What's your take on foul language in books and movies?

[jongibbs]

When I'm reading, there are some swear words (like the 'c' word) which kick my eyes off right the page. On blog posts, if I see that word (or even the less-offensive 'f' word), I stop reading right there. If the 'c' word's in a book or movie, or it feels like every other line of dialogue contains an 'f-ing', there's a better than 50/50 chance of

Comments

[temporus]

Yes, you are being shown something. You're shown intensity. Or anger, or frustration or many things. Profanity means something. It's use MEANS something. It shows something about your character when they use it. How they use it and how often use it.

If Jon shouted "F* you!" at me, I'd be damn well shocked. It would get my attention like you can't believe, precisely because it's just not how he talks or treats people. That's a two word sentence that would sum up a lot more effectively a whole lot of characterization about the situation we were in, than a paragraph or two could. That's not telling. That's showing.

Compare that to some other members of my local writing group, and I might not even notice that there was anything special about that interaction.

Can vulgarity be overdone? Absolutely. Just as we can abuse adverbs, or adjectives, or run on sentences. It can also be done in a careless fashion that doesn't add anything because the author doesn't take the time to consider what vulgarity means in the situation or in the context of the characters involved.

[msstacy13]

Possibly.

Jon was silent, and for a moment, perhaps a heartbeat, two at the most, I thought his jaw was trembling. Then I heard a word I hadn't known he could spell, let alone pronounce so clearly. The fact that he hadn't meant it literally was no consolation.

"Oh, Jon," I said, beginning to weep, "I am so sorry for that last remark."

[temporus]

A nice turn of phrase. Doesn't work for me though. And it took you over 47 words to say, in a much weaker way to my eye, as what I propose could be done in two.

[msstacy13]

Thank you.

Yes, there are times when less is more,
when hitting the nail on the head,
however brutally,
is what really matters.

[jongibbs]

'Then I heard a word I hadn't known he could spell, let alone pronounce so clearly.'

I agree , that's a nice turn of phrase, but aside from any showing/telling issues, it would also leave an awful lot of words for the reader to choose from ;)

[msstacy13]

Thank you.
It would, of course, depend very much on context.

BTW, I'm having one of those
"If the Hays office would only let me..." moments here.
:)

[msstacy13]

Allow me to apologize if I'm chattering and/or arguing far too much,
but leaving that word to the reader's discretion
not only frees the author from any risk of offending anyone,
it's also a very engaging device in itself,
like a Bob Newhart phone gag.

[msstacy13]

I'm sorry to be difficult,
but those two words work so effectively
only because it's Jon saying them.

If Jon were a character in a story,
you'd have to set that moment up really well,
but it would probably be worth the trouble.

[temporus]

Not difficult at all. And yes, you'd have some work to do to make those two words have strong impact. You'd have to establish that the two people have known each other for several years, had many interactions, and that over the course of years of knowing each other, I would never hear (that I can recall) Jon using that kind of language. You'd even have to establish that when I'm around him, I tend to tone down my own language out of respect for the fact that he doesn't use that kind of language. (Not that it's ever stopped me completely, but I do tend to moderate my language in context of who is involved in the conversation.)

It might be the kind of characterization that would take several books to pull off that same weight. But it would work.

There's going to be characterization going on to make it effective. The author has to consciously be thinking about it, or you can't produce that kind of effect. Use, or lack of use, of that kind of language says something about the character of the person using it. There are times when I'm perfectly fine with eliding the vulgarity. But there's also times when it is far more effective to actually *show* the character using profanity.

[msstacy13]

Yeah, it's pretty much a matter of what to show and how to show it.

[jongibbs]

'Compare that to some other members of my local writing group, and I might not even notice that there was anything special about that interaction.'

Now be fair, Ed. Some of the men in the group are just as bad.

JUST KIDDING! :)