I live in Montreal so I hear US radio and TV all the time and I just don’t get the bizarre censorship Americans put up with. A few of examples that confound me:
A Black Eyed Peas song that uses the word Funk over and over. The word gets censored because it sounds a lot like fuck.
Greenday’s American Idiot contains the line “don’t want to be the fagot American”. Fagot gets skipped over even though the tone is really saying people who think of gays in that way are ignorant.
I saw a history of comedy program on PBS where they showed a clip of Chris Rock. Nigger was played over and over but fuck was beeped.
Blocking stuff like this feels insulting and often nonsensical. What are the rules and why?
This is my first time in the LR but it seemed like a good place to ask this.
Simple. Here in the US we love sex… and are afraid of it, at the same time. We like to use sex in advertising to sell things, but don’t want people to actually have sex. It’s weird…
It is very easy. There are seven dirty words that cannot be aired over the air by any radio or TV station. Radio and TV stations use public airwaves and are regulated by the FCC. If those words are used, then the stations can get hefty fines. These does not apply to cable stations or satellite radio since they do not use the public airwaves (The is why Howard moved ove to satellite radio.)
In radio we also censor for target markets. One station aimed at the adult contemporary demographic may censor words that one aimed at another demographic wouldn’t.
I think it’s weird that janet jackson’s boob was such a big deal, but CNN will show you people jumping off the buildings on 9/11, or that guy whose arm was torn off by other folks pulling on it, etc…
It’s a sad truth that we waste (IMHO) an inordinate amount of time and money trying to ensure that no one is ever offended, for any reason. Political Correctness runs amok.
Oh yeah, we do violence…no problem. But show tit for a fraction of a second (It was so fast that I missed it!) or have mothers breast feeding on a plane and you’ll be on someone’s shit list.
The first permanent settlements in the U.S. were by people, if not looking for the riches of the Indies, looking to spread the world of the Lord. I’ve been called on this in this forum before, but I think most of the people who settled the New World were indeed religious zealots, and in this day and age it comes through in some of our ethics.
Don’t let 'em say “fuck” on the air, but show commercials for a product that will help you keep an erection. Don’t show naked people, but show bikini-clad, surgically enhanced models next to bottles of lousy beer that you’re expected to drink to great excess if you want to be cool. By all means, let your children watch murder after murder on TV, but don’t let them read a book that might have a racial slur in it. Walk them through checkout aisles at the grocery where magazines tout sure-fire multiple-orgasm tips, but wig out when your son cops the SI swimsuit issue. And definitely have your three martinis after work “to take the edge off,” but drop the hammer of justice when an athlete is seen taking a hit of a far less harmless drug. If you want to get to heaven, sit in a big room for an hour every week pretending to be ashamed of what you’ve done the previous six days, but when you get home, turn on the tube and watch controlled violence complete with the aforementioned commercials.
Americans’ hangups over cursing, alcohol, drugs, and sex are comical. Yes, I am an American, and I am for the strictest interpretation of the First Amendment (no censorship ever) because the government has far bigger fish to fry these days. And if you’re offended, change the channel, put down the magazine, return the book… but don’t tell me what I can and can’t watch, read, listen to or consume.
I listen to WLS a lot and Roe in the afternoon occasionally “Allude” to words that are “Forbidden” by the FCC. From what I can pick up it’s not only certain words, but also certain words can be used but only in certain contexts.
From my understanding it’s WAY more complex that just a few words.
For the most part I think it’s just plain old silly, it’s words and visuals. Put a rating on the show and let people say what they’re going to say. If the guy on the radio or TV starts talking about something you don’t want you or your kids to see or hear…change the channel.
Things like the infamous “Super bowl boob” is just stupid…IMO
The seven words don’t apply to 2 of my 3 examples. The first just makes people think of the word fuck and as someone else said fagot isn’t one of the words. The 3rd example does censor one of the seven but leaves what I’m sure most people would think is a much worse word.
