Commentary

Swear On-Air, If You Must -- But Do It Impromptu

From whom do you want to hear vulgarities? From honored World War II veterans -- or Bono, Cher, and Nicole Richie?

It's easier to defend profanities from those who fought against the cruelties of Nazism than from those sometimes-pampered musicians/actors looking for even better privileges from the spoils of the cultured world.

But wait. What if some of those remarks are "fleeting" -- spur-of-the-moment?

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York said when that happens, there is no foul. As such, the court handed a sharp rebuke of a Federal Communications Commission ruling -- and the Bush administration as well -- yesterday. It threw out an FCC decision on indecency, siding with four television networks -- Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC -- that filed a lawsuit against the federal agency.

advertisement

advertisement

Bono, Cher and Richie made some spontaneous remarks during a few live TV award ceremonies -- which got the FCC and the Bush Administration in a huff, in part an escalation of outrage over Janet Jackson's little boob incident at the Super Bowl some years before.

The problem for the court was, after years of presiding over such issues in a specific manner, the FCC decided to change the way it views indecency.  No longer would it deal just with premeditated or constant occurrences.  No, just the mere accidental utterance could cause problems.

But the U.S. court said, wait a second. Vulgar words are just as often used out of frustration or excitement. Overall, the court said this: "We question whether the F.C.C.'s indecency test can survive First Amendment scrutiny."

That's not to say there isn't art in profanity. Even the FCC ruled that broadcasters shouldn't be penalized for airing Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" movie about the invasion of Normandy during World War II, because of the repeated use of vulgarities.

The FCC said deleting the expletives "would have altered the nature of the artistic work and diminished the power, realism and immediacy of the film experience for viewers."

But somehow when Bono at the Golden Globes feels honored, or maybe drips with sarcasm, that's not art.  Because, as we all know, the FCC knows art.

As he might say, this is really, really great -- f@#king brilliant.

Next story loading loading..