Excuse My English
I remember vividly being in a movie theatre back in the 1980s watching Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop. The film itself wasn’t that memorable but the cursing was. Roughly every other word in the script was the F-word, but even more shocking (pathetic?) was how everyone laughed hysterically every time someone said it. I wasn’t particularly amused.
Imagine my delight at the public discourse in 2013. Eddie’s looking pretty tame these days if you happen to be a frequent movie-goer, which I am. I’d have to say I’m numb at this point. No reaction really, other than resignation. But I still flinch when I hear profanities in a business meeting (often), while traveling on any mode of transportation (a given), and when reading or hearing about the latest celebrity rant or run-in (daily).
Now we have traditional brands like Jell-O with its ”F” is for fun Twitter campaign and Kmart showing us a broad demographic of folks delighted that they can Ship My Pants. (Don’t expect me to provide you with easy links to this stuff. You’re on your own). Kraft’s senior brand manager, Todd Hjermstad, defended the Jell-O campaign saying “Even historic brands have to communicate in a way that’s up-to-date and consistent with the marketplace today.” I can’t argue with that statement. And I get the whole shock value thing. It just doesn’t make me want to whip up a Jell-O parfait or buy my jeans (as if) at Kmart.
Ann Brenoff, a senior writer at The Huffington Post, addressing the new world order, put it this way: “The F-word went mainstream. It no longer lives in the narrow fringes of our culture. It is at the center of it.”
If you want to know “what’s next,” just check out the fringes.
Comments (1)
07.18.2013
Beke Beau
I will be quite happy to dwell on the fringes with all the other cool kids….