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Working daily in downtown Seattle, I find myself exposed to
harsh language all the time, whether in business meetings or walking through a gang of
kids on the sidewalk. Later, as I accelerate through rush-hour traffic, I discover that I
can use these words as well, lashing out with blunt verbal instruments in the safety of my
enclosed vehicle. What is the cause of my stumbling? Have I seen too many movies? Or was I
wrong just to leave the house? It is very difficult to be in the world without
being somewhat of the world. That is the daily wrestling match for the Christian.
And we all fall short.
But cussing in the movies is a different
problem. In part one
of this series, professional critics and readers discussed cinematic nudity. Some avoid
even being confronted with it. Others turn away. Still others don't think twice about it.
Many struggle somewhere in between. Does bad language in film carry similar cautions and
prohibitions?
Critics on Cussing
Steve Lansingh (The Film Forum)
writes, "To demand from our movies and from our unsaved friends that they not curse
is to destroy the Gospel message: We preach that Jesus can transform the soul, but we
expect people to reform themselves before they even approach us. We should instead hold
ourselves to Paul's exhortation to 'let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,' and
by example show that we have no reason to cuss or offend; neither need we engage in
hateful denouncements, idle chatter, and backstabbing gossip, which unfortunately have
been blights on the church throughout history."
Rich Kennedy (Lansingh's colleague at
The Film Forum)
also sees many Christians walling themselves out of their mission field. "To avoid
profanity and vulgarity is to almost universally cut yourself off from the world around
you. You give yourself some small respite from what you believe to be dishonoring to God,
but you shut yourself off from what your neighbor is trying to say. You demand that your
neighbor talk to you only in a way that you deem acceptable and … he may refrain from
sharing what is on his mind sometimes because of what he might think will offend you. Just
as believers are starting to engage and thrive in the world outside 'Sunday morning,'
whether in academia or popular culture, evangelicals are trying to craft … a 'pure'
subculture …expecting outsiders to come to them on their terms. … From an
aesthetic point of view, the avoidance of profanity and nudity for their own sakes is to
cut yourself off from sources of truth, beauty, profundity, and poignant cries for help.
This is just as bad as the embrace of profanity and vulgarity indiscriminately."
Kennedy finds two examples of profound but
profanity-laced art in the works of Richard Pryor. "Pryor's concert films of the late
'70s and early '80s are priceless performances of unique insight and truth …
breathtaking examples of masterful storytelling. They are redolent of casual profanity and
vulgar topics. To edit or censor these films would eviscerate them. They communicated
profound truth. … They say much about Pryor himself and his peculiar fragility at the
time. The monologues about going to Africa for the first time and of how Jim Brown rescued
him from his addictions still bring tears to my eyes upon recall after 20 years, for their
poignancy even as they are funny."
Matthew Prins (The Christian Century)
has not found cussing to be a very contagious disease for discerning adults. "I have
a bit of a needle phobia. I hate getting blood taken, and I hate shots; if either of these
are necessary, I get lightheaded. [If] I see someone taking intravenous drugs on-screen
… am I tempted? Do I want to start shooting up cocaine? I have no reason to swear, I
don't foresee ever wanting to swear, and seeing it flickering 20 feet tall isn't going to
change that." When he considers the example he sets for others, he adds a condition:
"If I had a child, I'd have to rethink this all."
Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) feels we should
be more concerned about the attitude that drives the language. "Words are simply a
shell. They are symbols … tools used to communicate thoughts, ideas, concepts,
images. A person can be offensive, hurtful, or profane and never use a 'dirty' word. And
so-called 'dirty' words can be (and often are) delivered so haphazardly or thoughtlessly
that they carry little to no message and are therefore innocuous. As a writer, I find that
because 'profanity' is so inexact a form of communication, it is undesirable if only for
the reason that there are better and clearer ways to send the messages I wish to convey.
It would be nice if today's screenwriters would take a similar view." He finds,
usually, that cussing indicates "a lazy, undisciplined or undereducated
individual."
Chattaway Consults Shakespeare, Scripture
Peter T. Chattaway (B.C.
Christian News, Books
& Culture) can name works, popular, classical, and even Christian, in
which the vernacular plays an important part. At the movies, he highlights When Harry
Met Sally: "The f-word is used four times, precisely. Twice, it is in the scene
where Billy Crystal's character tells his best friend … that his wife is leaving him;
it underscores the blunt emotional pain he's going through. If that film had been filled
with that kind of language, the impact of those scenes would have been heavily, heavily
diluted. But it wasn't." On the other hand, Chattaway argues, it isn't hard to find
examples of profanity abuse. Actors' tongues in The Score shoot off more often than
the guns of Saving Private Ryan.
