Welcome to a crumbling society. Me over us. Sad and pathetic. Weak men who can't even watch their mouth, a society who laughs and applauds it.
Western society has replaced westernized religious beliefs with "my truth" society, where societal ideology is the new god instead of God himself, and now we just care about our feelings and nobody elses. Parents will take their children to a rated R movie because they want to see it and can't be burdened by having children while a film they want to be entertained by just got released.
Welcome to a crumbling society. Me over us. Sad and pathetic. Weak men who can't even watch their mouth, a society who laughs and applauds it.
falconhoof
Member
OP has noticed a real change.
Those that use things like Deadwood and The Wire don't disprove the point. Both of those shows used swearing as a critical part of story telling and scene setting. Fuck, The Wire had the legendary "Fuck" scene
I've noticed it in more modern shows and it feels cheap and lazy, added in to be edgy, I dunno, but it's rarely artistic in approach and entertainment is supposed to be art and make a statement.
The tired line is to say it's part of the Millennial style, which is a bit diluted, but is a thing for a reason.
I've worked on franchise entertainment productions that have crossed through this barrier and I've seen the direction mandates literally state "We want to change the tone to be more light hearted, and Marvel like in approach, and not linger on dark parts too much by bringing levity and lighter quips". So it's no surprise that people have noticed and seen it become a thing.
Those that use things like Deadwood and The Wire don't disprove the point. Both of those shows used swearing as a critical part of story telling and scene setting. Fuck, The Wire had the legendary "Fuck" scene
I've noticed it in more modern shows and it feels cheap and lazy, added in to be edgy, I dunno, but it's rarely artistic in approach and entertainment is supposed to be art and make a statement.
The tired line is to say it's part of the Millennial style, which is a bit diluted, but is a thing for a reason.
I've worked on franchise entertainment productions that have crossed through this barrier and I've seen the direction mandates literally state "We want to change the tone to be more light hearted, and Marvel like in approach, and not linger on dark parts too much by bringing levity and lighter quips". So it's no surprise that people have noticed and seen it become a thing.
never lived in a big city so no
EverydayBeast
ChatGPT 0.001
That's a great point, curse words happen way more often
E-Cat
Member
25 likes says otherwise
Audiophile
Member
Heavy language is very much a context thing for me. There are times when it fits and other times where it comes across as "I learned to swear yesterday". In movies and TV I actually haven't been too bothered.
In real life, some folks will drop f bombs all over the place and it just doesn't come across as natural. There are people who are just natural swearers and others for whom it feels forced.
The worst thing is when you click on a YouTube video which is giving commentary on something and you can feel them forcing the "fuck, fucks and fuckings" in there in pretty much every sentence; and it's like you can feel the tension build up in your shoulders as you sense another awkward forced one coming along any second; to the point it's cringey and you gotta click off.
If the curse words roll off the tongue and flow it's fine and I can't identify exactly what it is, some people just have the gift. My brother can drop them constantly and I barely even notice. But I'm not a natural potty mouth, I'll drop the odd clanger in a reactionary manner or say something heinous/absurd here and there, but they just don't flow for me like the do others. I honestly think it's genetic.
In real life, some folks will drop f bombs all over the place and it just doesn't come across as natural. There are people who are just natural swearers and others for whom it feels forced.
The worst thing is when you click on a YouTube video which is giving commentary on something and you can feel them forcing the "fuck, fucks and fuckings" in there in pretty much every sentence; and it's like you can feel the tension build up in your shoulders as you sense another awkward forced one coming along any second; to the point it's cringey and you gotta click off.
If the curse words roll off the tongue and flow it's fine and I can't identify exactly what it is, some people just have the gift. My brother can drop them constantly and I barely even notice. But I'm not a natural potty mouth, I'll drop the odd clanger in a reactionary manner or say something heinous/absurd here and there, but they just don't flow for me like the do others. I honestly think it's genetic.
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HoodWinked
Member
I actually think it's because of wokeness. Entertainment especially is infested with woke people which brow beat and stifle creatives. This means they can't make or speak on certain subjects but they do allow profanity and gratuitous violence essentially as a pressure release valve.
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Mobilemofo
Member
I fully endorse the use of foul language in games. Long may it continue.
Unknown Soldier
Member
They aren't allowed to say 'woman' and 'man' anymore or use pronouns like 'him' and 'her' so they make up for it by adding a lot of swearing
falconhoof
Member
Fuck you, you fucking birthing person, you.
