I have recently watched the new episode of South Park featuring a curse word being uttered unbleeped. I thought that meant it would be said once or twice, or something like that. As I watched, I noticed that a counter appeared in the lower-left corner. "Uh-oh," I thought. "How many times are they going to say it?"
Well, to give you an idea of how many times it was said, here are two figuers. The word was spoken 64 times before the first commercial and a total of 162 times for the whole episode. Yes, the numbers are quite impressive. And they don't even count the fact that the word was printed on t-shirts and hats everyone was wearing in the show. If you think all this is horrible, don't fret just yet. The episode does teach in the end that curse words should only be used in extreme cases, or people will die a horrible death. Something to think about.
All this talk reminded me of the first time I said a curse word. I wondered what could happen if I said one. I was in my room by myself, looked around, and said the equivalent to "female dog." Nothing happened. I figured what's the big deal. I had that mentality until I said one in front of my dad. That day I learned that curse words bring no harm as long as no one can hear you. Think about the last part of that for a second. It may be easier not to say the offending word rather than making sure no one is in earshot every time.
I watch Comedy Central a lot, as you may have guessed. I especially like the stand up comedy. I have realized that my favorite comics tend not to curse. Coincidence? Maybe, or is there something about the "clean comic?" You most likely noticed I have not disclosed one curse word throughout this article. It just wasn't nessessary. If you are a movie writer, then maybe one of those words would add to the emotional effect of the script. That works for me, but just don't overuse it needlessly. Otherwise you'll end up vomitting up your intestines. Sorry, that was from South Park.
Written 6/25/2001 by Chris Taylor