Can't be character's own preference?: Gosh Dang It To Heck

So, while browsing through Image Picking (which, BTW, seems to be a really good way to find tropes in need of repair) I found this thread, which claimed, completely to my surprise, that this is supposed to be limited to when it's caused by Moral Guardians and other forms of censorship, and that characters who chose to "swear" this way (for whatever reason) were not actually examples. The actual description seems to support that conclusion, though it does claim that character preference is a possible justification. This seems to complicate the trope unnecessarily - in my opinion, it should be about all characters who "swear" this way regardless of the in- or out-of-universe reasons they do so.

As far as how I've actually seen it used elsewhere, it most often appears potholed to uses of "mild" cursing, whatever the context.

If it's part of the characterization, it's a Justified Trope.

"Occasionally, this is justified: there are some characters (and some people) who simply don't swear. Although not swearing in situations where there is no reason not to (especially if you say other things instead) will get you odd looks, there are some people who don't swear, even when the situation warrants it."

YKTTW Will Not Cuss if you think they're sufficiently different.

But they aren't, really.

Exactly my thoughts - I don't see why we need to split this article just because of a not-needed-for-the-trope emphasis on the role of Moral Guardians. Yes, that's probably the most common reason behind this trope, but it's not the only one and doesn't need to be a requirement.

Can we say something along the lines of, "There are two main reasons why this trope may be used. 1) Moral Guardians want to keep the level of profanity down, or 2) The character want to keep the level of profanity down, despite the work itself possessing more."

I don't see why.

I don't see a reason for a split. Justified or not, a trope is a trope.

It's perfectly reasonable for the trope to be applied in the clear absence of Moral Guardians. Take The Book of Mormon, for example. One of the characters is a warlord who introduces himself as "General Butt-Fucking-Naked." ("Because when I kill my enemies and drink their blood, I do it butt-fucking naked!") Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, the Mormon missionaries speak in Goshdarns and Dangs and meekly refer to him as "Butt-Effing-Naked". The trope is being used not as a form of censorship, but as a way of creating a very deliberate contrast between different characters' worldviews.

edited 16th Aug '11 7:24:28 PM by troacctid