Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Let’s say you’re a young comedian, and you’ve just landed your dream job: A spot on “Saturday Night Live.” And on your first episode, you get to star in your own sketch, something that can take years to happen for other cast members, if it even happens at all.
Your character is a biker chick who says “frickin’,” “freakin’,” “friggin’” or variations of other words (a hilarious character indeed).
Now, let’s say you let your guard down, and about 12 friggins into the sketch, that ugly monster of a word emerges from its dank cave in the recesses of your brain, punching the little voice in your head that’s chanting, “Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it,” directly in the throat and soiling the ears of all who tuned in to the show. What would you do?
You’d probably make a face that says, “I’m so dead.”
That’s what Jenny Slate did on the season premiere of SNL last month. She puffed up like a blowfish, performing the facial expression equivalent of Ashlee Simpson’s bizarre jig during the SNL lip syncing fiasco of 2004.
In their state of silent disbelief, those audience members probably thought they had seen Slate’s last moments before SNL creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels personally dumped her lifeless body into the East River. And with good reason — the last cast member to say the f-word, Charles Rocket, was fired.
Here’s the odd thing, though. NBC said Slate will not be fired. And the Federal Communication Commission didn’t even fine NBC since the profanity occurred late enough at night, according to various entertainment blogs. Nothing real came of the unfortunate utterance.
So why all the shock about something that most people say every day? Why all the hullabaloo over a four-letter word?
We here at the University of Kansas are no strangers to the strange emotions evoked by the f-word. The controversial kickoff chant that contains the word has put students at odds with the campus leaders who don’t want folks watching football games on television to think we’re vulgar, unwashed hooligans.
What I find to be interesting is that the focus seems to be on that one little word and not the fact that the chant endorses forcible decapitation. If we chanted “I do say, give that gentleman a severe case of cranial avulsion,” the University would point to it as an indication of the student body’s improving vocabulary skills.
There seems to be a dissonance between the values we assign certain words and the impact they have on the real world. We can talk all we want about removing skulls without consent, but the moment a dirty word gets thrown in, people react in horror.
But what really happens when somebody says the f-word? Do our ears bleed? Are we struck by lightning? Do puppies stop being cute? No, no and — thank God — no.
Bad words are bad only because we say they are bad. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, like somebody who has premonitions of becoming a hobo deciding to major in English. The only negative result of somebody saying a bad word is the controversy that surrounds it. If we followed the teachings of George Carlin, the patron saint of cursing, we’d let words just be words and worry only about the important things in life.
The key is to just not give a fuck.
— Nichols is a Stilwell junior in creative writing
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Comments
Nichols: Accepting the f-bomb
A link to "Accepting the f-bomb", is now posted to www.FreakinUniverse.com - Portal to All That Is Freakin. Thank you for contributing content to Freakin® multimarket brand network.
"Freakin". Wurd.
Nichols: Accepting the f-bomb
I love the Kansan and what can get published in it. Except the stuff about the athletes fighting. We get it. They're immature and apologetic.
Nichols: Accepting the f-bomb
"What I find to be interesting is that the focus seems to be on that one little word and not the fact that the chant endorses forcible decapitation."
Exactly. That's what I've been saying for years. The f-word in that chant isn't even the most offensive part!
I'll agree with glenjamin. I've always admitted that the RHFHO chant lacks creativity. But more importantly, it shouldn't be considered offensive because of one word.
Nichols: Accepting the f-bomb
Nor does saying that one word make someone "trash" or "stupid."
Nichols: Accepting the f-bomb
I've heard a number of people say that "profanity is a crutch of the inarticulate."
To that, I say serve in the military for a little while, and you'll quickly learn that while this statement may be true, the use of profanity also allows for the well articulated people to communicate with the inarticulate dumbasses in a vernacular they can understand.
That just my two stinkin Lincolns on this topic.
Nichols: Accepting the f-bomb
Profanity I feel is more of a crutch for they lazy than the inarticulate or uncreative. Plenty of decent comedians I know make an effort to not use profanity, but there are instances where profanity, or any vulgar language or references, can be used and often are just as humorous as clean comedy. I do think however that using clean comedy is a mark of a comedian who puts more thought and effort into their comedy and makes an effort to not potentially alienate part of their audience who may be offended.
The thing that irritates me the most about the SNL instance is not the fact she said "f--k". This instance was sort of a double-edged sword for her because if she goes into the character not being conscious of what's coming out of her mouth, she's probably going to say it if she's ever used it in every day speech. If she's conscious and trying hard NOT to say it, because it's on her mind, she'll say it. Try not to think of pink elephants. That's all you can think of. Her reaction to it I feel was extremely unprofessional. I've always been taught that if you make a mistake on stage, continue, go with it, and do not acknowledge it unless extremely necessary. I feel this was not one of those moments, and as a cast member of SNL, I feel she would have been trained in not breaking character, and keeping the scene going. So, my feeling is, if she was going to get fired for either the "f" word or the reaction, I'd kick out for being a puffer-fish, not a cusser-fish. Right? Right.
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