George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words: Morality as Defined by the Government

1259 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Controversies of the first amendment

Profanity is a subject that many of us find ourselves not only intimidated by, but also unable to define. Is it simply a particular group of words that should not be uttered in polite company, or is it drastically more complicated? During the last 60 years, the American populace has found themselves spinning into what many consider to be a downward spiral with the issue of morality. In the following pages I am going to discuss what I consider to be the definition of profanity, by giving an overview of the now infamous “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” monologue performed, and written by George Carlin. I will also discuss some of Lenny Bruce’s ideology, and the legal, and public persecution both groundbreaking, 1st-amendment-advocate comedians faced. I am going to show how through these men’s actions we now have more freedoms, and their influence of the definition of profane behavior in mainstream media, and also that the idea of profanity is a farce that should be buried next to slavery, war, and marriage being between a man and a woman in the list of human idea’s that simply do not make any sense.

I love words. I thank you for hearing my words. I want to tell you something about words that I uh, I think is important. … They're my work, they're my play, they’re my passion. Words are all we have really. We have thoughts, but thoughts are fluid. … And, then we assign a word to a thought, and we're stuck with that word for that thought. So be careful with words. … The same words that hurt can heal. It's a matter of how you pick them.

When discussing something like words and ideas it seems much simpler to allow someone who has done both for a living do it for you. This quote, quite succinctly, summarizes language, and ...

... middle of paper ...

...Internet.

Carlin, George. Seven Dirty Words. {http://www.erenkrantz.com/Humor/SevenDirtyWords.shtml/}. Other Quotes. {http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_carlin.html/}. Internet.

Merriam-Webster. Indecent. {http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indecent/}. Profane. {http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profane?show=0&t=1301257435/}. Internet.

People VS Lenny Bruce. {http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bruce/brucemonologues.html/}. Internet.

Wikipedia. Seven Dirty Words. {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_dirty_words/}. Class Clown. {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_Clown/}. George Carlin. {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Carlin/}. Lenny Bruce. {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Bruce/}. Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show Controversy. {http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVIII_halftime_show_controversy/}. Internet.

Show More
Related

  • The Book Thief Rhetorical Analysis

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    “I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.” (Zusak 528) Words and the power they possess is a common theme that is heavily mentioned throughout the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Throughout this book, rhetoric affects multiple characters in both positive and negative ways. There are instances in this book in which one can see how words have the ability to tear people down, educate and inform, and to inspire individuals to follow their dreams.

    Read More

  • Christopher M. Fairman's 'Saying It Is Worse'

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the modern society, millions of people realize that several offensive words with insulting taboo meanings heavily disturb their daily lives and break some special groups of people’s respect to push them to feel like outsiders of the whole society. As a result, more and more people join some underway movements to eliminate the use of these offensive words in people’s everyday speech and writing. However, these offensive words themselves are not the culprit, the bad meanings people attach are the problems and some other functions of the words are useful in the society. Christopher M. Fairman the author of “ Saying It Is Hurtful, Banning It Is Worse” also argues that although

    Read More

  • Cohen Vs California Essay

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    California: A 40 Year Retrospective from Inside the Court, in which it is established that Cohen was wrongly convicted under both the “time, place, and manner” and the “fighting words” doctrines. Respectively, they state that the government can limit speech based on the general setting of the occasion and that aimed personal insults are unprotected by the 1st Amendment. However, these were quickly deemed irrelevant to the case, because the California statute had no specific regulation on time, place, and manner when it came to conduct and courthouses, and that the expletive on Cohen’s jacket was not directed to anyone in particular. Consequently, expression rights of American citizens has been thoroughly defined when it comes to the use of profane language, which in turn strengthens the

    Read More

  • Village Of Skokie Essay

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are certain well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech, the prevention and punishment of which have never been thought to raise any Constitutional problem. These include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or "fighting" words – those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace (Downs 7).

    Read More

  • George Carlin: The Power Of Words

    609 Words  | 2 Pages

    In George Carlin’s mind, the routine's driving strength and messages weren't in the ideas behind the seven words, but instead in the words themselves. George Carlin was one of the first people who was doing a great job at convincing an audience into thinking that these words weren't that bad at all. By doing so George Carlin gave entire generations of comedians the opportunity to use profanity in their acts, and helped elevate these act by giving them the “herbs and spices” that are need for their acts to be complete and funny. Comedians such as Bill Burr, Chris Rock, Louis C.K., Lewis Black, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, Patrice O'Neal, Adam Carolla, Colin Quinn and Russell Peters have all claimed that George Carlin was an influence on their stand-up routines and rightfully so, because all these comedians deliver their very funny ideas with the use of profanity which includes some of the “7 words” routine George Carlin used. (Bella, The Atlantic).

