Bad Language (Swearing)

There is some swearing in my scripts, but I never decide to stick it in for the sake of it. The words have to sound natural in the context.

I don't include cursing since I think it's immoral to speak/write, tho I'm not perfect and not here to tell anyone else what to do with their work. I will say that a lot of the old war-setting films (Bogart, etc.) used much less swearing (from memory) than even many modern comedies but they never suffered for "realism" in my view. 

I write mainly for TV, and although it's much more flexible now with streaming and cable, for some reason cursing just doesn't seem to fit. I also use it incredibly sparingly in real life, so I think I only have a couple scattered in my feature too. 

Quite a bit of F*cking swearing in my scripts. not by choice, but because my character needs to be, so expressive. Eg; What the darn you think you doing... Is not as expressive as - What the F*ck you think you doing. the P, D & C words I'll never use! And never will I use God's name In vain! ~ Jesus Christ F U. Really not cool.

Some years ago, I watched a golfer slam his club on the ground and shout, "Oh, boo-boo kitty!" after shanking his ball into the deep rough. To me, this was more enjoyable, creative and entertaining than any single or string of four letter words he could have used. It was also unexpected, memorable and impactful.

People are usually pretty shocked by how vulgar the dialogue (and even prose) in my scripts can be. I write what feels natural for the character to me. Since I write a lot of pulpy crime-thrillers, they contain the kind of people likely to swear like sailors. The only word I don't use is the n-word because it's so volatile within Hollywood studios.

While it shouldn't hold you back in a spec script, it can be limiting in the indie scene if you want a film to get picked up by some television channels. If there's so much swearing they can't bleep it all out, they'll pass and you may lose a profit center or other deals that were subject to getting said TV contract. Same issue can come up with blasphemy with some channels too so be smart.

That last four scripts I wrote on assignment contain minimal swearing since we want to get as many deals as possible.

I guess if we write in swearing, and the filming company doesn't like it? They can take it out.

There's screenwriters on ScriptRevolution who never swear in their scripts? Well, fuck.

As a Canadian, with tons of influences from England, since we were still a dominion of the UK up until 1982, I can verify that many Canadians, including myself, swear better than a room full of drunk sailors. We're like distant cousins with a dryer sense of humour that no one gets. See Trailer Park Boys for reference.

For my own script writing, it's 100% dependent on context. Situations, characters, eras.

Censors are a factor, sometimes, but again it depends. There's a comedic episode of X Files in which the characters curse up a storm. The entire episode is bleeped and it's so funny. I would love to see the first draft. Did they use the actual swear words or write bleep? Either way, very entertaining.

If it's part of the characters nature then use it. Lets the view know who they are and think to themselves "I know someone like that."  Even if only in certain company, or angry. 

When someone uses such language says a lot about the character. 

As a former sailor, I speak from experience :)

I normally write TV, but the one feature I have was a challenge I set myself to write something 'Hallmarky' with sanitised language.

I have a potty mouth and found it very difficult, rewarding yes, but I had to really keep focussed on the job in hand so as not to slip off into profanity riddled dialogue at every opportunity.

I swear in scripts. As with every other single word, you have to feel it's the best choice. I don't... think, I've sworn in anything other than dialogue though.

I use some swearing in my scripts (comedy and drama). However, it needs to feel right for that character, situation, mood. If you are wanting Samuel Jackson for your movie then, Motherf**ker is a must in the script. Swearing should be used as a tool to convey real passion not as it's used in real life.

I swear (no pun intended) I've read scripts of produced movies where the screenwriter used swear words in action/descriptions. I did a quick google search, but nothing came up. As I recall, they were dark action scripts and, at the time, I didn't even blink at the swear words because they were well within context for the script. So, I guess the answer is still, it depends.

Tony Gilroy swears within prose in Bourne Identity.

Bourne Identity! Thank you, CJ, for jogging my memory. That's definitely one of the scripts I read.

When you venture forth into the wonderful world of writing (any sort of writing), the issue of this thread is just one that comes up as you describe the greater world that's OUTSIDE of your own experiences. 

Profanity (I only broke loose by my 5th script, out of 50), sex scenes (arrgh, I have maybe 3 that could be called that), and the outer tolerances of violence and gore are the big "moral" boundaries you'll deal with.  Then there are the storytelling ones such as, are your stories always going to be terrestrial or are you prepared to really go "out there".  And how about contemporary storytelling versus tales in times of yore or times to come? 

