"If You Seek Amy"

[Azrael Cain]

Greetings one and all.

No doubt some of us have been listening to the radio for the past few months, and no doubt some of us have heard the Britney Spears single titled very much like the title of this thread (if you haven't, please enjoy accordingly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FehBgQeVKFQ).

This topic is meant to entice and encourage a "debate," if you will, over the idea of obscenity, foul language and the ingenious double entendre that the song is (as well as many and some of them in our world, eh?)

Rather recently, in my History of the English Language class, we were discussing foul language. I posted the "George Carlin" view on language, one that says words in and of themselves, cannot be 'foul' or pejorative (mind you, the same argument applies to all the words we consider positive!). I've always believe that words mean only as much and the things we say they do, and can only hurt us if we allow them to; essentially, if you're offended by a word, that's entirely your choice to be offended because the word, in the grand scheme of things, does not mean anything.

I am fascinated by the mere fact that human beings are capable of making such an array of sounds that makes sense (or at least the sense we've all agreed on). I am fascinated by the fact that we've chosen some collaboration of sounds, literally nothing more than a collection of phonemes (if we are to get technical) and assigned them meanings! How, I ask you, can we get upset over these, from my point of view, "gurgles"? It's petty and idiotic, if nothing else. If we were to suddenly change the meaning of the world 'cunt' (since it is the most demeaning example I can think of at the moment) to mean something incredibly positive, and got seven billion people (or at least all English speakers) to agree on that new meaning, it wouldn't be an insult for much longer, would it?

At the same time, please do not misunderstand -- I do understand the function language serves and, to some extent, how it works and why it works the way it does. It's just interesting to me, and I am interested in your opinions as well. I would rather avoid the linguistics debate in turn of a philosophical one, but if linguistics is your bag, I am open to try and have a go at it.

Also, on this note, and the title of the thread, I guess, what is your opinion of the song and its impact in pop culture? Clearly this is an example of foul language creeping into the familial sphere... but damn it, is it ever clever!

 

[FromTheSouth]

The problem with the song is that Britney thinks that the audience she had when she started is the same audience that she has now. She feels her fans have grown up with her. The problem is that the fans she had at the beginning have outgrown her, and she is still singing to 12-15 year old girls. This song is inappropriate for them.

Kids don't get to be kids anymore. It started when I was a child. My sister, who is eight years older had after school specials, sitcoms with positive messages, and Nancy Reagan (God Bless the Reagans) trying with all their might to maintain the innocence of a child. When I got to "tween" age, 90210 showed kids my age sex scandals, music started to get more graphic, movies started to glorify teen sex. Now, as if the pressures of hormones aren't enough, TV and movies are insisting kids get started earlier and earlier.

Whatever happened to the days of double dutch and jax? Now it seems everything is about double penetration and handjobs. MTV glorifies every alternative lifestyle they can. Every dating show has a gay edition. Once again, while adults have a myriad of choices when they reach adulthood, why does MTV need to push this on kids? It's not 16 and 17 year olds getting a push towards realizing themselves. That is OK, but MTV's demographic is full of 9-12 year olds. It just makes parenting harder. Kids have to learn so many things when they are younger that I didn't have to learn until I was older. MTV glamorizes drug culture. Half the people on their shows seem high, the channel is full of drug references. Once again, an older person can make whatever choice they see fit, but so many 10 year olds are growing up thinking that getting stoned is the way to fame and forture. MTV pushes materialism with Pimp My Ride and Cribs. I don't even watch the channel, but my five minutes of monthly viewing showed me that being gay, stoned, blinged, and overly dramatic is the way to fame and fortune.

I blame pop culture for corrupting kids. All the music is sexually charged and whiny. Not one thing on MTV shows kids how to be responsible for themselves. They show the druggies blaming their parents, society, and friends for their addiction, but the junkie never says he is just too fond of the dusty showbiz, and it is never their fault.

Words are more that just sounds. Those sounds have meanings. Those meaning raise questions and emotions, and sometimes parents don't want to rush into explaining what all these words me. How do you think some parent feels when their seven year old asks what F-U-C-K me means? I would be wondering where the Barbies were to find any distraction to avoid explaining this.

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

I agree with you South, the music industry as a whole has become something of a a sex peddler to children, You have groups like the Pussycat dolls singing about sexual acts and touching themselves and who do the executives direct the inappropriate material at? 10 - 15 year olds, kids are becoming more and more aware of situatians and sexual content more and more now because sex is everywhere!

Artists like Britney are clinging onto their careers singing songs that are highly inappropriate and sexually charged and kids are still buying her albums because they think that the way she acts and the things she says are ok because they idolize her.

you have TV and Radio playing it, you have billboards with underwear on it, teen pregnancy is becoming the norm and its all because our standards are becoming lower and lower and more vulgar content is being directed at a younger audience.

Its not all the medias fault the blame also lies on the parents, because alot of parents ignore what their children watch or even listen to and play the fool until something happens then who do they blame?, The musician and the record label and dont shoulder some of the blame themselves.

 

[LigerBomb]

Personally, I'm a bit more on the descriptive side when it comes to language usage. That's not to say I don't agree with, or understand, the need for the evolution and modification of current word definition. Suffice it to say, as with most things, an approach towards moderation is probably optimal.
As far as obscenity is concerned and how it applies to this case, in which Spears embeds what most all of us would consider to be a "curse word" into one of her songs, I would think it is simply done as a purposeful attempt to garner a shock value response so she can remain in the public eye a bit longer, rather than an honest attempt to open critical debate and analysis amongst adults about the possible need to change the way we as a society view or use the word in question. As an aside, I doubt she was clever enough to come up with the song on her own.