Watchdog Mediawatch-UK said that in the 60 films it looked at, the word "shit" and its derivatives occurred 827 times, the word "fuck" and its derivatives occurred 1,429 times and "Jesus" and/or "Christ" used as expletives occurred 221 times.
In its report, a total of 60 films shown on the five terrestrial television channels from January to June 2003 are analysed for bad language. Of the 60 films, six were shown on BBC One, two on BBC Two, 11 on ITV1, 16 on Channel 4, but leading the way is the newly porn-free Five with 25.
Among the 60 Mediawatch-UK looked at were Kevin Smith's 'Mallrats', 'White Men Can't Jump', 'Good Fellas', 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Bad Boys'. In one film, 'Point Break', it said that the volume and speed of the bad language was such that not all of it could be recorded.
John Beyer, director of Mediawatch-UK, blames film and television for contributing significantly to the language revolution that has normalised obscene language in the 40 or so years since the f*** word was first used on television.
He said that the evidence in Mediawatch-UK's report 'The Daily Grunt' shows there has been a consistent effort to promote obscenity, swearing and profanity against the wishes of most people.
"We have focused, firstly, on two words 'shit' and 'fuck' and their derivatives, because these are by far the most common swear words used in the films in this survey. Secondly, we have focused on holy names 'Jesus' and/or 'Christ', because the broadcasting codes and guidelines specifically mention them," he said.
The report comes on the heels of Greg Rusedski's Wimbledon outburst, where he was fined for an outbreak of swearing at the umpire, which the BBC did not bleep out. Beyer said the BBC should have "bleeped it out. Why they repeated it later is beyond me," he said.
A BBC spokesman said the corporation had apologised for any offence caused by Rusedski's language. It took the issue of swearing very seriously and adhered to the 9pm watershed.
Mediawatch-UK argues that the use of most bad language is entirely gratuitous and indicates a limited vocabulary and a very poor grasp of the English language. It argues that very little can be justified honestly on the grounds of authenticity or context and that it sets a very bad example.
According to Beyer: "The present level of obscene, abusive and insulting language on television is unacceptable and out of step with public expectations, as established by the regulators in their own research. We therefore call upon the broadcasters to take immediate meaningful steps to substantially reduce the volume of swearing and profanity in television programmes. We believe that this would help in the overall effort to curb anti-social behaviour."
Mediawatch-UK is the conservative organisation set up in 1965 by the late Mary Whitehouse. It was originally known as The National Viewers' and Listeners' Association.
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