Swearing pre-watershed

[HettySunshine]

Just curious really.

I sat down to watch Ghostbusters Afterlife last night with my dd 10 and dd & ds 7. It was on at 7pm and they all quite hardy so I knew they wouldn't be scared.

We caught the end of the One Show just before and one of the guests was picked up for saying 'bloody hell' twice.

The film started and within about the first 15-20 mins one of the characters said 'shit'. I think the word was repeated three times during the film.

The film certainly didn't warrant being on after 9pm, it wasn't super scary and all my lot thought it was funny and got the jokes, but should there have been an advisory about the language? I've never known swearing to be on the BBC so early before.

Just interested in opinions really.

I’m not aware of any watershed any more, there seems to be bad language any time of day.

The film is rated 12 so it’s up to you to make sure the film you are watching is suitable for the age of Dc.

Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult.

It's not so much the suitability of the film, as the fact that there was 'proper' swearing on tv at 7.15pm which I've never heard before.

I'd be more shocked if a 10 & 7 yo hadn't already heard "bloody hell" and "shit" before.

I couldn't get myself worked up about it tbh

I hate any swearing before the watershed. I don't dispute that older children will have heard it but they don't hear it in my home and I don't want them to.

Harry Potter is full of bloody hell, mostly from Ron. What time do they usually show that film?

Does the BBC have a watershed any more?

I don't think "shit" is regarded as "proper" swearing any more, and "bloody hell" definitely isn't. I certainly don't think either merit a warning beforehand.

They probably hear far worse at school, anyway.

Radio 4 has swearing throughout the day in its dramas.

Is shit a swear word?

I don't have any problem with 'bloody hell', I was just using it as a comparison that the person who said it was told not to say it at 6.55 in case the One Show got complaints but less that half an hour later 'shit' was on the same channel.

You need to take more responsibility - look up the film in advance and decide if you're happy with it.

Shit and bloody hell are both classed as mild swearing, this is quite normal in films IMO.

I agree the watershed seems quite irrelevant now given streaming.

Of com regulations do allow mild swearing pre-watershed. Swearing might be dipped or edited out of some programmes to create daytime versions but that wouldn’t happen with a film because it would spoil the editorial integrity. As others said, it is up to the viewer to censor themselves in this kind of instance.

I think it is.