If we abandon cuss-peppered works, Chattaway
reminds us, we must turn our backs on Shakespeare for all of the "coarse humor that
exists in his plays. Much of it goes undetected nowadays, but if people are going to lay
down the law with regard to four-letter words (or words that sound like four-letter
words), they might want to take a closer look at the Bard and some of his better-known
works." He adds that those who criticize Harry Potter's occasional curse
should revisit Narnia and Middle Earth. In The Chronicles of Narnia, "The magician in
The Magician's Nephew can't help referring to the White Witch as a 'dem fine
woman,' and in the first chapter of The Silver Chair, Jill says 'Dam' good of you'
to Eustace. Does spelling it 'dam' instead of 'damn' make it okay, somehow?"
Then Chattaway goes one step farther. Shall
we censor Scripture?
It all depends on your translation, of course. I remember [a
professor] leading a course in Philippians, and talking about a vulgar term used by Paul
[that] the New International Version had covered up with the word 'rubbish'; the
King James Version's 'dung' was a wee bit more accurate, he said. Essentially
… Paul was saying his accomplishments as a natural-born Jew and a law-abiding
Pharisee weren't worth s***. Thomas Cahill, in Desire of the Everlasting Hills,
translates one of Jesus' sayings, from Mark 7:18-19, as: 'Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from
the outside can make him 'unclean,' since it doesn't go into his heart but into his bowels
and then passes out into the s***hole?' Cahill says in a footnote that the word aphedron
is commonly translated privy or sewer but in actuality it was Macedonian
slang that would have sounded barbarous to Greek ears; the NIV, tellingly, omits the word
altogether and translates this phrase 'out of his body.' Of course, Jesus probably spoke
in Aramaic, not Greek, so what we have is a translation of what Jesus said. But
it's still there in the Bible.
But wait, there's more. "In Saint
Paul Returns to the Movies: Triumph over Shame, New Testament scholar Robert Jewett
discusses how Paul's use of the words we translate as 'circumcised' and 'uncircumcised,'
which come up during the circumcision debates in the early church, parallels our modern
use of words like 'd***head.' He also mentions 'the bits in the Bible where people use
such words abusively—when Saul calls Jonathan a 'son of a perverse and rebellious woman' (NIV), 'son of a bitch' (early
Living Bible), 'fool' (later Living Bible), and 'stupid son of a whore' (NLT), for
example."
So are we to conclude that cursing should go
unchecked, if it can be found in such integral works? Chattaway concludes, "We
definitely aren't supposed to emulate that sort of thing, but apparently it's okay
to read, and be aware of, stories in which people do talk like that. As always, people
have to set their own limits, and what you cannot do in faith becomes sin for you, as per Romans 14. I think we always have to listen to what people are really
saying—the meaning behind the words—rather than to focus on the words themselves
and make a big deal of those."
Other scriptures were mentioned in these
critics' responses regarding what we hear. Rich Kennedy reminds us of Romans 14:4, which cautions us not to judge others for their behavior,
and thus, their language. As for watching one's own mouth, Michael Elliott cites several
Scriptures that advise him on the matter: Titus 2:7-8, which addresses how one should speak; Matthew 12:36, where the Lord promises to hold us accountable for our
words; and Ephesians 4:29, which again advises us to speak cleanly.
Strong Language from Readers
Again, these questions provoked an
e-mail flood. What follows is only a sampling. Some find movie cursing so offensive as to
recommend running at the first sign of it. Sean Carlson writes, "What's sad is
the number of Christians that do tolerate the swearing and support Hollywood by going to
see their outpouring of trash. What you watch and listen to has an impact on your
relationship with God. Where sin is, God cannot be! Unless it is a Christian film or rated
G, I do not care to see it." Beth Nealon has strong reservations about
exposure to profanity, but she does distinguish between the act of swearing and the
referencing of a cuss word, as evidenced in her own response: "An excess of
foul language offends me deeply, especially the use of God's names, and the F-word. I
don't bristle so much at the use of 'hell' or 'damn,' although I don't like my children to
hear them used regularly. My main objection to swearing is that it shows a lack of ability
of the speaker (i.e., the writer) to express himself with meaningful words … I am
simply disgusted at the lack of imagination or intellect revealed."
Ryan Dobbs calls for caution and
discernment rather than total avoidance. "Our minds and consciences can be seared by
the oversaturation of inappropriate material that we might consume. If hearing
profanity—or seeing nudity, for that matter—causes you to stumble in your walk
as a Christian, I believe that it would be time for you to reevaluate what you are
allowing yourself to watch and to hear." Dobbs is also concerned about the message
such moviegoing sends to others. "If going to an R-rated movie … causes another
person to stumble in their walk with the Lord, or if it damages our awesome duty to be
ambassadors for Christ to the lost of the world, then we should make it our priority to
distance ourselves from such activities. Our responsibility to Jesus Christ is much more
important than our enjoyment of a good movie." Dobbs cites James 3:9-12 and Colossians 3:17 as helps.
