Jim Lee did a Superhero parody for MAD Magazine that is pretty funny. You can find it here: http://www2.warnerbros.com/madmagazine/files/onthestands/ots_438/heroes.html
Neil Gaiman also had some interesting comments to make about the new bill going before the House of Representatives, which seeks to protect us poor American souls from hearing foul language (be warned, if you read the following):
“Luckily, the US will be protected from all that sort of thing, and there will be an absolute ban on bad language on television—I recently discovered that a bill has been introduced before the House of Representatives which seeks to clarify the seven specific words and phrases that should be legally deemed profane (and is the sort of bill that’s by definition too dirty to be reported in newspapers or on TV or radio, so I shall perform a public service and post it for those who can’t be bothered to click on the link):
HR3687 reads, in full:
To amend section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, to provide for the punishment of certain profane broadcasts, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 8, 2003
Mr. OSE (for himself and Mr. SMITH of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, to provide for the punishment of certain profane broadcasts, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, is amended–
(1) by inserting ‘(a)’ before ‘Whoever’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘(b) As used in this section, the term ‘profane’, used with respect to language, includes the words ‘shit’, ‘piss’, ‘fuck’, ‘cunt’, ‘asshole’, and the phrases ‘cock sucker’, ‘mother fucker’, and ‘ass hole’, compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms).’.
Which is rather an odd list, isn’t it? It seems to be suggesting that “it’s pissing down” or “he was slightly pissed” (in either the US sense of angry, or the UK sense of drunk) is comparable and equal to the chorus in Jerry Springer The Opera describing the devil, in song, as “what a cunting cunting cunting cunt”.
I’m hoping that, if the bill is passed, it’ll simply prompt people to be more imaginative in their choice of on-air obscenity…”
I agree that the networks should police themselves better, but this seems a little ridiculous. Lo! My “infrigement of free speech” antenna are beginning to twirl.
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