I think all cursing in TV is pretty much useless at this point. Discovery's scene felt more natural, if scripted awkward, than most.
It wasn't even cursing, just the inclusion of a word that some people think should be taboo. It was emphasizing.
I think all cursing in TV is pretty much useless at this point. Discovery's scene felt more natural, if scripted awkward, than most.
There’s a difference between such things as forced dialogue, over-the-top acting, bad writing, and cursing for no real inherent reason other than for shock value. I’m speaking specifically about the latter.
There was nothing shocking about the word use in that scene, IMO.
If we are comparing to TNG it was way more effective than the stupid delivery of Data's "Oh, shit." in Generations. And way more belivable.So then use a different word than ‘shocking.’ The result was the same: the lines were meant to have an effect, because it was an effect that couldn’t have happened in previous Trek series. If TNG had been full of people cursing, they wouldn’t have bothered.
So then use a different word than ‘shocking.’ The result was the same: the lines were meant to have an effect, because it was an effect that couldn’t have happened in previous Trek series. If TNG had been full of people cursing, they wouldn’t have bothered.
If we are comparing to TNG it was way more effective than the stupid delivery of Data's "Oh, shit." in Generations. And way more belivable.
I did find the response of the shows detractors' kind of quaint and regressive and still do, as the focus of theirs was on the transgressive factor of the word and how it meant that Disco was not 'true to the spirit of Star Trek' and not on the context or usage which was actually rather adorable and even uplifting in its presentation.
If we are comparing to TNG it was way more effective than the stupid delivery of Data's "Oh, shit." in Generations. And way more belivable.
The point in that is that it’s an extension of Data not operating with a full deck in that film. It’s analogous to his ‘ignite the midnight petroleum’ or ‘lock and load’ moments. So..if we are comparing to TNG then...it was terrible. Because it didn’t tell me anything about the character or characters, unless Tilly is now a scholar of historical language and just can’t help herself. Or she’s a bit of a pretentious muppet, like I was in my teenage years, when I insisted on using 1920s slang a lot, even though my sources may have been suspect.
Or y’know, not your fathers Trek, because his made more sense ;p
That line is basically just another ‘is it canon? Is it Prime continuity?’ Moment. Regardless of the fact that older Trek had to be a bit self-censoring in some areas, though perhaps restrained is a better word, because of rules and societal convention at the time, it did bother working in something of a reason for that ( A double dumb ass on you.) into its continuity.
I agree that Data’s cursing was forced and stupid; however I really don’t see much difference between it and Tilly. It probably doesn’t help that I find Tilly to be an extremely annoying character all around.
Because it didn’t tell me anything about the character or characters, unless Tilly is now a scholar of historical language and just can’t help herself. Or she’s a bit of a pretentious muppet, like I was in my teenage years, when I insisted on using 1920s slang a lot, even though my sources may have been suspect.
Or y’know, not your fathers Trek, because his made more sense ;p
That line is basically just another ‘is it canon? Is it Prime continuity?’ Moment. Regardless of the fact that older Trek had to be a bit self-censoring in some areas, though perhaps restrained is a better word, because of rules and societal convention at the time, it did bother working in something of a reason for that ( A double dumb ass on you.) into its continuity.
I don't see how they're really similar at all.
Didn't he swear in French during TNG S1?Picard is supposed to be this disciplined military officer with decades of experience behind him. You wouldn't think that anything would rattle him to the point of cursing.
And that's where you and I will differ. It fits in with the character becoming extremely excited and having a brief unprofessional moment. Which, having worked in a couple of different professions, those moments are going to happen.I agree that Data’s cursing was forced and stupid; however I really don’t see much difference between it and Tilly. It probably doesn’t help that I find Tilly to be an extremely annoying character all around.
There’s a difference between such things as forced dialogue, over-the-top acting, bad writing, and cursing for no real inherent reason other than for shock value (or the idea that “we couldn’t do it then but we can do it now so let’s do it!” type of attitude. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should do it.) I’m speaking specifically about the latter.
Because you’re focusing on the characters that made the statements. I’m focusing on the statements themselves. Burnham could have said fuck instead of Tilly, and Riker could have said shit instead of Data. That’s not my point.
I'm confused as to why cursing should be seen as solely the realm of humor on TV. In comedies, fine. In dramas, not so much. So do people think Star Trek should be seen as a comedy show? For instance, last year's Twilight Zone had a lot of cursing, none of it bleeped. Why aren't people up in arms the way they have been about cursing in Star Trek? Its not like cursing has ever been a feature of the Twilight Zone in any of its iterations either.
Was the cursing in The Twilight Zone natural, or was it forced? Because I felt that Tilly’s and Stamets’s lines were incredibly forced.
I don't see how they're really similar at all.
Tilly is an overexcitable person who got carried away and said something in a setting where she probably shouldn't have said it.
Data is a machine who can't get overexcited and who's entire experience of what 'acting human' means comes completely from the people around him - none of whom where ever seen cursing under any circumstances (not even his iconoclastic father or more human-ish 'brother'). I guess we could assume there's some hidden 'cursing protocol' buried in there he never used or didn't know about and the malfunction brought it out, but it's just such a 'why is he even saying that'? moment.
The word 'F*ck' has existed for hundreds of years already. There's absolutely no reason to assume Tilly needs to be a historical scholar to know it. The word just still exists normally a few hundred years from now.
And if her usage didn't tell you anything about the character, that just tells me you were so busy imagining ridiculous theories about reviving long dead curse words instead of paying attention to the scene, because there's plenty of characterization in that moment. It tells us about her *emphatic* enjoyment of science - which is kind of a defining character trait which she also shares with Stamets which is the whole point of the scene (they're literally bonding over science) - while also reinforcing her tendency to awkwardly act out of turn and say things she officially probably shouldn't say, which is another defining character trait.
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