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 It’s
Hard Out Here for a Parent
When Vulgarity Takes Over...
[Carol
Platt Liebau] 2/27/06
A report
on veteran entertainment reporter Army Archerd’s web
site tells a sad and revealing tale about the state of American
culture. According to Archerd, portions of an Oscar-nominated
song, as it’s currently written, wouldn’t pass
network clearances to appear on the awards broadcast scheduled
for next weekend.
The name
of the song is “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” – and
yes, that’s the title that will be announced during the
telecast and performed live. Original lyrics to the song include “f--k,” “s--t,” and
a variation of “the n-word,” which will be replaced
with the cooperation of the songwriting team. Those in charge
of the Oscar broadcast, however, have permitted the terms “bitch” and “ho” (likewise
in the lyrics) to remain. The rationale, according to the Oscars
producer Gil Cates, is that the latter two epithets are heard
regularly on network shows.
Contributor
Carol Platt Liebau - Senior
Columnist
Carol
Platt Liebau is editorial director and a senior
member of tOR and CRO editorial
boards. She is an attorney, political analyst
and commentator based in San Marino, CA, and
has appeared on the Fox News Channel, MSNBC,
CNN, Orange County News Channel, Cox Cable and
a variety of radio programs throughout the United
States. A graduate of Princeton University and
Harvard Law School, Carol Platt Liebau also served
as the first female managing editor of the Harvard
Law Review. Her web log can be found at CarolLiebau.blogspot.com [go
to Liebau index]
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What a sad
moment for America – and a profoundly distasteful
one, too. In itself, the fact that “bitches” and “ho’s” apparently
surface on network programs with some regularity is a disgrace.
It’s hard to believe that the creative well has run so
dry that writers are forced to resort to misogynist vulgarities
in order to elicit either a laugh or a frisson of shock. But
even so, at least families can avoid programs that employ such
lowbrow devices. Should they be turning off the Oscars, too,
before the inevitable questions begin: What’s a “pimp,” Daddy?
Mommy, what does “ho” mean?
Surely America’s young people deserve better. Certainly,
the Oscars aren’t a child-friendly show on par with “Blue’s
Clues.” But the broadcast is supposed to be appropriate
viewing for the entire family. Are “pimps,” “bitches” and “ho’s” suddenly
considered to be generic conversational terms in American living
rooms?
It’s difficult to argue that any social benefit is being
realized from popularizing the use of such degrading language
(and the concepts they describe). Some might argue that bringing
them to the Oscar stage simply reflects “real life.” But
what’s heard at the Oscar stage also drives real life – and
if adults, who already know better, want to indulge a taste for
demeaning language, there are plenty of times for them to do
so in a less public and influential context.
Sadly, the
cultural debasement reflected by “It’s
Hard to be a Pimp” is the rule, rather than the exception,
when it comes to popular music. A study conducted by the University
of Texas Health Science Center and published in the Journal of
Pediatrics noted that 42% of the songs on ten top-selling CDs
in 1999 contained sexual content, with 41% of those being “very
explicit” or “pretty explicit.”
To their
credit, the team that created “It’s Hard
to be a Pimp” has assured Army Archerd that the Oscars
will be “a clean show,” thanks to the rewrite of
their song. If that’s true, then only one question remains:
What, then, would have been the harm in writing a “clean” song
in the first place? -one-
Columnist
Carol Platt Liebau is a political analyst, commentator and tOR / CRO editorial
director based in San Marino, CA. Ms. Liebau also served
as the first female managing editor of the Harvard Law
Review. Her web log can be found at CarolLiebau.blogspot.com
copyright
2006 Carol Platt Liebau
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