Using curse words onstage unnecessary
Published:Monday | November 25, 2019 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
Using a bad word, or bad words, is unnecessary and uncalled for, in any setting.
Two of the world’s most successful and most famous stand-up comedians and actors, Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby, may be good examples to use in the current ‘bad word’ debate. Eddie Murphy’s two most popular stand-up comedy shows, Delirious and Raw, are both replete with bad words, in addition to many of his movies.
On the contrary, Bill Cosby, regarded, as one of the world’s best stand-up comedians and storytellers of all time who, has many successful comedy albums to his credit, never used bad words in his act or, for that matter, in any of his movies or TV shows. On one occasion, Cosby told an audience that he could out-curse the best of them, if he chose to, but made the point that he did not need to do that.
Had Eddie Murphy not uttered a single bad word in Delirious and/or Raw, the stand-up routines contained in those would have been just as funny and just as successful, because while his frequent use of the ‘f-word’ in his stand-up comedy shows and/or movies made them more colourful, without its use they would not have lost their comedic impact.
To bring the issue back home, the young man who, recently, gave the valedictory speech at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts and used a bad word, should not have done so because it was unnecessary, and in poor taste.
Last, Jamaica’s ‘bad word law’ should not be repealed but, rather, the fine should be increased to at least J$3,000.
Patrick Gallimore