It is probably old news to those living in the U.S., but I just learned that it isn't necessarily verboten to say "fuck" on broadcast tv these days. I guess it started with Bono accepting an award and saying something like "this is really fucking great," a comment the FCC ruled doesn't have the sexual connotation that For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is famously banned for.
Of course, the close minded conservative (and coincidentally religious) crowd is up in arms, chicken littling about a future where fuck is in every song and talk show on the radio and on every sitcom and drama on broadcast tv. While this is hyperbole, if it gets them to shut off the tv and quit listening to the radio, I'm happier.
This is a great decision by the FCC though. It isn't because I want to hear people say "fuck" all the time (although it does allow for more realistic dialog). It's important to recognize that language isn't static and evolves, changes, fluctuates and morphs. If there is a word you don't like, redefine its usage. We've seen this with how gays adopted "fag" and blacks use "nigger". Even the word gay itself initially wasn't used in reference to homosexuality.
"Fuck" is a such a versatile word, a characteristic of it I didn't realize in its full extent until we were trying to help some Japanese students understand Pulp Fiction. "Fuck" is used in pretty much every way possible in that movie which made it harrowing to explain and understand. So many curses have become commodities as of late. "Damn," "piss," and "tits" aren't quite as vulgar as they once were (especially if you hang around Aussies, Limeys and Kiwis, where "taking the piss out of someone" is second nature). So while it may overstimulate our sensitivities at first, this move has the potential to gut "fuck" of the power derived entirely from its extreme taboo status.
This in turn highlights another phenomenon of cultural life. It is a natural reaction to try to impose restrictions on taboo and undesirable elements, but that often enhances the power and allure of the banned activity. The best solution at times is the counterintuitive one of ignoring and refusing to aid the strength of the taboo by validating it. This is also kind of the issue behind the Open Source Software movement. It seems counterintuitive that making software free to download and alter would be beneficial to the software or business, but we've seen how that isn't the case. It works with information (making information more freely available is better than locking it all up to prevent "bad" uses) and computer security (keeping vulnerabilities secret makes networks less secure than publishing them) and a host of other areas.
Protesting the FCC ruling that recognizes the adjectival form of "fuck" as acceptable only draws attention to the word and ends up with more people thinking and talking about it, which is just the opposite of what you are fighting for. Best to recognize that "fuck" is a widely used and fundamental element of our speech and just preach around it.
Good fucking luck.
Posted by Nutrimentia at January 11, 2004 10:11 AM | TrackBack