I say, do not limit your imagination, but you'll find there are always personal limits no matter what.  And if you do go "outside the bounds", remember that it's not "you" saying or doing those things, as you're a writer of (mostly) fictional stories; you're not a journalist.

However, in case you're wondering, in terms of profanity my own limits match those of Barry John Terblanche's comment of Dec-4, above. 

And no matter.  If Tarantino or Oliver Stone ever make one of our films, they'll be injecting their own vocab into the thing anyway.

As mentioned earlier, my recent assignments contain barely any swearing as TV is a very real sales outlet for the completed films. We had someone send in a read and they filled the dialogue with profanity regardless because that's what felt natural. 

there's a line in the second season of The Boys, where Billy says something to the effect that the word "cunt" is a term of affection where he comes from

as an Aussie, this rang true and made me smile  – more than once i've heard friends (male and female) describe an acquaintance by saying something along the lines of:
well, he's a funny old cunt, but a top bloke 

Here in South Africa our second language Africans (Was 1st about 40 years ago, in our apartheid era). The word Does (Poes)  stood for BOX in English. So to say to someone in Africans; you are a does. Translates to, you are a box. But, the guy got what you really were calling him.    

There's similar cultural differences here in the UK. It's not uncommon to use the most offensive terms you can think of someone ironically or as if they are endearing. This is can be seen used heavily in "The Thick of It".

I wrote one feature script, a dark comedy heist script, where the lead character has Tourette's and there is as a result tons of swearing on every page. It's the best script I ever wrote IMO and it's gone nowhere with the industry folk. Most haven't bothered to provide feedback on the script but what I've received has never mentioned the swearing.

saw the first episode of Netflix's History of Swear Words, hosted by Nic Cage – it was amusing and educational in parts, and so i'll probably watch the rest of the series

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Swear_Words

here are the episodes:
"F**k"
"Sh*t"
"Bitch"
"D**k"
"Pu**y"
"Damn"

looking through this list, i was supervised by a few things

for one, words like "d*ck" and "pu**y" get asterisks now – seriously?

it actually took me a few seconds to work out that "d*ck" was "dick" – in Australia, "dick" is almost as mild as, say, "fart", in terms of acceptability in polite circles – we often use "cock" as the more explicit/shocking version of the same setiment

and "pu**y"? – i guess we have the "Pussy-Grabber in Chief" to thank for elevating this harmless euphemism to the category of words that need, not one, but TWO asterisks! ... what happened to the standard practice of just replacing the vowel? – p*ssy

[ it should be noted that the whole "asterisk thing" is pretty hilarious ]

meanwhile, "Bitch" is displayed in all its ugly, misogynistic glory – without even the fig leaf of an asterisk like so: "b*tch" – i find "Bitch" far more 'offensive' than "Pussy" ... but then, that's just me

and then we have "Damn" – now i get that the show is historical, but damn, does anyone today find the word even the least bit transgressive

and if we're going for ye olde words, why not "Bloody"? or "Bastard"? – as in, you bloody bastard! 

other words that perhaps should've been included (and i'm avoiding race- and gender-based slurs – despite the inclusion of "Bitch") are: Arse (Ass), Bugger, Piss, Twat, Wanker (Jerk Off) etcetera  – plus, of course, the C-word itself, "Cunt"

speaking of which, here's a compilation of clips from Deadwood featuring the great Calamity Jane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKEZbgaqJWo

which then raises the fascinating subject of how the writers of Deadwood updated the swearing in the show so that the scenes would feel more authentic to modern audiences

https://robertbrucecarter.com/writing/2013/12/anachronistic-profanity-in...

https://slate.com/culture/2004/05/deadwood-s-linguistic-brilliance.html

have fun!

Interesting. I haven't seen this Netflix show but everything I'm hearing is along the same lines; why take on the world of expletives and then cower away from the most controversial?

I was never a huge fan of "The C Word" but I really did respect how well that show represented normal dialogue.

"without even the fig leaf of an asterisk" Lol!

I've also only seen the first episode of History of Swearing. I find it hilarious. It does say, right at the beginning, "A Netflix Original Comedy." So, it's for laughs. The commenters don't shy away from any swear word as they explain history and usage. Though, the history mentioned so far, appears to be focused on American history with a bit about England, for comparison. It's still informative. Nothing new to me, but no matter the subject, I always feel that history is good to know.

It's only the episode titles that have asterisks. Nothing was bleeped out in the episode I watched. Though, the idea of a fig leaf thrown in there is really funny. I look forward to watching the rest of the series.