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"Dick" on Television


DrewH

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I've been watching television for almost 19 years now and I know there are a few words that aren't allowed to be used on screen. You can say !@#$%^&*], ass, damn, piss and hell. It's pretty prohibited to say [!@#$%^&*], [!@#$%^&*], [!@#$%^&*], !@#$%^&*], etc. Since when was it passed that the word "dick" can be used on television? In the last 2 weeks, I've heard the word 3 times on various shows. And it's not like they even tried to say it to make it sound like they meant something else. One occasion it was "My character was a real dick." Another was, "You don't have dicks anyway." And the third one was on Next on MTV when the one girl said the guy's dick was probably small. Did this rule just become passed? I always thought "dick" was on the list of what you can't say on television.

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I am not sure about network television, but I know I read a couple of years back that the FCC doesn't have too much influence on Cable. Someone had written the local newspaper about how shows like Nip/Tuck and Rescue Me were able to get away with so much. The guy that answered the question said that the FCC didn't have much control over stations like F/X which were cable. And that the rules were very relaxed concerning them. A few weeks later someone wrote back and stated that the FCC had evidently come down on Nip/Tuck because the sex scenes had gotten tamer.

The editor wrote back that it was not the FCC that brought about that change but the producers of the show had tamed them down a bit - not wanting to push the limit too far because they had some bigger surprises for later in the season. After seeing the rest of the season after that I am assuming they were talking about the male/male love scene after the surgery of the war veteran.

I remember he alluded to some fans saying they had pushed the limit in some scenes, but even with that it was from fans and not the FCC.

I am just assuming that with the FCC being so much more strict these days on network TV, maybe cable is pushing thier limits and going all out to provide a different area of programming.

I do know that a couple of years back Good Morning America did a story too where the FCC was going to allow certain words now, but I do not remember dick being one of them. The word [!@#$%^&*] is allowed now - only if used in a non-sexual manner. I think they are referring to like being fucked off or something like that.

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Wait, "[!@#$%^&*]" is allowed on broadcast nets? I don't think so.

I know they said "[!@#$%^&*]" was allowed 'if the story dictated it.' But that was WAAAAAAAAAAY back in the "Chicago Hope" days when that show made TV history, I believe, by having a doctor say it after a patient died, or some such.

Even if these words aren't allowed on the broadcast nets and affiliates, I'm seeing them seep in. It's a slippery slope...

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[!@#$%^&*] was said live on Big Brother last summer when Janelle screamed it to Jennifer and said "PACK YOUR BAGS, JENNY! [!@#$%^&*] YOU!!!!!" And gave her the finger! LOL. Best moment of reality television ever.

They use really racey language on Nip/Tuck.

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Doesn't the time of day when the show is screened influence what is allowed? Shows in the late evening have more leeway than daytime...

So true. Few people actually know that the Soviet Union really collapsed because the censors allowed swearing on television there, and it had little to do with communism or the cold war.

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Nudity and profanity air on network televisions in Canada. Shows like The Sopranos and Nip/Tuck air on CTV at 10pm and they're uncut. All they do is put a "Some scenes may not be suitable..............viewer discretion is advised" right before they come back from commercial break.

I think same goes for England and their networks.

It's only a matter of time before the US catches up with the rest of the world.....or not? America is overly sensitive when it comes to nudity and profanity. LOL

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Well you can not think so if you want, but that is the rule now. It cannot be used in a sexual sense but can be used in the other sense - just like the way Janelle used it on Big Brother. And like Mike I remember that and it was not bleeped out.

But then the other night James used it when he was taking the cold shower and they did bleep it out. So not sure why BB allowed it at one time but then not at another. Because according to the FCC report on GMA it can be used in the sense that James used it. I remember even one of the reporters saying that "[!@#$%^&*]" has become just a word like "damn" for some people. The way James used it he could have clearly said damn and it would have been okay with the censors too.

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I know, I'm from Canada and I love how we're free here and a breast is not considered taboo. It annoys me to no end when they bleep so many words on the US channels, like [!@#$%^&*]. Here you can see sex in the middle of the day but violence is less tolerated(wich I agree with), unlike in the US and that boggles my mind :rolleyes:

Janet Jackson's boob was shown over and over again and young girls are not having sex earlier or dressing more sexy here than in the US. And we can show a woman breastfeeding on a magazine without freaking out.

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Okay, you guys, it's been a while since I've studied this, and yes, things change every day, but I am almost POSITIVE that OF COURSE the "F" word ain't allowed on broadcast TV. Remember, BB is full of amateurs, and perhaps the installment KR referenced was live. Was it? If so, the censors didn't have time to kill it. Think about it.

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JSF, I did some looking around and this is what I found right off. I was thinking the first issue came up about an Awards show but couldn't remember which. Here is the reference about it from a Yale University website:

from

http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/modules.p...le&sid=1249

And here is another reference to the new ruling from a blog which dates the new ruling from the FCC in 2003. I knew it was just a few years ago that the FCC made the ruling. Sorry to burst your bubble JSF, but what I said is true and is supported by other locations too.

From: http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2005/03/fcc_says_privat.html

As you can see from that last blog entry though, the FCC seems to change it's mind about the ruling constantly.

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I knew about the Bono case. But like I said, that was okay'd because it was live television, when the situation couldn't be helped. (We're just saying that as an excuse just for the hell of it since I'm at work and don't care to delve deeper.) Anyway, the same was true for the "Big Brother" telecast, and why the first occurrence probably happened on live TV and couldn't be helped whereas the second one, which was taped, had been bleeped. Again, I'm no expert on these things but as an ex-TV student (which I seem to have temporarily given up for journalism) it doesn't compute that the FCC would okay the F-word just yet. And again, if that were true, we'd be seeing it eeeeeeveerywhere. And God, I should hope it'd spice up the soaps! My whole point is, though the Bono incident was excused, broadcasters know that doesn't mean they can have a free-for-all on the word. It must be used incredibly sparingly and broadcasters only could get away with it if it was a socially redeeming film like "Saving Private Ryan." Otherwise, there's the risk of being fined. My whole point was not just anybody can say it, and that appears to still ring true. Granted, you're clearly right about the FCC ruling in favor of 'f,' but that appears to be a rare exception.

In other words, we're not on the same level as cable, and that's why I reject arguments that say 'the US allows it.' Because until it's always allowed, without question, even if it's on a sitcom or about sex, then it's not allowed.

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It's in Germany as well. They show a "This show might not be suitable for viewers under the age of 16" warning or something like that. All HBO shows air on free tv, for example Sex and the City aired at 6 pm.

Same here.

On the radio, they don't even censor American music. We always get to hear the dirty versions :lol:

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It drives me nuts how they censor SATC, b/c the point and fun of that show is about sex, and dirty words. Especially since they show it at 11pm here on ABC, come on! I know there are parts of Canada where they still censor some stuff, but mostly when it's after 10 pm it's not as censored. I live in the province of Quebec though, and nothing is censored here(cuz we're French). There is a show here called Loft Story(kinda like BB but in French), and it passes at 7pm. They didn't censor all the swear words for a while unitil some parents got mad and made complaints, and at that point I agree. I think before 10 pm bad words should be censored but not breasts, that is natural.

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