The Mirror: Instant Drop in Standards

 Back in 1984, my 15 year old friends and I went to see a film which legally we weren't supposed to be able to see. I was able to buy alcohol as well around that time thanks to looking older than I was, and the slackness of those who sold the grog. I live in Australia's Northern Territory and I need to show my ID every time I buy alcohol at a bottle shop. I'm pretty sure I look over eighteen now, but we have a banned drinkers register up here, so no ID, no booze. Late in '84, I'm pretty sure the person who sold me movie tickets to Scarface (rated R) didn't even look at me to see whether I was old enough, and they certainly didn't ask.

How did I feel about seeing a film with sex, nudity, very frequent coarse language, graphic violence, gore, and intense and frightening scenes? Let me just say, there's a reason such content is restricted to adults.

That was 36 years ago. Thirty six years. In the 1980's you never heard swear words on TV. There was no PG rating, but they had one called NRC (not recommended for children under 12), so films with a rating lower than M would generally have been considered okay for older children. There would not have been any course language or strong violence and certainly no nudity or sex, not even suggested or implied sex. TV was also very safe during prime time, generally speaking.

Of course, it's possible, I'm viewing the past through rose-coloured glasses, but I feel like there was a lot of safe, harmless viewing for children, even as recently as the late nineties and early 2000's when my older children were growing up.

I would have bet my life on a PG film being safe for my two younger children, now aged fourteen and eleven respectively. In fact, I tell them when it's their turn to choose, that anything PG is okay for us on family movie night. There's been a not of a blurring, a lowering of standards in my view, but it's been such a slow fade I wouldn't be able to pinpoint when it happened. At what point did someone say it was now okay to use the word "shit" multiple times throughout a PG rated film? When did nudity and strong sexual allusions become okay? Realistic violence? Did I miss something? There's no other way to describe it other than as a slow fade.

What brought this all to a head for me was last week's family movie. I'd previously considered this one, but baulked and, in it's place selected the pathetic Jack and the Beanstalk which I wrote about in a previous post. I hesitated and chose another film instead of Instant Family because of the advisory warning. These are good. These advisory warnings because they add detail to the rating. Okay, it's PG but why? What is it exactly that makes this family film not for general exhibition. Instant Family actually rated M today, but I swear it was PG on Saturday. Anyway, it's rated M with a content advisory saying its suitable for children aged 13 and over...which is what I thought PG was.

My point remains though, albeit minus my star attraction in the witness box. There are PG films with mild sex scenes, coarse language and medium level violence listed on Amazon Prime's ratings list. I reckon PG is no sex, no coarse language, and mild comedic violence only. But I'm swimming against the tide, I know that. When parents take their children to the cinemas to see M rated films, and they say that's okay because they are superhero films.

I admit to being conservative which may lead me to the continuation of this tiresome belly-ache. Rather than making clearer my already completely transparent views, I'll turn my attention to the film which started it all. It's ironic that it appears to have been my mistake which led me to having to try to explain 'dick pic' to my eleven year daughter. I chose an M rated film which contained frequent uses of 'shit'. And there were some fairly intense dramatic scenes and violence. You can see why I was shocked. And you can probably also see why I'm a little sheepish about my protest. Protest? Let's be honest, it was a rant; a baseless rant, (but not entirely baseless).

I'll be more careful next time.

Instant Family, by the way, is a terrific film. A highly recommended heart warmer.

Damn! Damn! Damn!

I recall back in primary school, when I was maybe seven or eight years old, being told off by a teacher for using the adjective bloody to describe something. She said such a word was offensive to Christ who shed his blood for the forgiveness of sins. I didn't understand her reasoning, and still don't really, but I have never forgotten how upset she was. How genuinely offended she was.

Several years ago, the Berri juice company had an advertisment on television which featured an angry boy mowing the lawn. Obviously upset at being forced to cut the grass for his parents when he really just wanted a drink of orange juice, he mowed the word shit into the lawn. Well, partially mowed it: just enough for the viewer to know what it said but not enough to have the whole word on the screen. I stopped drinking Berri products for a long time after I saw that ad.

Currently, Holden have a TV ad featuring a dad driving a new Colorado. It features a child emulating his father's use of  the term 'bloody caravanners.'

Do we want our children to use swear words? Is it cute to hear a kid use the word bloody as an adjective to describe they don't like? Is it okay for an angry child to swear? Parents do it all the time, and some of them then reprimand their children for using the same language. If you don't care, then I'm wasting my breath in this blog, but I just don't like it. I think swearing has become much too acceptable dammit, and I think it's shame that less and less people are offended by bad language. What do you think?

Photo source:
http://pixgood.com/kids-swearing.html

Worse than the F-bomb

A year 6 girl was recently singled out by a teacher and hit with a verbal harangue about her language. The teacher pulled the student out of the group immediately and delivered a sermon about inappropriate language which was offensive to Christians. During the rebuke, the teacher mentioned the fact that "we hear it all the time on the television" but that doesn't make acceptable. As I watched the drama unfold, I reflected on my own feelings towards the use of the saying for which the year 6 girl was reprimanded. "Oh my God!" Was I offended? Am I offended? I recalled my careless uttering of the word "bloody" back in my primary school days, and the subsequent tongue lashing I received from the teacher who felt that word was offensive to Christians.

People invoke the name of one god or another on a daily basis, usually to add authority to their claim to be speaking the truth, but also to express shock, amazement or grief. The phrase, "Oh my God! or its digital offspring, OMG, is so common nowadays that no one thinks anything of it. It is a meaningless mouthing. I don't like it so I don't use it, but I'm not greatly offended by it. It's more of an annoyance. People likewise say "thank God" all the time without thinking anything of it, and I don't see how I could be offended by people thanking God even if they don't know him or believe in him. However, when I say thank God, I am not just using a popular expression of gratitude or relief, I am actually thanking God. I believe in God so when I use his name, I am talking about Him or to Him.

The greater offence, in my eyes, is the misuse of the name of the Son of God. "Jesus Christ" is often used as a swear word and considered less offensive than the F-bomb. This is a special and precious name to billions of people and yet so many treat it like dirt, a common profanity. I used to do it before I knew Him, before He saved me. I did it to aggravate Christians that I knew, and to amuse my friends with my creative blasphemies. I don't think that most people are as calculating as I once was, but I do think they are careless with their words. The Bible says there is no other name by which men man by saved. To use that name as a banal throwaway swear word is most certainly offensive, and quite stupid. It makes me cringe when I hear people use Jesus' name in vain. 

As for the year 6 girl with the loose tongue, I hope she learns to think about what she says, and how she says it. We should all be mindful of the same thing, as we will be held accountable for every word we speak.

Christ Almighty

Jesus! Jesus Christ! Christ Almighty! Have you ever uttered these words? Felt frustrated? Blurted them out. Angry? Spat them out. Or simply desperate for an adjective which you could use in mixed company? Maybe they are words you use automatically. Just a part of the way you express yourself. Throwaway words without any meaning.

We recently celebrated Christmas. Strangely, Jesus gets mentioned quite a bit at Christmas. Many people from the church of C & E, attend Christmas services even when they would never ordinarily think of entering a church other than by invitation for a wedding, or a funeral or a christening. Songs are played and sung which are about Jesus. They are called carols but they are actually songs of worship. Consider "Come All Ye Faithful": O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. The story of Christ's birth (the Nativity)is told, and re enacted.

Jesus gets more attention and respect during the Christmas period, otherwise known innocuously as the festive season. For this reason alone I wish it was Christmas all year.

However, even at Christmas, there are some who continue to use the name of Jesus Christ as a swear word, as a cheap combination of sounds stripped of true meaning. A more acceptable curse. Mere words on par with other expletives, except these don't need to be deleted. No one really minds a few "Goddammits" or "Christ Almightys".

In old speak, they call it blasphemy but really it is simply disrespectful, both to Christians and to Jesus Christ himself. It is offensive.

Jesus Christ is a real person. His life, death and resurrection are historical facts. For Christians, Christ is Almighty and his name is special. It is powerful. It is not just a name. It represents hope and love and salvation. In fact, the Bible says it is the only name by which men can be saved. It is a name worthy of respect and honour, a name to be used with reverence, a name to speak with deep affection and gratitude. Try using it that way some time and see how your life will turn around.

Which of these swear words is most offensive to you?
	f#*!
	sh*!
	Jesus Christ
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