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Appeal Usage in Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, Birmingham City Jail

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    The mighty river flows through the mountains with liquidity and nurture providing life for all those who wish to take a sip from it. Yet the river is powerful in its own force destroying even the largest rocks, crumbling them into small pieces. People may be able to stop the river for a short time or even dry it up but the water always comes back in one form or another, every dam is bound to fail. Some people have been able to harness the power of the river, redirecting the mighty water making it flow in constructive ways. Similar to the river, language is influential. Its true power is not seen by the naked eye but by those who study it, those who use it as their ally in a war of linguistics. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, Birmingham City Jail he is able to use all three rhetorical appeals to prove that demonstrations lead to negotiations and benefit for both sides of an argument.

    Read More

  • Almost Before We Swore Analysis

    1759 Words  | 4 Pages

    Swearing has the ability to get someone in a whole load of trouble at the dinner table with their mother but could also be their choice of words when they accidently stub their toe on the coffee table in the living room. Natalie Angier discusses this controversial topic of words that shouldn’t be said in her article feature in The New York Times, “Almost Before We Spoke, We Swore”. Provoked by a recently proposed bill to increase fines for using swear words on television, Angier analyzes not only the impact of swearing, but also where the desire to speak obscene words comes from. She references many credible studies and sources as she unfolds her argument. She uses a diverse slew of studies, experiments, and famous pieces of literature and

    Read More

  • The Power of Words in Markus Zusak´s The Book Thief

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Words hold great power and when used correctly can influence what people believe and how they act.

    Read More

  • Thinking And Creative Thinking In Thought By Louis H. Sullivan

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reminding each other that in order to look at the future the necessity is to deal with the present. According to Sullivan, “real thinking is better done without words than with them, and creative thinking must be done without words”, this is untrue because without words no one is able to think in both real and creative terms. The way people express themselves in writing is because they thought about the words they were going to be using to send the society a message. Sullivan states that people don’t have time to build words, but don’t words help in expanding the thoughts into bigger details. Words help in various forms of expanding the vocabulary and the thought

    Read More

  • George Carlin

    594 Words  | 2 Pages

    In July of 1972, Carlin was arrested for violating obscenity laws after his infamous routine “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.” As a self-professed atheist and avid cocaine user, his adversaries deemed him anti-religious and disrespectful of society. However, the comedian’s new material brought him success from the younger counterculture. Carlin illustrated his anti-establishment views by being the first host of the risque TV show Saturday Night Live.

    Read More

  • Amy Tan’s A Mother’s Tongue

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tan has proven herself a master of rhetorical appeals as well as proving her point, that language can have drastic affects on the users. She has judged and been judged by her language, and has seen her mother disrespected because of how she speaks. Speech is important, as it is used as a tool to determine the limitations of your thoughts.

    Read More

  • Politics and the English Language

    1208 Words  | 3 Pages

    Any craftsman knows that you need the right tools to complete a project successfully. Similarly, people need the right language and usage to communicate in a positive way. How people write is often a problem because they don’t have the right tools, but a bigger problem occurs when a writer “is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything at all” (592). If a writer carries this mentality, why try to communicate in the first place? People need...

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects of Censorship

    3203 Words  | 7 Pages

    Since the foundation of the United States after a harsh split from Britain, almost 200 years later, an issue that could claim the founding grounds for the country is now being challenged by educators, high-ranking officials, and other countries. Though it is being challenged, many libertarians, democrats, and free-speech thinkers hold the claim that censorship violates our so-called unalienable rights, as it has been proven throughout many court cases. Censorship in the United States is detrimental because it has drastically and negatively altered many significant events.

    Read More

  • We All Be Careful With the Words We Use

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    Words are very powerful, and sometimes the words we use offend people. Freedom of speech is highly valued but what happens when your freedom becomes hurtful or disrespectful to someone else? There are so many different kinds of people and different things that offend each person. In this day where we are more inclined to say whatever we want, we see more and more offense being taken to the words that get said. It's hard to understand why certain words can be insulting to someone when it may not seem that way to you. We have to ask ourselves, why do we care what other people say and should we censer everything that goes into the public just so people don't get offended?

    Read More

  • Life Skills Persuasive Speech

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    Words are powerful tools of communication and interpersonal skills. Having the ability to communicate effectively is the most important of all life skills. This life skill is most important because it is very essential for building relationships, whether it personal or impersonal; be it verbal or non verbal. It’s a way in which to express ones feelings, thoughts, and

    Read More

More about George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words: Morality as Defined by the Government

Open Document