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Friday, March 6, 2015

The Writer's Life 3/6 - Censorship



Here's the second of four essays I found recently on old floppy discs. It's 2000 words. about a ten-minute read. It's about ten years old, its title Brutality and Vulgarity in Entertainment.

    Everyone agrees that free speech is a blessing. It has its drawbacks, of course, as does everything in life. Pornographers use it as defense, as do those who vilify soldiers in harm's way. My concern here is the brutality and vulgarity that pervades today's arts, a brutality and vulgarity that is sometimes compelling in drama, hilarious in comedy. These few occasions form a strong argument against censorship, demonstrating why that which appalls and/or offends must be defended.
   In the last decade I've returned to all my unpublished novels and eliminated most of the profanity and explicit sex. My self-published novel, Close to the Edge, has half the four-letter words of the original manuscript. In the 26 short stories I've had published, there may not be more than a handful of cusses. It is my retaliation against the overuse of foul language, especially in film. I strove for nuance, art if you will. In one of the works I substituted what I call "Brooklyn Sicilian" terms for profanity. In another, about people who work at a commodity exchange, I decided that the portrayal would not be honest without the bluest dialogue. Still, I may have been wrong. After all, in the most famous Seinfeld episode, The Contest, only euphemisms were used. In this instance the constraints of prime time network television, which have all but evaporated in its struggle against cable, had the writers reaching for a cleverness that became art. There should be more of this. Unfortunately, modern artists prefer to bludgeon either in an effort to be hip or real or controversial or perhaps only for the sake of commercial appeal to the young. One must learn to grin and bear it. The trend may be curtailed in the future, but it will never go away, nor should it. There are many instances where brutality and vulgarity work well. Unfortunately, our elderly suffer the most. There has been a huge leap from the sanitized language and sex of pre-1960's works to today's freedom of expression. The rest of us have been weaned on permissiveness.
   In Michael Mann's Thief, Robert Prosky, the loveable second Sarge from Hill Street Blues, delivers a riveting monologue rife with profanity and bigotry as he stands over the pummeled James Caan. It is the language of a street scholar, too perfect perhaps, but this is the case with much of the great dialogue in drama. I don't know how many times I've replayed it in my mind. I am in awe of its perverse wisdom and rhythm.
   The Farrelly brothers have made several comedies of a vulgar nature. Only Kingpin made me laugh. I looked forward to their follow-up, There's Something about Mary, which was championed by the press. I was disappointed and sensed critics went overboard in its praise because they’d missed the boat on its predecessor. The late Gene Siskel was one who recognized it, naming it to his top ten for that year. I cannot pinpoint why it had me guffawing and other Farrelly films barely raised a chuckle, but I'm glad the loose standards of the day allowed them to make it. Perhaps they'll create something as good as Kingpin in the future.
   I don't laugh as readily at screen comedy as I do at that of real life. On Seinfeld, only Kramer makes me laugh, but I still find the show fascinating in its depiction of the selfishness and neuroses of moderns. I reacted the same way to Garry Shandling's turn as a fictional talk show host, which featured a ridiculous amount of profanity, and to Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm. These are astute observations of human nature, occasionally exaggerated for comic effect. I don't understand why, but I always look forward to the appearance of the potty-mouthed, shrewish wife of David's manager, who isn't the type of person one would want to meet in real life. I never objected to the content of the Dice Man's act -- I just didn't think it was funny. Many did. Comedy is the most subjective of all entertainment forms. A bit either elicits laughter or doesn't.
   In literature, Henry Miller was at the forefront in the tearing down of barriers to free expression. Although I no longer have the admiration for his work I once did, I believe all modern writers owe him a great debt. He taught us fearlessness in the depiction of sexuality, using a language that was blunt, without bull. I doubt anyone will ever make explicit sex as funny as he did, although in the end it may be merely the best pornography ever written. In queries to agents and publishers, I say of one of my works: "Can a novel be both sexually explicit and meaningful?" I'm not sure I succeeded. It may have been more a product of hormones than intellect, wish fulfillment than a frank look at a modern relationship.
   At the time, Miller’s use of profanity was fresh and daring. Profanity has now become commonplace, gratuitous. I’ll never forget the reaction evoked by Mel Brooks’ send up of the wild west, Blazing Saddles. Many walked out of the theater. The rest of us laughed ourselves silly. The content crossed a line previously crossed only in nightclubs. Today its shock value is diminished by the torrent of vulgarity that has ensued. It is not nearly as funny or exciting. Then again, a punch line is diminished once it is known. I wonder, had Lenny Bruce emerged in this era, if he would be telling clean jokes. That would be pushing the envelope these days. After all these years of permissiveness, I still believe the best sex in cinema is that which is suggested rather than explicit. A perfect example of this is the first dance Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse do during the Broadway Melody segment of Singin’ in the Rain. Without dialogue or nudity, sexuality is transformed into high art. Another example is a wife’s simple, rapid closing of shutters in Chocolat.
