September 12th, 2007
Over the last few decades films have steadily changed, due to technology,
popular culture, and public opinion. There’s certainly nothing wrong with this
and plenty of great films have been made in this fashion. However, there are
other trends that are less appealing and are putting films in a rut that few
seem to want to climb out of and trend includes graphic violence, explicit
sexual scenes, and foul language. The last item mentioned is the one that has
been on my nerves the most lately and, quite frankly, I’ve had enough.
Obviously I have problems with unnecessary violence and sexual
content but I’ll save that rant for another day. Lately I’ve become concerned
with the fact that more and more scripts are substituting certain four-letter
words in the place of smart and meaningful dialogue. Perhaps I’m just being too
picky but I’ve grown tired of characters that sport the vocabulary of a third
grader and can say little else; hence my plea in the title. It’s time for
filmmakers and script writers to step up to the next level and give us something
smart and worthy of our time, attention, and money.
This isn’t a problem that concerns just American
cinema; it can be seen all over the world in many countries and
foreign film industries. Movies from Mexico to France share this
same dilemma. Perhaps what is most distressing is the fact that most
writers don’t seem to be trying and we as an audience don’t seem to
be demanding anything better. We’re content to sit back and listen
to shady and uninspired dialogue that adds little to the story and
constantly repeats the same words over and over. What’s creative and
challenging about that? Where’s the passion and energy in settling
for those words? It’s non-existent and it feels like a cheap
cop-out.
Let me re-iterate again that I’m not talking about characters
that use mild or sporadic profanity. My main gripe is with non-stop language
that easily garners the film an R rating just based on that fact alone. That’s
one reason why I love the classics so much; actors like Humphrey Bogart and Cary
Grant could say inspiring and chilling lines without dropping an f-bomb or
telling someone to cram something into a private body cavity. There are some
writers and directors who share this common characteristic in many of their
films; I won’t name names but I’m sure you can conjure a few in your mind
immediately. They are certainly free to make the kinds of films they want but I
think many of them are capable of better and it starts with intelligent scripts
and dynamic writing. Why should we pay good money for a film full of words we
can hear for free in the local high school cafeteria?
As a writer I have a real passion and love for words; they carry a story, help
establish characters, and tell the audience what’s going on. These are what
words do and listening to dialogue in a film should be no different. I’ve made a
pledge to keep the language clean in everything I write and I encourage other
writers to do the same. It’s time to drop the salty language and give the
audience something worth hearing. It’s time for us to rise up to the challenge
and expect not only more from the audience but also from ourselves as well.
Austin Phillips |
