The creeping of TV bleeping

I just couldn't resist posting this. I guess "bleep" is the new profanity. At least on TV.

Getting bleeped: It's not just for awards-show speeches anymore. Once largely relegated to slips of the tongue during live events, censored cursing has evolved into a pre-planned, or at least largely expected, punch line that's network-approved and no longer lowbrow.

In some ways this actually sounds a bit like what was happening before the MPAA took over. Hollywood stretching the boundaries.

Whether you blame it on Bono's "[bleep]-ing brilliant" outburst at the 2003 Golden Globes or chalk it up to TV scribes' freedom of speech, the use of bleeped curse words on television has risen steadily, particularly over the past few years, according to a recent study by the Parents Television Council, an L.A.-based media watchdog group. Across all networks and prime-time hours in 2010, a bleeped or muted S-word aired 95 times (up from 11 times in 2005) while a bleeped or muted F-word aired 276 times (up from 11 times in 2005). Last year, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to limit "fleeting expletives" to late-night television, a ruling that has severely hampered the government agency's ability to punish what it deems indecent language.

Could it be the very reason those powers were diminished was to open the door for this and other things Hollyweird has in the works? Stay Tuned... Same Bat channel... Same Bat time...
Bleeping...

Funny enough, none of the countries I've lived in: France, Portugal, Spain, Holland, China censor any curse-words on TV, does anyone know if this an exclusively american phenomena?

reply to post by oniris

I think Canada does. But not to the extent America does. And as you know, Europe doesn't seem to have a problem with colorful metaphors at all.

So is it exclusively related to the religous puritanism of some american fringe? Or does it go deeper than that?

reply to post by oniris

In my opinion, Yes. But I believe our own government has fostered it in many ways. Even though they are supposed to be neutral about religion.

Well, I live in Bulgaria, and in here, honestly the dub is not very good, but instead of the bleep they translate it with a little bit softer words. I've also lived in Spain, and there, especially, on Spanish show is real profanity in some shows, but that is usually tongue-in-cheek.

That's not true. Many countries censor swear words, including Europe and Asia. They either censor swear words or restrict them until a certain time.

For example:
The UK does not censor swear words, however; swearing is not allowed on TV until after watershed (9:00PM). Thus the word "sh*t" can't be said on TV until after 9:00PM.

Poland, Romania, and Russia all censor swear words. The words "pizda", "chuy", "kurwa", "jebat", and "spierdalaj" are censored on Polish TV.
The words "pizda", "pula", and "fută" are censored on Romanian TV.
The words "blyad", "manda", "zalupa", "yebat", "pizda" (and many more) are censored on Russian/Ukraine TV.

In Greece, "foul language before midnight is punishable by a fine. These provisions are enforced by the National Radio and Television Council (ESR)." en.wikipedia.org...(television)#Greece

And many Asian countries also censor swear words such as India, Japan, China, Taiwan, etc...
Here's an example:
"The five most common vulgar words in Cantonese (Chinese) profanity are diu, gan, lan, tsat,and hai. These five words are forbidden and bleep-censored on Hong Kong broadcast television".

so as you can see, many countries censor swear words ...or they replace them with softer words or restrict them until a certain time.

So is it exclusively related to the religous puritanism of some american fringe?

Yes (well, it's why WE do it). Same reason a naked human is somehow immoral on American television.

Other nations censor just out of a sense of decorum...but ours is mostly a product of our puritanical past.