   Vulgarity isn’t restricted to language and gratuitous nudity, of course. It is manifested in graphic violence, gore and simple outlandishness. Married with Children had a long run. Its premise, the sitcom family that does everything wrong, promised much more than it ever delivered, too often sinking to the lowest common denominator. There isn’t an episode that is above average, but there are many great moments, especially in the zingers the cast leveled at one another. Two gleeful scenes stand out in my mind. In one Peg is making outrageous claims to an investigator of some sort, who asks how she would account for such a rich fantasy life. She gazes off screen and the camera pans to Al, who is on the couch, T-shirt rolled up, hands gripping his flabby gut, anguished look on his beleaguered mug.  Not only is this funny on a simplistic level, it’s also wonderful commentary on how a spouse’s quirks loom large over time. The second moment finds Al, a shoe salesman, trying to get an undersized shoe on a fat woman. It reminds me of the hilarious, borderline obscene moment in The Dentist, where W.C. Fields is locked between a woman’s thighs as he tries to pull a tooth. How in the world was that allowed in 1932? Fortunately it was. It will always be funny, timeless. Unfortunately, such vulgarity works only occasionally, and it may be argued that these few moments are not worth it in light of an overall coarsening of culture. Married with Children had a running joke about the teenage daughter’s promiscuity. Although it fit the overall theme of the show, I wondered if making light of such behavior was encouraging it. For years I’ve wondered if the zany vulgarity of pro wrestling was a sign of a crumbling society, and if I were contributing to the decay by secretly indulging in the guilty pleasure of it. I liken Vince McMahon to the media mogul in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, whose cynical view of life has him cater to the lowest wants in man in a perverse sort of capitalism at the opposite end of the spectrum of the lead character, an honorable, uncompromising architect. McMahon once showed up at court in a neck brace, which I couldn’t help but wonder was done not only to sway the jury but as a shot at those who brought him to trial. He may have carried the chicanery of his oddball profession into the halls of government. If so, it was a vulgar stroke of genius. He also introduced a crazed wrestler in a frightening mask, the wacky Mick Foley, as “Mankind.” I wondered if this were more than a joke, if it were his actual view of the human race, perhaps warped by his bizarre use of steroids. Perhaps in taking them he was proving they were safe, setting an example for his charges, many of whom have died young, the latest Eddie Guerrero, “Latino Heat,” at 38. One of Guerrero’s slogans was: “I lie; I cheat; I steal.” Knowing how tightly scripted pro wrestling is these days, I’d guess this was McMahon again injecting his world view -- and the fans loved it, loved Eddie. Rest in peace, vato, you gave it your all.  
   When Sam Peckinpah first used graphic violence, he was doing it in serious films, not all of which were successful artistically. He broke a barrier and Hollywood eventually opted for such bloodletting even in light entertainment. Fortunately, this has been curbed to a large extent. Saving Private Ryan was an exception. The cinematic genius of Steven Spielberg brought viewers as close to the carnage of warfare as they would ever get. In watching it, I felt like a voyeur. Here was a depiction of an actual event – and I was deriving entertainment from the annihilation of young men. Curiously, I reacted similarly to Titanic. I recalled reading a teacher’s account of her disappointment in the fascination of the young with the cold savagery in Schindler’s List. Had these films been released when I was a teenager, I’m sure I would have reacted similarly. According to director Samuel Fuller, a decorated veteran of the Big Red One in World War II, the only way to depict combat accurately would be to have snipers behind the screen and bombs under the seats. People have told me they’ve become lost, forgotten they we watching a film. I’ve never felt that, although films have moved me to tears, brought an ache to my gut or made me laugh hysterically. Michael Mann achieved the extraordinary in his version of Last of the Mohicans. In the climactic showdown he somehow made poetry of brutality, romance of rage. Larry McMurtry’s epic novel, Lonesome Dove, is uncompromising in its portrayal of the violence and hardship that characterized the settling of America. It arouses an appreciation of what pioneers suffered, and shows modern man how fortunate he is to be living in the 21st century, where life expectancy is nearly double that of the 19th and early 20th. All these works were better for not having been sanitized.
   Modern music is in love with profanity, largely in hip hop, which I know almost nothing about. Marianne Faithfull took pop to another level in her rant: Why’d Ya Do It? The song features such foul language I would listen to it only through a headset. Only a boor would subject the general public to such a screed, enthralling though it is. I doubt it would have worked as well had moderate terms been used. It is for adults only, much more so than pornography, which appeals to the adolescent in men. The notorious Green Day, an American punk band, proved its worth in the breezy opening of Longview. The blend of drums and bass is beautiful. This brief moment forgives any youthful excess of which they may be guilty. Although such groups’ works are all but gone from my music collection, there is value in hardcore for those who have the stamina for it.
   Brutality and vulgarity in the hands of certain artists becomes art. Just as in any era, we must sort through the mediocre and the muck to find gems.
   What do you think?

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/pdxwsnt
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f
Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/

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