Breck C. sent us this image (found here) of George Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can’t Say…” bit:
Here is a video of Carlin performing the “7 Words” piece (via Boing Boing):
These could be good for discussions of deviance and definitions of “acceptable.” Who gets to decide what is offensive, or in what context (i.e., why can you say “prick my finger” but not “finger my prick,” as Carlin put it?)? Is there really such a thing as a “community standard” that we agree on? If not, whose standards are used to determine what is acceptable in the public realm? Also, what words that wouldn’t be acceptable on TV 30 years ago are ok now, or vice versa (I can think of gay and racial slurs that would have been fine in the 60s and 70s that wouldn’t be today)? We can see that these standards change over time–they got more permissive for a while, but since the Janet Jackson nipple incident, the FCC’s crackdown on “indecency” on TV, including fining networks if people use profanity during a broadcast, has somewhat reversed that trend.
And of course it would make for a fascinating discussion of language in general–how we give sounds we make with our mouths so much symbolic power and meaning in lots of different ways, and struggle over what those meanings should be. Our parents may tell us, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” but there are lots of words that different groups think hurt people (whether it’s sexually explicit language, racist slurs, etc.).
And of course there’s the issue of comedy and the different ways it can be used (in this case to make a political point about free speech).
Thanks, Breck!
