Saturday, November 14, 2009

America's Maturity Index Trendline

Link to November 13 New York Times article, "More Than Ever, You Can Say That On Television".

Excerpt: On many nights this fall, it has been possible to tune in to broadcast network television during prime time and hear a character call someone else a “douche.”

In just the last several weeks, it has happened on CBS's “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and the CW’s “The Vampire Diaries,” which are broadcast at 8 p.m., during what used to be known as the family hour. It has been heard this fall on Fox’s new series “The Cleveland Show,” which begins at 8:30, and on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” On NBC, its use has spanned the old and the new, blurted out on the freshman comedy “Community” and the seasoned drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

In total, the word has surfaced at least 76 times already this year on 26 prime-time network series, according to research by the Parents Television Council, which compiled the statistics at the request of The New York Times. That is up from 30 uses on 15 shows in all of 2007 and just six instances on four programs in 2005.

Remember the first time you uttered a "bad" word and what a strong reaction you received. (Keep in mind this is a PK speaking.) I was so entranced by all the attention that I repeated the word another half dozen times. Gee, with this kind of follow-through, maybe I should have been a writer for TV sitcoms.

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