The F**k word in Star Trek

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Asimov's Treasury of Humor has two examples of jokes where "fuck" is treated as either meaningless or relatively mild. They're both near the end of the "Bawdy" chapter. I leave looking them up as an exercise.

In another thread, I cited Sylvia Tilly's brief descent into "army creole" as an endearing characteristic.

In the case of Clancy, I think the shock value was the whole point, both for viewers and in-universe.

In my own writings, I've avoided having my characters utter profanity. Or when they do, I leave the exact words to the reader's imagination, just as I leave the details of the sex scenes to the reader's imagination. But I have this scene in the back of my mind, in which my protagonist (a former child-prodigy organist, now grown up and a graduate student) is in a joke-session with her friends, and the jokes keep getting bawdier. And my protagonist tells one so profanity-filled that it shocks her friends. Then one of them tells a joke that uses "organ" as a euphemism for "genitalia," and my protagonist reacts with a blank stare, because that usage has always been a pet peeve with her.

 

[Finn]

Are they doing that in the context of Professional Work?

Absolutely. They aren't robots.

Also, I'm curious what you mean by "Professional Work"? And why are both words capitalized?

 

[Turtletrekker]

Swearing Is Actually a Sign of More Intelligence - Not Less - Say Scientists

The use of obscene or taboo language - or swearing, as it’s more commonly known - is often seen as a sign that the speaker lacks vocabulary, cannot express themselves in a less offensive way, or even lacks intelligence.

www.sciencealert.com

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Also, I'm curious what you mean by "Professional Work"? And why are both words capitalized?

"Professional Work" = When people are officially at work in their profession.

They're capitalized because it's my writing style on the internet.

 

[Finn]

Cool

 

[HotRod]

Are they doing that in the context of Professional Work?

Not over the radio (he was Captain of the Snowbirds back in the early 90's, so the public was often listening in on their radio chatter). But he gave me a tour when they were playing a local Airshow, and I can tell you that there was definitely swearing between pilots while still on duty.

But what makes Star Trek characters less like actual human beings?

Because sometimes human beings are known to be in conflict with eachother. Sometimes that conflict can require colorful language. Sometimes it doesn't even need to be a conflict with another person, it can be an inanimate object. If Trip, Scotty, LaForge, Torres, O'Brien, etc. Were to be caught cursing out the fucking Warp Plasma Injectors, I certainly wouldn't bat an eye or think less of them.

 

[Finn]

he was Captain of the Snowbirds back in the early 90's,

This is really cool

 

[HotRod]

This is really cool

Yeah, it was a real point of pride for me as a kid. Major Bob Stephan. He was Snowbird #1 back in 1991-1992. My mom even managed to arrange a low-level flyby of my elementary school when they were doing shows in the area. Good guy, my cousin.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Was watching some clips on YouTube recently with Star Trek scenes. And a scene from Picard popped up. Anyway the clip in question had a character drop the F-Bomb. I don't know why but that use of swearing in Star Trek is bad imo.
I'm no prude, can watch many programs with the worst language. But having it in Star Trek just rubs me the wrong way. It's like nails on a chalkboard to my ears and takes me out of the immersive experience. Maybe it's because we had many years of mild swearing on Star Trek and nothing that I would consider as tasteless profanity.
I really hope this trend will stop with any future trek projects.
Also I always got the impression that use of swearing was uncommon by the 23rd century. It was puzzling to Mr Spock in Star Trek IV and he couldn't get that knack. I know his mind was still not fully there after the events of previous films but his mind was good enough to attempt time travel.

Agree or disagree?

Disagree. People swear. Star Trek characters are supposed to be people. Therefore, people in Star Trek can swear.

"Uncommon swearing" was for one joke in one movie to highlight the fish out f water aspect. It was funny, but not in keeping with the rest of the franchise.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'd rather them avoid swearing if possible.

Use only in extreme situations, and very sparingly please.

Especially from anybody in the UFP Government / Uniformed Services.

It's a civilian that should be swearing, not Professional Officers or Government Officials IMO.

You've clearly never worked with the Military or the Government.

 

[CoveTom]

F-bombs have absolutely no place in Star Trek. Period.

