DIRTY WORDS YOU CAN SAY ON TV (10-2003)

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” 
 
That is one of the most famous lines in movie history, 
spoken by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in the 1939 classic, 
“Gone With the Wind.” It also cost the producer, David 
Selznick, a $5,000 fine for violating decency standards for 
motion pictures. 
 
In 1939, the Hollywood Production Code dictated what could 
and could not be shown or said on screen, and Rhett 
Butler’s memorable last line raised red flags. A few of the 
suggested alternatives were, “Frankly, my dear, I just 
don’t care,” “... my indifference is boundless,” and “... I 
don’t give a hoot.” Fortunately, producer Selznick elected 
to pay the fine and keep the original line. 
 
Since the early days of motion pictures, society’s 
standards for what can and cannot be said on film and on TV 
have changed. In the early days of television, it was not 
even permissible to use the term “pregnant” when referring 
to a woman who was “with child.” 
 
TV shows of the late 1960s such as “The Smothers Brothers 
Comedy Hour,” “All in the Family” and “Laugh-In” broke new 
ground in what was permissible to say and show on the small 
screen. 
 
But even those shows seem tame by today’s standards, as 
evidenced by the fact that reruns of some of them have been 
shown on Nickelodeon, a network primarily for kids. 
 
Comedian George Carlin, in one of his early comedy 
routines, developed the definitive list of seven words that 
“can never, ever be said on television.” But even a couple 
of terms from his famous list have since been broadcast. 
 
In the early 1970s, Elton John’s hit single “The Bitch Is 
Back” was banned from play on some radio stations, 
including the Franklin College station, WFCI. And Charlie 
Daniels’ tune, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” had an 
alternate radio version that used the phrase “son of a gun” 
instead of the album version lyric, “son of a bitch.” 
 
Telly Savalas’ character in the 1970s TV series “Kojak” 
uttered the word “bastard” in one controversial episode 
that carried a parental warning for language. Today, the 
same word is used often, without parental advisories. 
 
But the mother of all obscenities, the “f-word,” remains 
forbidden in broadcast land. Although it has been uttered 
on a couple of occasions during live performances, it is 
always bleeped out on taped shows. 
 
But even that word, and its inflections, might eventually 
find its way into the lexicon of acceptable broadcast 
terminology. The FCC recently ruled against a parent 
watchdog group who complained that Bono, the lead singer of 
the rock group U2, was in violation of FCC broadcast 
standards when he uttered, “this is really, really f---ing 
brilliant” on the Golden Globe Awards show. 
 
The FCC, in its ruling, stated, “The word ... may be crude 
and offensive, but, in the context presented here, did not 
describe sexual or excretory organs or activities. Rather, 
the performer used the word ... as an adjective or 
expletive to emphasize an exclamation. We have found that 
offensive language used as an insult rather than as a 
description of sexual or excretory activities or organs is 
not within the scope of the commission’s prohibition of 
indecent program content.” 
 
So there you have it. As long as you don’t use offensive 
words in the context of sexual or excretory acts or organs 
but instead use them as insults or exclamations, you’re 
safe from the wrath of the FCC. 
 
Of course, that doesn’t mean that TV censors are going to 
lighten up and allow every obscene word on every show. 
Networks have their own standards of decency, which are 
probably even stricter than what the FCC requires. Still, 
the ruling was a blow to the Parents Television Council, 
the group that brought the complaint. 
 
Censors must balance the rights of parents, who have a 
reasonable expectation that profanity will not be used 
during times when kids are most likely to watch TV, against 
the rights of late-night viewers who are generally more 
open to the use of profanity. 
 
It is unrealistic to prohibit from broadcast the same 
speech that pervades the playgrounds at most elementary 
schools. At the same time, parents should expect that 
programs broadcast during early evening hours will be free 
of smut. 
 
But as long as adult language is broadcast only after most 
kids have gone to bed and uttered in the right context, I 
see no real reason to censor it at all. 
 
The TV watchdog groups may disagree. But frankly, I don’t 
give a hoot.