How can the americans survive with all this censorship on tv?

I'd say it all began with the Florida "incident"...

The neocons long for the days when "Petticoat Junction" merely suggested at the goings-on in the water tower, rather than show us the all-girl-and-one-dog orgy that we all know went on there

(note: If you have no idea what I'm talking about...I pity you your lack of culture) :p

Taboo # 7 wrote: The neocons long for the days when "Petticoat Junction" merely suggested at the goings-on in the water tower, rather than show us the all-girl-and-one-dog orgy that we all know went on there

(note: If you have no idea what I'm talking about...I pity you your lack of culture) :p

You can take the boy out of Hooterville, but you... Wait a minute, no you can't! :p

Come ride the little train that is rolling down the tracks to the junction. (Petticoat Junction) Forget about your cares, it is time to relax at the junction. (Petticoat Junction)

Lotsa curves, you bet. Even more when you get To the junction, Petticoat Junction.

There's a little hotel called the Shady Rest at the junction. (Petticoat Junction) It is run by Kate, come and be her guest at the junction. (Petticoat Junction) And that's Uncle Joe, he's a movin' kind of slow at the junction, Petticoat Junction.

turn off the TV...

http://pulpfictionedited.ytmnd.com/

Then there's the "friggin'" version of Scarface...

:p

Marc wrote: http://pulpfictionedited.ytmnd.com/

My best mate and I were watching some film, don't remember which, and one character called another character a "monkeyrider."

Er, that's not what his lips were saying...

Ahhh yes JUST the sort of fucks who ought to be in charge of freedom LOL.

Land of the free? Police state cmpared to NI...which actually has BEEN a police state.

EDIT: I watched the Blues Brothers on TV in Chicago, thought it would be a cool thing to do with my sore hungover head. Cut to RIBBONS LOL. pussies, nanny state twats.

The following post has been edited for American consumption

Doctor? wrote: Ahhh yes JUST the sort of folks who ought to be in charge of freedom .

Land of the free! Policemen are your friends.

EDIT: I watched the Blues Brothers on TV in Chicago, thought it would be a cool thing to do with my free time.

Cut to PERFECTION LOL it was funny. princes and princesses, the FCC .

Only thing I can add to this is that what you refering to is the basic cable television. These parameters only fall under local tv stations. Cable tv does not have deletions, or censors.

Because I have children, I don't want sex and cursing all over local tv stations. It's amazing how my son will zone out when the tv is on, but as soon as something sexual is on the tube he's glued to it. . .and there is no warning as it is in alot of commercials and shows unexpectedly. I also like to have my cable channels, that curse and have sexual content, for my enjoyment for when mt kids are in bed.

Also sometimes it's amusing to hear the dub overs, like "monkey-rider", like Comrade was refering to.

JHC

68Pontiac wrote:

Also sometimes it's amusing to hear the dub overs, like "monkey-rider", like Comrade was refering to.

JHC

We were rolling-on-the-floor laughing! And now that I think about it, it was a Samuel L. Jackson film.

Comrade Shampanyov, Gentleman wrote:

68Pontiac wrote:

Also sometimes it's amusing to hear the dub overs, like "monkey-rider", like Comrade was refering to.

JHC

We were rolling-on-the-floor laughing! And now that I think about it, it was a Samuel L. Jackson film.

That it was Jackson actually makes it alot funnier.

JHC

I don't watch TV unless there's some britcom on PBS or some history show. Oh, and NCIS during regular seasons.

I get my news from more 24 hour, varied sources. Internet's a great equalizer in the censorship campaign. That is, unless you use some sort of child filter.

I think the only think that shocked me was passing a TV at 7pm and hearing a spattering of different cuss words aside from the F bomb on your average everyday nationally broadcast non cable station. I mean, I grew up during the 80s, and that would have been call of a round of furious phone calls to a station material.

People flip out over alleged nipple clamps on half time shows, but have the notion to not care with language, but then want to turn around and block anything that shows a more liberal conversation in news reporting.. it makes no sense.

Make up yer mind.

Dunno what exactly yer talking about Nick, maybe it's just the regular, non-premium TV channels, but the only show I make a point to watch is Deadwood on HBO, which has got the language covered. And since HBO is paired with Skin, errr, Cinemax out here, there's the sex part. Must say the edited version of Big Lebowski that airs on Comedy Central is a major travesty though.

I think the lawmakers usually are going after not showing things that go on in their own bedrooms anyway, so it's easier to see why they'd get so upset

Senator Specter, I'm going to have to ask you to use the safe word if you want to be untied

Senator Kennedy, please! Can you stop gnawing at your ankle cuff! :p

Someone told me or I read somewhere that some channels are SO under the whip of the church that they must beep out "god".