It's not that I object to the use of that word in movies. For example, one of my all-time favorite films is Aliens. There are f-bombs all over the place and they don't bother me in the slightest. Because that is written to be a much more "contemporary" film and it is absolutely appropriate to the characters and the situation.

That is not Trek. Trek has always had its own unique, stylized way of speaking that contributes to the universe-building. Profanity has always been mild and used sparingly. Hearing f-bombs in Trek knocks me right out of the immersion in the story. It feels totally out of place. It comes across as nothing more than some writer or producer saying "hey, we are on streaming now, so let's drop some f-bombs to be all edgy."

 

[Nerys Myk]

F-bombs have absolutely no place in Star Trek. Period.

It's not that I object to the use of that word in movies. For example, one of my all-time favorite films is Aliens. There are f-bombs all over the place and they don't bother me in the slightest. Because that is written to be a much more "contemporary" film and it is absolutely appropriate to the characters and the situation.

That is not Trek. Trek has always had its own unique, stylized way of speaking that contributes to the universe-building. Profanity has always been mild and used sparingly. Hearing f-bombs in Trek knocks me right out of the immersion in the story. It feels totally out of place. It comes across as nothing more than some writer or producer saying "hey, we are on streaming now, so let's drop some f-bombs to be all edgy."

Nah. That style of speaking sounds fake and forced. Might have worked in the past, but not today. Contributed nothing to the "universe building."

 

[HotRod]

"hey, we are on streaming now, so let's drop some f-bombs to be all edgy."

Swearing isn't edgy, it's normal. It's incredibly refreshing to hear characters finally behave like normal people. The only reason they didn't swear much in the past was due to archaic network standards. Thankfully, those standards have changed to allow for more colourful language.

 

[Turtletrekker]

If television standards weren't what they were then, you better believe Gene Roddenberry would have had swearing and nudity and the whole nine yards included in Star Trek. It was a minor controversy at the time when Kirk said "let's get the hell out of here" in the original series at the end of The City on the Edge of Forever.

 

[CoveTom]

Nah. That style of speaking sounds fake and forced. Might have worked in the past, but not today. Contributed nothing to the "universe building."

I 100% disagree. I think the use of f-bombs in Picard sounds fake and forced. And I absolutely think it contributed enormously to the universe building.

Swearing isn't edgy, it's normal. It's incredibly refreshing to hear characters finally behave like normal people. The only reason they didn't swear much in the past was due to archaic network standards. Thankfully, those standards have changed to allow for more colourful language.

I don't want to hear the Trek characters sound like how people speak today. I want their style of speaking to be different, as it always has been.

If television standards weren't what they were then, you better believe Gene Roddenberry would have had swearing and nudity and the whole nine yards included in Star Trek. It was a minor controversy at the time when Kirk said "let's get the hell out of here" in the original series at the end of The City on the Edge of Forever.

But they weren't and he didn't, and so the Trek universe as established over decades is what it is.

 

[HotRod]

I want their style of speaking to be different, as it always has been.

Characters in TOS were hardly different.

 

[Finn]

Why? You don't have to watch it then. They don't have to do what they did with TOS and TNG.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I don't want to hear the Trek characters sound like how people speak today. I want their style of speaking to be different, as it always has been.

TOS sounded contemporary, though filtered through Standards and Practices. DS9 often did as well.

I 100% disagree. I think the use of f-bombs in Picard sounds fake and forced. And I absolutely think it contributed enormously to the universe building.

In what way did it contribute?

 

[bosco]

Because sometimes human beings are known to be in conflict with eachother. Sometimes that conflict can require colorful language. Sometimes it doesn't even need to be a conflict with another person, it can be an inanimate object. If Trip, Scotty, LaForge, Torres, O'Brien, etc. We're to be caught cursing out the fucking Warp Plasma Injectors, I certainly wouldn't bat an eye or think less of them.

Agreeing with you. I tend to avoid swearing most of the time but sometimes it's unavoidable (while driving for example).

I like the way they do it in Lower Decks, cause they seem to get their cake and eat it too.

 

[The Wormhole]

I find it interesting that so many people complain about the swearing in modern Trek TV shows, yet back in the Litverse continuity was ongoing in the Trek novels, these same people were insisting those novels were more Star Trek than the Pope is Catholic, yet profanity was quite the staple of the Trek Litverse, even including the word Fuck.