Vulgarity: Is it really ******* necessary?!

[Yakimaman]

For fuck's sake quit the fuck saying fuck.  

Really, what is with the almost juvenile fascination and use of this word in this show?  

Edited November 27, 2016 by SilverStormm
Title edit

[okerry]

In some instances on this show, I agree - both Sizemore and the tech with the beard - it's getting old - I have no problem with any character using any word needed in service of the story, but this is getting to be overkill. Especially when they're YELLING it.

[Gobi]

Doesn't bother me. I can't even say offhand how it compares to other shows. I hear the same thing in everyday life. We're a vulgar society, for good or ill.

[Lebanna]

Most of the characters are deeply unpleasant. They are the kind of people who spend millions going to a park to rape, torture and kill robots who are designed to simulate humanity as close as possible and actually experience pain and emotional distress when these terrible things are done to them. It's the worst kind of conspicuous consumption.

Or, they are robots designed by people who think that unlimited rape and killing makes for a fun, delightful business plan. People who say 'fuck' a lot, probably want to design robots who say 'fuck' a lot.

If you don't like them saying 'fuck' all the time, logically it might be because the characters are not likeable and are written to do unlikable things so that you won't like them.

Same with the nudity. The robots are naked because some bastard decided not to give them any clothes. Because said bastard prefers it that way. Because they can. If the robots are having orgies, it's not even because they want to, it's because some bastard is making them do it. Because they're evil. The nastiness is there to illustrate how twisted these humans really are. It's not titillating, it's an illustration of rape and abuse.

Edited November 8, 2016 by Lebanna

[arc]

Honestly, I've had coworkers who swear more than Elsie does.

[Willowy]

I love well-used profanity. The F word is one of the best and most versatile words in the history of ever. Just think about how many inflections, how many different uses! I am somewhat concerned however, that with overuse, it could eventually diminish the impact of a perfectly splendid expletive.

The only time I feel it's cheapened is when someone uses asterisks in the middle of the word. Come on, everyone knows what you're saying anyway - I say respect the invective and give it its full-throated due! :D

[Gobi]

4 minutes ago, Franky said:

I love well-used profanity. The F word is one of the best and most versatile words in the history of ever. Just think about how many inflections, how many different uses! I am somewhat concerned however, that with overuse, it could eventually diminish the impact of a perfectly splendid expletive.

The only time I feel it's cheapened is when someone uses asterisks in the middle of the word. Come on, everyone knows what you're saying anyway - I say respect the invective and give it its full-throated due! :D

One of my favorite all time scenes was in The Wire when Bunk and McNulty were reconstructing a murder scene, and the dialog was almost entirely variations of the F word.

Edited November 8, 2016 by Gobi
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[TudorQueen]

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One of my favorite all time scenes was in The Wire when Bunk and McNulty were reconstructing a murder scene, and the dialog was almost entirely variations of the F word.

That was brilliant.

I don't find the use of the word "fuck" all that egregious in context. Now, if Dolores starts using it a lot, I may not accept that, but as it is, I'm finding it believable.

Between this show and John Oliver on "Last Week Tonight" (which usually precedes or follows "Westworld") HBO is serving up the fucks as if they didn't give one!

[Netfoot]

I am a grown-up.  My ears don't need protecting.

[Bill1978]

I'm not a swearer. Well not a spoken swearer. I swear quite often in my head. The only time I have a problem with swearing is when it's forced and not really necessary. Elsie swearing when in the dark discovering stuff made sense to me, it seemed natural. When people swear when angry it makes sense. But (in the first episode I think) when Narrative Guy and Bernard's Bonking Buddy were swearing in casual conversation it just felt like it was there to be edgy or to show it's a show made today and it is airing on Pay TV. I'm never a fan of swearing for swearing sake. And I must confess I hate hearing the C word in public or on TV, but I'm not going to write a letter of complaint over it.

The only time that I really dislike swearing on TV is during a period piece (like Elizabethan England etc), cause it sounds so out of place to my ears and rips me out of the time period and back into the modern era.

[Lebanna]

20 minutes ago, Bill1978 said:

The only time that I really dislike swearing on TV is during a period piece (like Elizabethan England etc), cause it sounds so out of place to my ears and rips me out of the time period and back into the modern era.

I get what you mean, but it's interesting that we don't imagine historical characters swearing, especially as we know from literature that the Elizabethans could be extremely profane. 

[Bill1978]

Agreed. As I was typing I was thinking, but they did swear back then so why would it seem strange.

[Gobi]

On 11/10/2016 at 8:57 PM, Bill1978 said:

Agreed. As I was typing I was thinking, but they did swear back then so why would it seem strange.

A problem with that is that words which were once considered quite shocking are harmless today. To get the flavor of cursing, writers have to use words that we consider shocking now. Not that present day curses are new inventions, just that other words may have been used in their place and  had the same effect.

Edited November 16, 2016 by Gobi
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[Epeolatrix]

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A problem with that is that words which were once considered quite shocking are harmless today. To get the flavor of cursing, writers have to use words that we consider shocking now.

Regarding Deadwood as an example, "Milch has explained in several interviews that the characters were originally intended to use period slang and swear words. Such words, however, were based heavily on the era's deep religious roots and tended to be more blasphemous than scatological. Instead of being shockingly crude (in keeping with the tone of a frontier mining camp), the results sounded downright comical."

With Westworld, I think it's not that far-fetched to have that much swearing simply due to social evolution and the environment. Common language now is worse than it was thirty years ago, for example, even on broadcast TV. I don't think people will suddenly take a turn for the more genteel as time passes, and the show is set in the future. Similarly, having spent too much time around tech-bros and game designers, I am not surprised at their language.

[ennui]

I was paying attention to this last night. When Theresa tells Ford "You're a f****** monster," it completely fell flat. I think the F word has lost all shock value. I would have liked it better if Theresa said "You're insane," for example.

[Reishe]

On 11/8/2016 at 11:24 AM, Lebanna said:

Same with the nudity.

The nudity bothers me, but it's supposed to bother me. It makes me feel protective of the hosts, and highly aware of their vulnerability. Their handlers don't view them as people, they view them as machines, or programs. Leaving the hosts naked is a conscious choice in storytelling and clearly not an exercise in "We're f---ing HBO, so here's some boobs."