ROFLMFAO.

oh yes PLEASE I BEG YOU, bomb my country and make it as free as yours oh PLEASE.

Doctor? wrote: Someone told me or I read somewhere that some channels are SO under the whip of the church that they must beep out "god".

ROFLMFAO.

oh yes PLEASE I BEG YOU, bomb my country and make it as free as yours oh PLEASE.

When you can't take the Lord's name in vain on The 700 Club...well, that's not America anymore

Oh yeah, not that I'm a big Howard Stern fan or anything, but how does Saint Oprah get away with talking about "tossing a salad" on day-time TV while Howard couldn't say that on the radio?

[darkgreen]Green[/darkgreen] wrote: Oh yeah, not that I'm a big Howard Stern fan or anything, but how does Saint Oprah get away with talking about "tossing a salad" on day-time TV while Howard couldn't say that on the radio?

I agree, the FCC has a double standard. Though to be fair, a one-time incident where someone not known for a potty mouth makes a slip doesn't warrent the same scrutiny as a repeat offender, but if you're going to set across-the-board penalties because you're suddenly waking up to the fact that the Fifties are long over, treat everyone equally. If the FCC went after Oprah, I guaren-damn-tee you they would be exposed for how uptight they are (as well how ridiculous some of the complaints filed have been).

I think there was a news story a while back that revealed most of the "complaints" filed to the FCC came from parent's groups with obvious right-wing agendas and some major parenting issues with their own kids. Anytime you can motivate people to blindly protest any sort of "profanity" without taking into account the context you are stepping on some major elements of the right to Free Speech. Plus, the ironic thing is most of these groups miss the point: if you ignore something that offends you in the popular media, it will go away and lose its power. Once you start in on someone like Stern or various other shock-jocks, you give them creedance that they wouldn't have otherwise. Really, would anyone know who Howard Stern was if the FCC and uptight prudes hadn't started assaulting him?

So my message to the "complainors" is thus: Grow the fuck up. People say shit all the time that you wouldn't want your ten-year-old to hear. Set a motherfucking goddamn example and don't be a pussy about not using that cocksucking language around them. They'll fucking thank you for it, shithead

Luv the Al Swearengen-speak in the last paragraph Trevor!

The following has been edited for American consumption:

Taboo # 7 wrote: So my message to the "complainors" is thus: Grow the flub up. People say stuff all the time that you wouldn't want your ten-year-old to hear. Set a mop-and-bucket good-time example and don't be a prissy about not using that cornslurping language around them. They'll rumping thank you for it, bedspread

[darkgreen]Green[/darkgreen] wrote: Luv the Al Swearengen-speak in the last paragraph Trevor!

Thanks, I was feeling the moment there and went for it...plus, I realized that the previous paragraphs had no obvious laughs. So, me being the resident jester here...

I feel sorry for Americans and their prudish TV and government. Acting like it's the end of the world when Janet Jackson exposed her chest slightly... The hypocrisy is, I hear that Americans are fairly lenient about violence, yet act like sex, sexuality, and nudity are the worst evil... Grow up, people!

leather_girl wrote: I feel sorry for Americans and their prudish TV and government. Acting like it's the end of the world when Janet Jackson exposed her chest slightly... The hypocrisy is, I hear that Americans are fairly lenient about violence, yet act like sex, sexuality, and nudity are the worst evil... Grow up, people!

LeatherGirl,

Considering your from Japan, I would say the same type of hypocrisies are in your culture as well.

And this restriction is only to certian channels (which are "family" oriented), there are plenty of channels that don't have this censorship. Lay off.

JHC

I dunno, perhaps I'm in a minority of one on this side of the Atlantic, but even though things like the Janet Jackson 'wardrobe malfunction' row seem completely ridiculous, sometimes I think there's something to be said for the way the US does things. I mean, yes Bible Belt prudery seems absurd and tiresome, but there's also something tiresome about the crude sniggering approach to sex in this county, t&a shoved in your face in every newsagent (lad mags seem a bit sad to me) and tabloid newspaper, not to mention the tendency of the French to use naked women's bodies to sell just about anything. The US approach seems to be to defend freedom of speech (in a way we don't do in Europe) but you have to specially look for 'offensive' stuff, the mainstream is kept bland and wholesome. Here the mainstream is much more permissive but there's actually much _more_ censorship at the margins.

