Censorship, or Lack Thereof

I remember the first time I heard someone say joder (fuck) on TV. I immediately said, whoa! Where’s the bleep? Not only did they say fuck, it was also on a teenage drama, Dawson’s Creek type of show! I was shocked and my roommates were even more shocked that I was shocked by something so silly. It is just a word.

And that was my first experience with Spain’s lack of censorship. They swear whenever and in whatever show. They also have no problem showing graphic images on TV like victims of murder and whatnot. Nudity is never a problem on TV and newspapers. Everyday on the metro, I would see a picture of a half naked woman on the back of a Sports newspaper read by old, young, male, female. It just doesn’t matter.

This past week, I’ve also learned that Germans are not much different. There was a commercial for some upcoming talk show and it had a bunch of people discussing something, in German of course. And then all of a sudden the ad ends with a guy saying, Fuck you! , slowly and clearly. And then on the news, they showed raw footage of the man who tried to ram his car on the Dutch Royal Family bus. Sadly, he killed and injured at least 5 people on the way to the Royal bus. It was disturbing seeing the attacker’s car, badly damaged from all the impact of the people he hit, crash into a statue (or something like it). And then to see all these people lying lifeless on the ground.

As strange as all this is at first for an American, I also find it quite refreshing. Why do we (or the FCC) get so crazy about a swear word or a little boob being shown on TV. After all, words are just words. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. And the nudity, it’s nothing most people haven’t seen before. As for the graphic images of death and crime, again it’s an eye opener. I think seeing those graphic images hit harder. Maybe people would care more if they actually saw the victims instead of just images of cities being bombed (I.e. Operation shock and awe). The news is supposed to provide us with real life stories…so why omit parts of it?