Unknown Soldier
Member
You forgot the Marvel Quip right after to soften the sudden onset of Tourette's
falconhoof
Member
Ah shit, they're behind me aren't them?
Grildon Tundy
Member
First of all, is OP right? I think he is. I asked Grok to pull the number of F-bombs in the Top 10 highest-grossing films by decade, and it came up with this list, sampling from Wikipedia's "Movies with the most F-Words" list something called the "Kids-in-Mind" parental guidance website stats:
Also note that the Hayes Code ended in 1968, and MASH (1970) was the first high-profile Hollywood movie to use clear, audible F-words.
So F-words are on the upswing in the highest-grossing movies, which could imply that people want to give their money to profane movies, and because they do, it's continuing to increase.
We could argue about how I asked AI to set this up and how reliable it is, but my takeaway is: OP is right, it started with the end of the Hayes Code, and it seems to continue to trend upwards.
| Decade | Avg. F-Words per Top-10 Film (Est.) | Key Examples & Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0–5 | The Godfather (1972): ~10; Jaws (1975): 0. Post-Hays Code ramp-up, but still rare in blockbusters. |
| 1980s | 5–15 | Beverly Hills Cop (1984): 61; Die Hard (1988): 62. Action/comedies start incorporating for edge. |
| 1990s | 15–40 | Goodfellas (1990): 300; Titanic (1997): 0 (PG-13 limit). Averages pulled up by crime dramas. |
| 2000s | 30–60 | The Departed (2006): 237–300; Gladiator (2000): ~20. R-rated hits like Scorsese films dominate spikes. |
| 2010s | 50–100 | The Wolf of Wall Street (2013): 569; Deadpool (2016): 84. Peak in profane comedies/action; PG-13 caps dilute avg. |
| 2020s (to date) | 60–120 | Deadpool & Wolverine (2024): ~150+; The Wolf... rewatch value. Uptick in superhero R-rates. |
Also note that the Hayes Code ended in 1968, and MASH (1970) was the first high-profile Hollywood movie to use clear, audible F-words.
So F-words are on the upswing in the highest-grossing movies, which could imply that people want to give their money to profane movies, and because they do, it's continuing to increase.
We could argue about how I asked AI to set this up and how reliable it is, but my takeaway is: OP is right, it started with the end of the Hayes Code, and it seems to continue to trend upwards.
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
What on earth are you even talking about? Must be "TV" content because movies were plenty profane in the 80s and 90s. Were you a kid only watching kids movies?
"TV" is really now streaming so it doesn't play by broadcast network rules so it's more normal to swear… something that happens constantly in real life.
"TV" is really now streaming so it doesn't play by broadcast network rules so it's more normal to swear… something that happens constantly in real life.
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Grok doesn't know what it's talking about. It included Wolf of Wallstreet in 2 of those summaries and it wasn't even a top 50 grossing movie.
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diffusionx
Gold Member
Millennial/reddit culture
Unknown Soldier
Member
Grildon Tundy
Member
You're absolutely right! I asked it about referencing Wolf in the 2020s before you said this, and it promised it didn't include it there.
But after going back-and-forth, it said you're right about Wolf not being in the Top 10, and gave an updated list. A list which is much more flat over decades, and now I'm less likely to believe it.
It's supposed to be Top 10 per year, so 100 total movies per decade. Wolf was #28 for US domestic box office for movies released in 2013. So still not top 10 that year.
bitbydeath
Gold Member
DKehoe
Member
I don't think it's just GAF. In general, it seems like there are more prudish people than there were a few years ago.
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
BoxOrficeMojo has it at 80: https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/2013/
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Trogdor1123
Member
I read some where that there is actually a correlation between swearing and intelligence but that it ends at a certain point and then the inverse becomes true.
It's not any kind of cause and effect of course.
Grildon Tundy
Member
It's Calendar Grosses vs In-Year Release. So it was #28 for films released in 2013, including subsequent earnings in 2014, 2015, etc. (In-Year Releases). It's #80 for earnings only in 2013, but it was released on Christmas Day 2013 (So it only had about a week of 2013 Calendar Gross).
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Oh gotcha, that's a funny movie to release on Christmas lol
Grildon Tundy
Member
And Martin Scorsese is Catholic!
wondermega
Member
Didn't grow up any kind of religious or anything, but my folks were always fairly proper in that regard, so no swearing in my house growing up in the 80s. I was really light on it as well up until joining the workforce, didn't take long before being surrounded by a buncha swarthy sailors constantly unleashing f-bombs that I became one of them.