Best overdubbed substitute for "motherfucker" in a movie on TV:

melon farmer (Die Hard 3)

I agree that violence is out of control on American TV (CSI shows extremely grisly murders, House is medical yuckiness times twenty, Jack Bauer kills probably 4 people per episode of 24 and tortures people without mercy), however I think the language restrictions are actually being relaxed, i.e. more "goddamns" and even "shit" on basic cable!

Sex/nudity, however, is woefully prudish Just when ya need a good T&A fix before bedtime (heh heh ), not a nip or doggy style in sight

404 error wrote: I dunno, perhaps I'm in a minority of one on this side of the Atlantic, but even though things like the Janet Jackson 'wardrobe malfunction' row seem completely ridiculous, sometimes I think there's something to be said for the way the US does things. I mean, yes Bible Belt prudery seems absurd and tiresome, but there's also something tiresome about the crude sniggering approach to sex in this county, t&a shoved in your face in every newsagent (lad mags seem a bit sad to me) and tabloid newspaper, not to mention the tendency of the French to use naked women's bodies to sell just about anything. The US approach seems to be to defend freedom of speech (in a way we don't do in Europe) but you have to specially look for 'offensive' stuff, the mainstream is kept bland and wholesome. Here the mainstream is much more permissive but there's actually much _more_ censorship at the margins.

I thought your comments on the soldiers was very agreeable. But that is a load of tripe.

Prissy nonsense.

Sex in the UK shouldnt be judged by shelves on a newsagent store. Surely it's just about how often you get your end away

I have to agree with 68Pontiac on this one, and as usual, with the always well-spoken 404 Error.

I don't have a problem with watching the uncensored films (in fact, I think the censored films are ridiculous), but I would have a problem if my kids (if I had such creatures) were being exposed to inappropriate materials at an inappropriate age. The key to me would be to keep some networks family-oriented, and some networks adult-oriented. Or maybe to have chip technology that blocks out certain broadcasts unless the parents choose to override the chip.

I'm going to let my eighteen-month cousin Seb watch the uncensored version of Scarface with Al Pacino...does that make me a bad uncle?

I don't know how others survive but I don't care much about verbal abuse and nudity on TV. If they need to edit, let them do it.

I consider it rather childish to long for nudity on TV, ha ha.

OK, I understand that censorship on TV protects little children from corruption.

But seriously, there is a backlash. I couldn't understand Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" from the editing. Watching edited versions of Scorsese's flicks is a slap in the face for me. How about watching "Raging Bull" on cable? Remember the scene where De Niro accuses Pesci of sleeping with his wife?

[magenta]shedmonite61[/magenta] wrote: OK, I understand that censorship on TV protects little children from corruption.

But seriously, there is a backlash. I couldn't understand Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" from the editing. Watching edited versions of Scorsese's flicks is a slap in the face for me. How about watching "Raging Bull" on cable? Remember the scene where De Niro accuses Pesci of sleeping with his wife?

I'm now addicted to watching "Goodfellas" anytime it's on TV if I happen upon it, after seeing it this past semester (in all it's unedited glory) in Film class. As bad as some of the editing is when it's on something like TBS or TNT (which is where it usually is on weekend afternoons, it seems like), it's still better than the prospect of it airing, say, on ABC primetime. Plus, basic cable can get away with a little more of the violence and profanity than regular networks. So...as much as I cringe when "fuck" is replaced with something ridiculous (the ever-ready "frigging"), I can sit through Goodfellas because the essence of the film still comes through.

Now, given the option of watching it commercial-free and unedited on HBO or on TNT with all the restrictions...yeah, I'm going all-out HBO I'm not an idiot.

But some films are bearable even with the prudish structure of modern TV ratings

What I hate are the TV shows that "push the envelope" with profanity and such on networks like FX, but they rarely have any compelling reason to do so. It's kinda like having the pizza-boy delivery scene that leads up to the orgy in a soft-core porn film, then cutting immediately to the delivery boy putting on his clothes and thanking the ladies for their time. Maybe I watch too much soft-core porn... But it just seems like saying "fuck" for the hell of it, not because it serves a purpose in the story.

I think I'm done with my master's thesis on the topic :p

Taboo # 7 wrote:

It's kinda like having the pizza-boy delivery scene that leads up to the orgy in a soft-core porn film, then cutting immediately to the delivery boy putting on his clothes and thanking the ladies for their time.

hum sounds like spanish cinema, except they show that stuff.

i always look forward to seeing spanish films on tv here.

