I hate censorship, but as a teacher at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, I have to use good judgment in the classroom.
That’s why I had to pause and think for a second when I was teaching a comedy directing class and one of my students wanted to give an example that would illustrate the subject we were talking about: how switching the emphasized word changes the entire meaning of a sentence. She hesitated because she said the language might not be appropriate.
So I asked her, “Is it funny?”
She assured me it was . . . and it was a great example that would be memorable.
So I figured . . .
- Everybody was over 18.
- We WERE discussing comedy in a sitcom directing class.
- It could be dialogue, spoken by a character who might use it for shock value, no matter how inappropriate.
- And if it was memorable—and funny—every student would remember how changing the emphasized word irrevocably changes the meaning of the sentence.
So I told her to go ahead and share the example. Here’s what she said: “I didn’t suck his dick.” And she continued. “I didn’t suck his dick. I DIDN’T suck his dick. I didn’t SUCK his dick. . . . ” Laughter ensued. Lesson unforgettably learned.