Doug Deweese answers with more tough
questions: "When Jesus ate with sinners, did he lay the rules out about what could
not go on in his presence? I think not. Do you think the fishermen Jesus hung out with did
not have a little salty language? What kind of names did Matthew have to endure? And when
Paul got run out on a rail, did they put it nicely? Sometimes we Christians would rather
act like Pharisees and separate ourselves from those we think probably aren't
[Christians]. Profanity is a very real part of life. If we truly want to know what's
happening in the world so we can respond appropriately, movies are probably the best
places to hear the language of the world because it is fictional and does not have to
become a part of us." He adds, though, "Ratings ought to be more strict …on
language."
Others think it important to pay attention
to our culture, and that art will reflect the flaws and the failures of that culture. Andrew
Zahn agrees that movies tend to overdo it. "Films for adults, based on the
premise of reflecting real people in situations we can relate to, would naturally contain
profanity … to maintain the realism. Profanity in films of this type can be overdone
(and often is), but this is more a matter of bad taste and unimaginative scriptwriting
than morality. In movies, I expect sinners to sin, and I expect pagans to act like
pagans." Jason Cusick agrees: "As in the case of nudity, using
questionable content needs to be character-driven. If in a movie I see a total pagan get
mad, I expect him to cuss and find him less than believable when he doesn't. The Bible
does say not to let unwholesome words come from your mouth, and that obscenity and coarse
joking should not have place with us (Ephesians 4:29, 5:4), but I take non-Christians at face value." He has a further
challenge for believers: "I think one main issue for us is choosing our battles with
regard to engaging the culture. If we major in censoring people for cussing, we will never
hear what they are thinking or feeling, because we will refuse to listen to the language
they are speaking." Michael Herman, who runs ChristianityToday.com's Music channel, shares
this view: "The world uses this language, and the movies we watch at the theaters are
made by people in this world, portraying people in this world. Profanity will be in the
majority of films, to different levels."
Herman adds that context is crucial: "A
'Little House on the Prairie' setting wouldn't call for that language to present
authenticity. But a comedy about life in the city most likely would." Likewise, Tim
Plett says the setting might dictate the tone of the language: "There are times
when the cursing simply overwhelms any positive value of a movie. I simply find no
entertainment value in a character with a potty mouth. Other times it seems thoroughly 'in
character.' In the film In the Name of the Father, for instance, the characters
were foul-mouthed, but it seemed in keeping with who they were." (Note: The
foul-mouthed characters were primarily incarcerated convicts of all shapes, sizes, and
sins, which further accentuated the innocence and cleaner speech of the imprisoned hero.) Tim
Frankovich finds foul language in some contexts quite inappropriate … and
inaccurate: "What bothers me the most is not the films set in contemporary contexts,
but the films set in the past or future that are filled with profanity. Yes, people cursed
in the past, but not to [that] extent. When Apollo 13 came out, and the astronauts
were interviewed around here (I live around the corner from NASA), they all praised the
film for its accuracy, etc., except for one point: 'We didn't talk like that. We didn't
use words like that back then.'"
Conclusions on Cursing?
Clearly, as with nudity, the answers don't come easy. There's no mistake—it
grieves God when someone uses his name in vain, or uses idle words, and it should grieve
us as well. But is it Christlike to shut the door and turn away from the sin of the world?
We are to take up our cross daily. Feeling Christ's grief is part of sharing Christ's
glory; the more we become like him, the more the sins of others—and moreso, our
own—should sting. The early church was a place to which sinners ran, where they found
acceptance, welcome, and encouragement. Like missionaries spreading our arms to a foreign
culture, we must learn to understand the language, however difficult or flawed it might
be, and then we must serve in humility, aware that there is sin in own language, our own
hearts, no matter how many four-letter words we ever say. Close the doors, ignore the
culture's art and expression, and how will we know their feelings, their hurts, their
specific needs?
I also find it interesting that bad
language, sexual impropriety, and violence onscreen are so unbearable to so many, and yet
other sins such as lying, inappropriate anger, pride, and selfishness can be found in the
tamest of children's stories, right down to Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse. A Christmas
Carol turns loose a Scrooge who demonstrates all kinds of evil right in front of our
eyes. Surely his selfishness is exaggerated and hardly tempting (or is it?), but the more
we draw near to God, the less tempting all the rest of these should become.
"Dirty words" get used as blunt
instruments, with little thought to what they actually mean. They do mean something. There
is a time and a place for them to be carefully employed, like guns, for a precise
objective. The saints have indeed used harsh language, but if they did so correctly, they
were actually "speaking the truth in love." Otherwise, such bad-mouthing reveals
weakness, flaws, dangerous haste (which, in the course of a story, might be revelatory of
a character's personality). Sharp words used out of place are tools of violence.
Which brings us to part three of our series.
Next week, we will raise questions
about violence in the movies. The silver screen is showing us more violence all the time,
even inventing new varieties. When should we take notice, and when should we shut
our eyes? When is the cinema exposing violence, and when is it committing
violence?
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