Barney Army wrote:

404 error wrote: I dunno, perhaps I'm in a minority of one on this side of the Atlantic, but even though things like the Janet Jackson 'wardrobe malfunction' row seem completely ridiculous, sometimes I think there's something to be said for the way the US does things. I mean, yes Bible Belt prudery seems absurd and tiresome, but there's also something tiresome about the crude sniggering approach to sex in this county, t&a shoved in your face in every newsagent (lad mags seem a bit sad to me) and tabloid newspaper, not to mention the tendency of the French to use naked women's bodies to sell just about anything. The US approach seems to be to defend freedom of speech (in a way we don't do in Europe) but you have to specially look for 'offensive' stuff, the mainstream is kept bland and wholesome. Here the mainstream is much more permissive but there's actually much _more_ censorship at the margins.

I thought your comments on the soldiers was very agreeable. But that is a load of tripe.

Prissy nonsense.

Sex in the UK shouldnt be judged by shelves on a newsagent store. Surely it's just about how often you get your end away

You think? It's not something I feel very strongly about, perhaps I'm just influenced by my previous (American) gf. I had the same feeling of embarresment when she first saw a Brit tabloid as I did when a French friend first ate in my work canteen and was served with a plate of indefinable slop. They were both too polite to say anything but one could tell a lot from their expressions.

I just think if I wanted to have a go at the US I wouldn't choose this issue, as there's something to be said for their way of doing things. Maybe its because the US is so diverse that the common public space has to be kept as bland and inoffensive as possible, for the same reason they are so keen to keep religion and state separate. But at the same time any kind of weirdness you might want is out there _somewhere_, thanks to the first amendment.

And I'm not talking about how the Brits _do_ sex, just how the media presents it! If I were American I'd 'plead the fifth' on your last comment.

Censorship sucks. That being said, most of television shows and Hollywood movies suck too.

So I don't think we're missing much.

On The DVD for film "Shaun of The Dead" theres a clip of a scene with the F word replaced with Funk, that was done for playing on airliners. Hilarious....

To answer the first question: don't even bother owning a TV.

Hey, we're progressing. At least the American censors allow us to say "pregnant" on TV now.

We've actually come along way. Remember all the old sitcoms with married couples sleeping in single beds?

And, for the record, the FCC swings back and forth with the political tides here, but outside of the mainstream media freedom of speech is still relatively strong. I do agree with the comment that the american comfort level with violence as opposed to sex is somewhat hypocritical. I mean, really, sex is supposed to be a normal part of life, but killing four people within a one hour period is not supposed to be. Of course, I'd also rather not have nude women pitching orange juice while my 3 year old is watching TV.

Besides, being an American, I will freely admit this: there are some very silly people here, and some of them have been elected to high-ranking political offices. I didn't vote for them, although I' admit that the ones I did vote for would probably have been equally silly. Its simply because, in America, as the saying goes, "a fool and his money is soon elected."

The things people flip out about here as signs of a degrading society seem to go in cycles - cursing used to be okay to an extent (they'll censor words now lkike bastard that weren't bleeped in the 70s in 80s) but now it's not. It used to be gambling was considered really bad (given that in the long run, the odds favor the casino and lottery agency so the average schmuck will lose money) but now you see poker all over the telly. Who, honestly, likes to watch guys with mirrored sunglasses play Texas Hold 'Em. It just sounds gay, doesn't it?

My personal fav censoring is when Judd Nelson yells' F--k you' at the detention monitor in Breakfast Club. It's a really powerful moment in the movvie that really isn't anymore when it's changed to 'Flip you!'

But what about the UK - can't you get arrested for saying something negative about the Queen? That seems way more big brotherish to me.

Shakin' Baker wrote:

But what about the UK - can't you get arrested for saying something negative about the Queen? That seems way more big brotherish to me.

News to me. Though I find it hard think of _anything_ to say about the Queen, she being such a characterless cipher. Given the absurdity of her job she does it rather well by being completely bland and inoffensive and never saying anything of interest about anything. Prince Charles on the other hand...an arrogant and pretentious thicko, methinks.

In theory you can be arrested for saying something negative about Jesus though. And we came within a whisker of it being a crime to inadvertantly offend any religious person.

