The Supreme Court Upholds Crackdown on Television Profanity

by Libby Pelham | More from this Blogger

28 Apr 2009 12:38 PM

The other night, I was having dinner with some friends. One expressed shock that she saw Luke, a deaf contestant on "The Amazing Race," sign the term for a female dog (follow me here). I told her I wasn't really surprised because one of the other contestants had verbally called him that derogatory name beforehand. That prompted another dinner guest to say "Oh yeah, they can say..." and went through all the curse words that could be said on television today without being bleeped out.

After that conversation, I remembered that when I was growing up, things certainly seemed a bit different. I am thinking, of course, of the major networks, but even basic cable channels can get by with racy material and language that surely would have been banned 30 years ago.

I read today that the Supreme Court is upholding the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) policy on televised profanity. This victory for the FCC is the first time a ruling has been made as far as broadcast indecency standards in more than 30 years.

Now, don't think either me or the FCC as prudes. What the FCC is concerned about is one-time profanity use that slips by the censors when children are watching. The FCC has been up in arms about this since Nicole Richie used two expletives at the 2003 Billboard Music Awards then Cher dropped the f-word at the awards in 2006. Also in 2003, Bono dropped the f-word during the Golden Globes. The Golden Globes for gosh sakes!

None of those were fined in those examples above, with the argument that the f-word can mean many things. Some say the f-word should only be banned from network television if it is used in a sexual content. Those people insist the meaning of the word itself has evolved over the years. Others point out that the FCC has been inconsistent with its policy, allowing movies like Saving Private Ryan to be shown without any bleeping of bad language.

Hum, I can't agree with that. In fact, they can add the d-word, the b-word, and even "ass" (which definitely has another meaning, although that isn't usually how it is used on television) back to the banned list as far as I am concerned. I am not saying these words should be banned completely. I love FX's "Nip/Tuck," which includes not only profanity, but adult subject matters and brief nudity on occasion. But, I know this beforehand and can prevent my four year old from seeing it. I don't think it is appropriate when I watch shows on network television and have to explain to my son which words are bad - on a regular basis.

What do you think? Do you back the FCC or are there times when it is okay to let obscenities pass the censors? Or do you even watch network television at all anymore?

Learn more about Libby Pelham

Libby Pelham is a work-at-home mom located in Jacksonville, NC. She has a beautiful little boy, Will, born in July of 2004.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger