Do we really need the cursing on the Falcon and Winter Soldier?

[Timandalicia]

I have been watching the Falcon and Winter Soldier with my kids. We love the movies and love the new show but it seems gratuitous to put the swearing in.

As Cap would say: “Language!”

 

[usnuzuloose]

I have been watching the Falcon and Winter Soldier with my kids. We love the movies and love the new show but it seems gratuitous to put the swearing in.

As Cap would say: “Language!”

It seems most shows are using it, And there is no reason for it

 

[Timandalicia]

It seems most shows are using it, And there is no reason for it

I think simply to separate themselves from broadcast television?

 

[NotUrsula]

A few words here and there don't bother me, especially if there is some military/battle context, as the truth has always been that soldiers of every stripe tend to curse more than the rest of society.

Where it bothers me is when there is so much of it that it is obvious that it was put there on purpose to shock. I'm pretty unshockable, but I do find that any over-the-top excess of profanity is an annoying distraction, and strikes me as a cheap shortcut meant to cover up weaknesses in writing and direction. A prime example of this was Kevin Smith's Dogma. That film had a really intriguing premise and a brilliant cast, but the sheer avalanche of profanity overshadowed everything else about it and (for me at least) made it fatiguing to watch.

 

[Moliphino]

I haven't even noticed any cursing, but it also doesn't bother me at all.

 

[Moliphino]

It seems most shows are using it, And there is no reason for it

Because people in real life talk like that?

 

[SteveH]

IMHO it's unnecessary, it's lazy & sloppy writing. I managed to watch some of dumpster fire that is Star Trek Discovery until the F-bomb hit, at that point I was done. That word just bought me out of the future and back to the ugly reality of living today.

 

[kdonnel]

Kevin Smith has been asked why his movies contain so much cussing. He has explained that he writes the dialog as he and his friends talk. It is just a part of his lexicon.

I imagine a similar reasoning can be applied to many writers.

https://comicbook.com/irl/news/kevin-smith-censored-comic-con-panel-too-much-swearing/

If you know Kevin Smith, you know by now the filmmaker isn't afraid to hold back his true thoughts, NSFW language and all. During Smith's Comic-Con@Home spotlight panel, the censors had their work cut out for him as the director swore a total of 113 times over the course of the panel. Our friends at GameSpot did the math on the cursing, tracking the auteur's swear pacing and all. In the first two minutes alone, Smith was bleeped at a rate of 3.5 BPM (bleeps per minute.)

 

[BrianL]

I don't think Falcon has too much of it - about the same as the movies. They don't use F-bombs (and I agree @SteveH that it is very unnecessary in Star Trek). Like the movies, the Marvel shows are "PG-13" so that's just about the level it is at. I don't think it's gratuitous, and it works witht he charactes. Now, if they did have Steve Rogers saying it, THAT would be gratuitous and very out of place.

 

[dez1978]

My kids have heard way worse from me than they will hear on anything on Disney +. Swearing doesn't bother me at all. Now when they start throwing out other words that are racist or derogatory towards others etc, I try to limit those. Or if we do watch something like that and my kids actually notice and ask about it we talk about it and why those words aren't ok to use and perhaps why it was used in this context.

 

[NotUrsula]

Kevin Smith has been asked why his movies contain so much cussing. He has explained that he writes the dialog as he and his friends talk. It is just a part of his lexicon.

I imagine a similar reasoning can be applied to many writers.

https://comicbook.com/irl/news/kevin-smith-censored-comic-con-panel-too-much-swearing/

Yeah, but it's still lazy screenwriting. Stream-of-consciousness is fine for a first draft, but good screenwriters don't actually expect a film to be made with a first draft. You only have a finite amount of time to tell your story, so screenplays need to be edited carefully so that every word counts and contributes to the quality of the film and the progression of the plot. If it doesn't, then it needs to be cut.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I haven't watched it yet but I don't know exactly what words we're talking about.

I grew up where my best friend's mom considered crap a bad bad word, to some people hell is a bad word. Darn as well. So it's going to vary.

 

[BrianL]

Yeah, but it's still lazy screenwriting. Stream-of-consciousness is fine for a first draft, but good screenwriters don't actually expect a film to be made with a first draft. You only have a finite amount of time to tell your story, so screenplays need to be edited carefully so that every word counts and contributes to the quality of the film and the progression of the plot. If it doesn't, then it needs to be cut.

I disagre there. Kevin Smith is trying to be authentic to his experience, thus the language used is appropriate. One could argue that people who swear every other word may be poor communicators, but emulating that in a movie is perfectly valid and no indication of "laziness" or anything if that is the desired goal. I bet Kevin Smith could write a thesis on why he chose one swear word over another in a specific instance.

 

[SgtTibbs]

I think it fits the characters, Wanda and Vision weren't talking like service men on leave so it's not as if Marvel can be accused of "lazy screenwriting"

 

[Lehuaann]

This show has a TV rating PG-14 (may contain strong violence, strong language, and strong sexual content).

Eta, for reference, WandaVision PG-TV (later episodes increased to PG-14), Mandalorian PG-14

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

A prime example of this was Kevin Smith's Dogma. That film had a really intriguing premise and a brilliant cast, but the sheer avalanche of profanity overshadowed everything else about it and (for me at least) made it fatiguing to watch.

Dogma was perfect for having curse words. The entire movie was laced with mature aspects to it and quite raunchy at times. It just sorta all fit together. The pairing of angels who go on a murderous rampage, to a muse acting like a stripper, to bringing in the Jay and Silent Bob characters in, to all the sexual comments, to even the parallels of the main character being religious but questioning her faith.

It's not the most amazing movie out there but ain't nothing lazy about it to me. In fact I think it probably took a lot of effort to get that to all meld into a movie that balanced out having religion in with all the other adult aspects without tuning out audiences too much and ratings-wise it's high enough rated.

 

[dez1978]

A few words here and there don't bother me, especially if there is some military/battle context, as the truth has always been that soldiers of every stripe tend to curse more than the rest of society.

Where it bothers me is when there is so much of it that it is obvious that it was put there on purpose to shock. I'm pretty unshockable, but I do find that any over-the-top excess of profanity is an annoying distraction, and strikes me as a cheap shortcut meant to cover up weaknesses in writing and direction. A prime example of this was Kevin Smith's Dogma. That film had a really intriguing premise and a brilliant cast, but the sheer avalanche of profanity overshadowed everything else about it and (for me at least) made it fatiguing to watch.

This is one of those issues where there are going to be a lot of different opinions on it. You can feel like it's lazy, or bothersome and that's cool. I can feel like it was a great movie and not be bothered by any of the cursing, and that's cool too. Neither of us are wrong, because it's simply an opinion.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

John Walker just decapitation America! that one guy and your concern is the language?

 

[Jennasis]

Because it is authentic to the character.

 

[RamblingMad]

These are more like the Netflix shows. I’m cool with it. Eventually your kids will swear a lot. No big deal. We all do it.