404 error wrote: but there's also something tiresome about the crude sniggering approach to sex in this county,

i think this might be because we have so much censorship. for example, topless beaches are no big deal in france. imagine what would happen if the US were to legalize (are they actually illegal, though? or legal but must be private?) topless beaches? loads of sniggering! one way we're stil tied to the mayflower.

and i've always found it strange how in the states sex is censored more than violence.

pay $10+ bucks more and you can get HBO i guess

lots of hypocrisy about sex i suppose you could go on endless, or what about all the talk about morality in sex... i'm sure 99% of all these conservatives talking absolute platitudes about "family values" have had marital affairs or mistresses or even prostitutes or even had same sex contact or at the very least have masturbated to pornography in the past... its all so absurd

what is really scary is the news censorship in this decade

AgentWood wrote:

404 error wrote: but there's also something tiresome about the crude sniggering approach to sex in this county,

i think this might be because we have so much censorship. for example, topless beaches are no big deal in france. imagine what would happen if the US were to legalize (are they actually illegal, though? or legal but must be private?) topless beaches? loads of sniggering! one way we're stil tied to the mayflower.

and i've always found it strange how in the states sex is censored more than violence.

Actually there's a legal nude beach in California called Black's Beach. It's right behind Torrey Pines national forest, and right under a cliff that hang gliders take off from (not to mention a few perverts who have their chairs and binoculars). Surfed naked there once, and I won't do that again. . .it hurts pretty bad when you wipe out.

JHC

Cheech & Chong's Next Movie censored on USA Channel. Instead of the duffel bag being full of sweet, sticky, stinky buds it was full of diamonds. I almost had a flash back when they aired that one.

Aries wrote: Best overdubbed substitute for "motherfucker" in a movie on TV:

melon farmer (Die Hard 3)

First heard "melon farmer" in Repo Man on late-night BBC2 Moviedrome season in 1989, introduced by writer/director Alex Cox himself. He thought it was a hoot and felt we afficionados would appreciate it too. We did. And it still caused complaints since "it's obvious what the original word is"!!!

hugh mcphail wrote:

Aries wrote: Best overdubbed substitute for "motherfucker" in a movie on TV:

melon farmer (Die Hard 3)

First heard "melon farmer" in Repo Man on late-night BBC2 Moviedrome season in 1989, introduced by writer/director Alex Cox himself. He thought it was a hoot and felt we afficionados would appreciate it too. We did. And it still caused complaints since "it's obvious what the original word is"!!!

I would have thought that the idea was to keep the little kiddies to whom it's not "obvious what the original word is" from hearing that word on TV. Good to know that Amercia doesn't have a monopoly on sanctimonious prudes.

404 error wrote: You think? It's not something I feel very strongly about. But at the same time any kind of weirdness you might want is out there _somewhere_, thanks to the first amendment.

See, your point that out_there_somewhere might be the part to take issue with. There is the consistency that most 24 the show Violence is considered fine but showing any skin is censored out. That the type of European Sexiness that is say, the Greek fisherman dancing with his partner in night probably would get censored out of basic cable or put on at 2a makes you question what type of regulations are behind it. Then you hear of the crazed gun-totting generalization-rich businessman who's gone and snapped and shot his colleagues out at the workplace.

I think a good way to resolve the debate of sexuality versus violence is to have a couple on a TV show engage in passionate lovemaking, then pull out their AK-47s or Glochs and shoot up the bedroom in an attempt to off one another

I'd watch

Shellshocker wrote:

hugh mcphail wrote:

Aries wrote: Best overdubbed substitute for "motherfucker" in a movie on TV:

melon farmer (Die Hard 3)

First heard "melon farmer" in Repo Man on late-night BBC2 Moviedrome season in 1989, introduced by writer/director Alex Cox himself. He thought it was a hoot and felt we afficionados would appreciate it too. We did. And it still caused complaints since "it's obvious what the original word is"!!!

I would have thought that the idea was to keep the little kiddies to whom it's not "obvious what the original word is" from hearing that word on TV. Good to know that Amercia doesn't have a monopoly on sanctimonious prudes.

Hey, the film was broadcast at midnight!

hugh mcphail wrote:

Shellshocker wrote:

hugh mcphail wrote:

Aries wrote: Best overdubbed substitute for "motherfucker" in a movie on TV:

melon farmer (Die Hard 3)

First heard "melon farmer" in Repo Man on late-night BBC2 Moviedrome season in 1989, introduced by writer/director Alex Cox himself. He thought it was a hoot and felt we afficionados would appreciate it too. We did. And it still caused complaints since "it's obvious what the original word is"!!!

I would have thought that the idea was to keep the little kiddies to whom it's not "obvious what the original word is" from hearing that word on TV. Good to know that Amercia doesn't have a monopoly on sanctimonious prudes.

Hey, the film was broadcast at midnight!

My point was that it was pretty stupid to complain about "melon farmer", and it's even more stupid now that I know the film was broadcast at midnight.