News from Moscow
Is it Possible to Ban Profane Language?
Many thanks to Vladimar Kozlov for your contribution to the debate. I look forward to hearing more from you.
By Vladimir Kozlov
Originally published at 05/06/2008 23:56
For many years now, deputies of the State Duma and regional assemblies have been speaking about the necessity to curb the use of obscene language, and even some proposals stipulating fining people for the use of profane language in public places have been brought forward. Nothing has come out of it so far, and nothing, probably, will.
Sometimes, milder steps are proposed. For example, earlier this year, local authorities in Dimitrovgrad, a city in the Volga region, proposed to introduce a "day without profanity" once a month, which would - according to supporters of the idea - fight the use of obscenity and make people more polite. The opponents, meanwhile, ridiculed the idea, saying that the introduction of "days without profanity" could be interpreted as legalization of such language in all other days of the month.
Meanwhile, Russians use obscenities a lot - anyone will become sure about that after spending some time at a bus stop during rush hour and listening to conversations between people. Sometimes, even opinion polls are held to determine what proportion of the country's population use swear words in their daily life. In Voronezh region, for instance, an opinion poll of this kind helped to find out that 70 percent of the city's residents use obscenities on a regular basis, especially young people.
One more thing to consider. Russian swear words are, arguably, stronger than, say, their English equivalents. If in English, thanks to popular culture, the use of f-words has become almost a norm, in the Russian language obscenities are still a long way from being fully accepted, although the process of legalizing profane language has started, and no measures aimed at curbing the use of profane language seem to be able to stop it.
Indeed, what can you realistically do about, say, banning the use of obscenities in public places? Send out cops who would listen to all conversations and fine those who use swear words? But the very idea sounds so ridiculous that it's unlikely to ever been executed. Meanwhile, even attempts to do easier things, such as banning the consumption of alcohol in public places, never worked. True, you could be approached by cops if you were holding an open beer can in a park, but if you were doing the same on a metro car, no one would care.
One possible way to curb obscenities would be through art. Some people have been speaking about introducing a ban on swear words in movies, songs and literature. However, what has been happening with the use of obscenities in the arts in Russia is quite the opposite. While TV and radio remain areas where profane language is not allowed and consequently "beeped," in books, songs and movies, profane language has been used more and more often.
Incidentally, here we're talking not about mass culture, but rather about art-house and non-commercial stuff. In a movie about criminals, characters never talk the way they do in real life, while in an art-house movie the real language may be preserved. Two years ago, the movie Playing the Victim, which won the main prize at that year's domestic festival Kinotavr, contained one lengthy monologue richly peppered with obscenities.
If we turn to music, the band Leningrad and its frontman Sergei Shnurov obviously come to mind. Some believe that the band played a substantial role in legalizing obscenities in the arts.
In any case, introducing any restrictions on profanity in the arts would lead nowhere. First, the audience of art that uses this kind of language could not be easily influenced. Second, if we're talking about realistic art that is supposed to truthfully reflect life, such restrictions would be hypocritical. And, third, restrictions and bans would only make obscenity more attractive for young people, who hate restrictions anyway.
Sometimes, milder steps are proposed. For example, earlier this year, local authorities in Dimitrovgrad, a city in the Volga region, proposed to introduce a "day without profanity" once a month, which would - according to supporters of the idea - fight the use of obscenity and make people more polite. The opponents, meanwhile, ridiculed the idea, saying that the introduction of "days without profanity" could be interpreted as legalization of such language in all other days of the month.
Meanwhile, Russians use obscenities a lot - anyone will become sure about that after spending some time at a bus stop during rush hour and listening to conversations between people. Sometimes, even opinion polls are held to determine what proportion of the country's population use swear words in their daily life. In Voronezh region, for instance, an opinion poll of this kind helped to find out that 70 percent of the city's residents use obscenities on a regular basis, especially young people.
One more thing to consider. Russian swear words are, arguably, stronger than, say, their English equivalents. If in English, thanks to popular culture, the use of f-words has become almost a norm, in the Russian language obscenities are still a long way from being fully accepted, although the process of legalizing profane language has started, and no measures aimed at curbing the use of profane language seem to be able to stop it.
Indeed, what can you realistically do about, say, banning the use of obscenities in public places? Send out cops who would listen to all conversations and fine those who use swear words? But the very idea sounds so ridiculous that it's unlikely to ever been executed. Meanwhile, even attempts to do easier things, such as banning the consumption of alcohol in public places, never worked. True, you could be approached by cops if you were holding an open beer can in a park, but if you were doing the same on a metro car, no one would care.
One possible way to curb obscenities would be through art. Some people have been speaking about introducing a ban on swear words in movies, songs and literature. However, what has been happening with the use of obscenities in the arts in Russia is quite the opposite. While TV and radio remain areas where profane language is not allowed and consequently "beeped," in books, songs and movies, profane language has been used more and more often.
Incidentally, here we're talking not about mass culture, but rather about art-house and non-commercial stuff. In a movie about criminals, characters never talk the way they do in real life, while in an art-house movie the real language may be preserved. Two years ago, the movie Playing the Victim, which won the main prize at that year's domestic festival Kinotavr, contained one lengthy monologue richly peppered with obscenities.
If we turn to music, the band Leningrad and its frontman Sergei Shnurov obviously come to mind. Some believe that the band played a substantial role in legalizing obscenities in the arts.
In any case, introducing any restrictions on profanity in the arts would lead nowhere. First, the audience of art that uses this kind of language could not be easily influenced. Second, if we're talking about realistic art that is supposed to truthfully reflect life, such restrictions would be hypocritical. And, third, restrictions and bans would only make obscenity more attractive for young people, who hate restrictions anyway.
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