Seven dirty words (from English - "seven dirty words", "seven obscene words", "seven curses") - seven English words that were first recited by American comedian George Carlin in 1972 in a monologue "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television "( Rus. " Seven words that can never be pronounced on television " ) [1] . The following words were named: cocksucker , cunt , fuck , motherfucker , piss , shit and tits .
In the United States at the time, these words were considered rudely unacceptable and inappropriate on public radio and television broadcasts. Therefore, they were tried to avoid in scenarios and “ zapikivat ” in rare cases when they were still used. To date, most of the words from the original list of Karlin remain taboo on American broadcast television [2] . However, this list is not an official listing of prohibited words and was compiled by Karlin himself.
The broadcasting of a radio program containing words from this monologue caused a considerable and long-lasting public response. As a result of consideration by the US Supreme Court of this case , the limits were established within which the US federal government can regulate freedom of expression on American television and radio channels.
The Independent in 2008 devoted an article to the monologue entitled “Seven words that shook the nation” ( English Seven words that shook a nation ) [3] .
Content
Background
In 1972, George Carlin released a record in the genre of stand-up gum called Class Clown . One of the tracks was called "Seven words that can not be pronounced on television" English. Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television . It was a monologue in which he called these words, expressing amazement that these particular words could not be used in any way, regardless of context. He was arrested for disturbing others after speaking in Milwaukee at the Summerfest festival, but was later released by the court.
Carlin’s record in 1973, Occupation: Foole , had a similar track called “Filthy Words” ( English “Filthy Words” ), which used the same list and similar motifs. Pacific Network WBAI , belonging to the Pacifica network, on October 30 of the same year aired this version of the monologue on the air without any censorship.
Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation
John Douglas, an activist of the organization Morality in Media , said that he had heard this program while in the car with his 15-year-old son. He sent a complaint to the Federal Communications Agency (FAS), stating that the material was inappropriate for the time of day [4] [5] .
Having received the complaint, FAS demanded an explanation from Pacifica, and later issued a directive supporting the complaint. The directive did not contain specific sanctions, but the WBAI was warned that if subsequent complaints were received, the Agency would have to decide whether to apply any of the possible sanctions. The WBAI appealed against this decision, which was satisfied by the court on the grounds that the definition of indecency used by the FAS is too broad and uncertain, leading to a violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech. In turn, the FAS appealed to the US Supreme Court (on its own behalf, as an independent federal agency). The case was also entered by the US Department of Justice , which supported Pacifica's argument, stating that the FAS directive violates not only the First, but also the Fifth Amendment, since the vagueness of the definition does not allow it to be the basis of criminal sanctions.
In 1978, the Supreme Court decided that the FAS directive did not violate either the First or Fifth Amendment, however, linked the scope of its applicability only with a specific transfer, which provoked the FAS reaction. The court refused to decide whether the definition of indecency used by the FAS could be considered to be in line with the First Amendment to the US Constitution if it is applied to other materials containing the same or similar words. The court also noted that despite the fact that the FAS used the definition of indecency taken from criminal law (18 USC 1464), no Pacifica was used for any punishment or other sanctions, which was why there was no need to discuss whether the definition should be consistent with the requirements of ensuring proper procedures established by the Fifth Amendment [6] .
This decision established the formal basis for the regulation of indecency in the American air. In subsequent decisions, the Supreme Court established the right of broadcasters to broadcast indecent ( English indecent ) (but not obscene - English obscene ) material in the period from 10 pm to 6 am, when most children sleep [7] .
FAS has never been a specific list of words that were forbidden to use on the air at this time. At the same time, it was assumed that the use of "seven obscene words" in a television or radio program would trigger a response from the FAS, and therefore broadcast networks usually self-censor all or some of the "seven words."
At the same time, the instructions of the FAS, which establish responsibility for allowing indecent expressions in live broadcasts, were declared unconstitutional on July 13, 2010 [8] [9] [10] .
See also
- Obscene vocabulary
- Russian obscenities
Notes
- ↑ Doug Linder. Filthy Words by George Carlin . Law.umkc.edu. Circulation date August 1, 2011. Archived January 23, 2011.
- ↑ Bella T. The '7 Dirty Words' Turn 40, but They're Still Dirty . The Atlantic (May 24, 2012). The appeal date is January 2, 2014.
- ↑ McSmith A. George Carlin: Seven words that shook a nation . The Independent (June 24, 2008). The appeal date is January 2, 2014.
- ↑ Boca Man Forever Linked To George Carlin Archived June 28, 2008. . WPEC , June 23, 2008.
- ↑ Samaha, Adam The Story of FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (and Its Second Life) (not available link) . The date of circulation is October 5, 2011. Archived April 19, 2011.
- ↑ First Amendment Library entry on the case
- "Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say on TV" - script
- Zz Puzzanghera, Jim "FCC indecency rule struck down by appeals court," Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2010 . Sltrib.com. The appeal date is August 1, 2011.
- CC FCC indecency rule struck down by appeals court - Los Angeles Times . Latimes.com (July 14, 2010). The appeal date is August 1, 2011.
- ↑ Wyatt E. FCC Indecency Policy Rejected on Appeal . The New York Times (July 13, 2010). The appeal date is January 2, 2014.
Literature
- Fairman, Christopher M. Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties . - Sphinx Publishing, 2009. - ISBN 1572487119 .
- Offord D. Using A Guide to Contemporary Usage. - Cambridge University Press, 1996. - p. 146-148. - 407 s. - ISBN 0521457602 .
- Zelvis V.I. Callings as a national-specific characteristic. English-Russian swearing preferences // Genres of speech. - 2011. - № 7 .