CRUDE IS RUDE
Words make a difference. You can quote me on that.
Lions roar. Bears growl. Eagles screech. Snakes hiss. Elephants trumpet. Human beings talk. The use of language distinguishes us from all other manner of species. That is not, of course, to say that others do not communicate . . . they surely do. But it is to say that human communication is infinitely more complex, refined, and sophisticated. That being the case, it is to the benefit of all that the way we use language be considered and considerate. After all, words improperly used, i.e. rashly or thoughtlessly, have caused the downfall of marriages, nations, and everything in between.
Recently I viewed the Hunters TV series on the Amazon Prime network. I am now watching the Netflix series Longmire. There is a substantial difference in the two scripts.
Hunters is about post-war American Nazis and those hunting them. The plotline is interesting and carries one along. But from the git-go to the end it is rank with dirty talk and religious blasphemies. The f-bomb is used so often that the whole affair seems like a non-stop sex orgy. Longmire is about a small- town sheriff in Wyoming. There are bad characters in the series who could have been scripted with nasty potty-mouths . . . but weren’t. The story is no less engaging and the characters no less real due to the lack of vulgarity.
As a U.S. Marine I heard every form of cursing known to humanity. It even had its place in combat. But I now prefer language that respects others and leans toward the more pleasant sides of life. It’s puzzling to me why scriptwriters and authors think it’s necessary to spread verbal filth throughout their works. Many movies and books reveal that leaving lingual dirt in the gutter and refraining from profaning objects of faith improves the product and respects people of faith.
Now . . . on to the next episode of Longmire.