In recent years I have tried to be more mindful of it and tone it down, because although I "enjoy" swearing, I also feel like doing it excessively seems lazy and just makes one sound unintelligent, but at the same time it's just so fucking goddamn easy you know?
There's an idea for an app, something that would count how often you (audibly) cuss each day..
In recent years I have tried to be more mindful of it and tone it down, because although I "enjoy" swearing, I also feel like doing it excessively seems lazy and just makes one sound unintelligent, but at the same time it's just so fucking goddamn easy you know?
There's an idea for an app, something that would count how often you (audibly) cuss each day..
I guess I'm not normal as I never do. I don't see the point.
NeverYouMind
Gold Member
If you are exclusively referring to western media then the uncensored 1973 public radio broadcast on WBAI (New York, U.S.A.) of George Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words You Can Never Say On Television" routine.
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Singular7
Member
This is the situation.
The further we get from the high society intelligent western roots the lower all aspects of life will degrade.
The future is idiocracy and that India post about poo festivals.
I just dont watch anything modern anymore. Its all so dumb, toxic, and exists to degrade your mind.
LimanimaPT
Member
I agree with the OP. If the language is not portuguese I don't notice it much but if it is I really don't like it. It's just unnecessary and teaches bad habits to younger audiences.
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ClanOfNone
Member
Blue collar vs. White collar.
When I worked in banking, I don't think I ever heard cursing amongst the staff, and certainly never in front of customers.
In the restaurant biz, cursing is part of the lexicon. EVERYONE has a foul mouth and I love it. We clean it up in front of the guests of course, except for the regulars who are in on it.
When I worked in banking, I don't think I ever heard cursing amongst the staff, and certainly never in front of customers.
In the restaurant biz, cursing is part of the lexicon. EVERYONE has a foul mouth and I love it. We clean it up in front of the guests of course, except for the regulars who are in on it.
StueyDuck
Member
dialog in film/tv and game has gotten pretty terrible, profanity or otherwise.
The thing that annoys me is Shouting is acting, apparently to show emotion in movies/TV and games today is simply to say thing louder and shake your face alot.
As an aside, Shouting is singing pisses me off even more but that is a different topic.
The thing that annoys me is Shouting is acting, apparently to show emotion in movies/TV and games today is simply to say thing louder and shake your face alot.
As an aside, Shouting is singing pisses me off even more but that is a different topic.
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NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
"Frankly, bitch, I don't give a fuck"
- Whoever plays Rhett Butler in the inevitable Gone with the Wind modern remake (they will figure out a way to make it work)
Movies can't have people smoking, making racist/sexist jokes, beating kids/puppies/minorities anymore. But they still needed something to make the bad guys stand out.
Except that now everyone swears. A lot.
In most blockbuster movies of the 80s and 90s you'd hear profanity when shit hit the fan, or when a character had had enough. It used to have an impact. Now there's times you have to decipher the actual dialogue between the swear words.
I mean, I was there. Swearing was used sparsely and wisely in movies. Adults used to tense when a kid was watching a movie and some swear words came up. I remember being impressed every time. Like… they can say that? Then they must be really pissed. It had… gravitas, as they say.
Yeah, people swear a lot in real life, but there used to be a time and a place for that, and it used to depend a lot on your status and circles. Now, if you don't swear, you're a pussy. It's like we're completely lacking that gravitas if we don't drop an F-word every other word, or something.
- Whoever plays Rhett Butler in the inevitable Gone with the Wind modern remake (they will figure out a way to make it work)
Movies can't have people smoking, making racist/sexist jokes, beating kids/puppies/minorities anymore. But they still needed something to make the bad guys stand out.
Except that now everyone swears. A lot.
In most blockbuster movies of the 80s and 90s you'd hear profanity when shit hit the fan, or when a character had had enough. It used to have an impact. Now there's times you have to decipher the actual dialogue between the swear words.
I mean, I was there. Swearing was used sparsely and wisely in movies. Adults used to tense when a kid was watching a movie and some swear words came up. I remember being impressed every time. Like… they can say that? Then they must be really pissed. It had… gravitas, as they say.
Yeah, people swear a lot in real life, but there used to be a time and a place for that, and it used to depend a lot on your status and circles. Now, if you don't swear, you're a pussy. It's like we're completely lacking that gravitas if we don't drop an F-word every other word, or something.