The use of swear words and its relationship with taboo words in crank
THE USE OF SWEAR WORDS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH TABOO
WORDS IN
CRANK
NURHAYATI
Reg. 102026024570
ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT
LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH”
JAKARTA
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THE USE OF SWEAR WORDS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH TABOO
WORDS IN
CRANK
A Thesis
Submitted to Letters and Humanities Faculty
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Strata 1
NURHAYATI
Reg. 102026024570
ENGLISH LETTERS DEPARTMENT
LETTERS AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH”
JAKARTA
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LEGALIZATION
The thesis entitled “The Use of Swear Words and Its Relationship with
Taboo Words In Crank” has been defended before the Letters and Humanities
Faculty’s Examination Committee on Desember 17
th, 2007. The thesis has already
been accepted as a partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Strata 1.
Jakarta,
Desember
17
th, 2007
Examination Committee
Chair
Person,
Secretary,
Drs. H. Abdul. Hamid, M.Ed
Drs. Asep Saefuddin, M.Pd
NIP.150 181 922
NIP. 150 261 902
Members:
Dr. Frans Sayogie, M.Pd
Elve
Oktafiyani,
M.Hum
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ABSTRACT
Nurhayati,
The Use of Swear Words And Its Relationship With Taboo
Words in Crank
.
Thesis. Jakarta: English Letters Department, Letters and
Humanities Faculty, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, August 2007.
Swear words are the informal words that are used by people to express
their emotion in terrible situation, the writer analyses the use of the swear words
in Crank, Crank is an Action Movie, there are many swear words uttered by the
characters. The writer is interested to analyze swear words as the topic research
because the writer wants to know, how the characters in “Crank” use the swear
words and how the swear words that are used by them are considered taboo.
This thesis uses descriptive method; the writer collects the data from
literatures and movie script taken from www.imsdb.com, the researcher describes
the data whether the data categorize into strong or weak swear words and
analyzing them whether they are considered taboo or not. The research used the
data qualitatively especially the theory of swear words and its relationship with
taboo words.
After analyzing this thesis, the writer finds out that most of strong swear
words are taboo in English. Finally, the characters in the film use swear words
when they feel terrible or disappointed when they face bad situation. The strong
and weak swear words are used by the characters depend on the situation, for
example, to express their annoyance, to express their surprise, the unconcern,
Insult, request to go away, emphasize an emotion, surprise question, and rejection.
Most of strong swear words are considered taboo in English because most of all of
them refer to category of taboo, such as lavatory, sexual activity, private part of
the body, and religion. In the other hand, there are only a few of weak swear
words that are considered taboo in English. Finally, after finishing the research,
the writer knows much about swear words and the relationship with taboo words.
This makes the writer gets lot of vocabulary of swear words and its use.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ...
i
APPROVEMENT ...
ii
LEGALIZATION ...
iii
DECLARATION...
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ...
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...
vii
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A.
Background of the Study ...
1
B.
Scope of the Research ...
6
C.
The Research Questions ...
6
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D.
Significance of the Research ...
6
E.
Methodology of the Research ...
6
1.
The Objective of the Study ...
6
2.
Research Method ...
6
3.
Technique of Analysis Data ...
7
4.
Unit Analysis Data ...
7
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A.
Definition of Swear Words ...
8
B.
Strong and Weak Swear Words ...
9
C.
The Relationship of Swear Words with Taboo Words
...
11
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH FINDING
A.
Data Description...
15
B.
Analyzing the Data...
17
1.
Strong Swear Words ...
17
2.
Weak Swear Words ...
28
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CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A.
Conclusions ...
31
BIBLIOGRAPHY
...
33
APPENDIX ...
34
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the study
Language is needed a lot in human life. Almost in every activity, people
need language whether in daily life or in special events. Halliday explains that
language is used by group of people to communicate, there are many language
users, such as men, women, old people, teenagers and student, therefore, language
has varieties.
1There are several types of language variety; these are idiolect,
dialect and variety.
Idiolect
is the variety of language which is recognized from the
character of that person himself/herself, for example, the poem of Chairil Anwar,
and the poem of Kahlil Gibran etc.
Dialect
is the variety of language that is used
by group of people in the main society, for example dialect of Javanese language,
such as dialect of Banyumas, Dialect of Tegal, dialectof Surabaya etc.
2One of the
varieties of language based on the situation and the aim is called
Variety.
3Halliday distinguishes the variety of language into
Part of speech
,
Manner of
speech
and
Style of speech
.
1.
Part of a speech
1
Halliday, M A K. The Linguistic Sciences and Language Teaching (London: Oxford
University Press, 1974), p. 534
2
Chaer, Abdul. Linguistik Umum (Jakarta: Rineka Cipta, 2003), p. 55
3
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Part of a speech is seen based on the place of language activity occurred.
In addition, people use a language based on its occasion or in a certain part and in
a certain place, for instance, the language used in a discussion, seminar, meeting,
in a court and in a seminar.
2.
Manner of a speech
Manner of a speech is based on the way of using the language, for
instance, speech language has different way on delivering the message from
written language.
3.
Style of a speech
Style of a speech is based on the relationship between the speakers on
the conversation. It is divided as formal and informal language. Formal language
is usually used in formal situation. The examples of formal language are:
a. Language which is used between teacher and students
b. Language which is used on giving the speech
c. Language in application letter
On the other hand, informal language is used on informal situation. The examples
of informal language are:
a. Language which is used between friends
b. Language in a family
Whether someone has to use formal and informal language depends on the
relationship between the speakers and the situation. The use of language is
differentiated according to the people and situations. It means that language users
(the speakers) always use language in large numbers of varieties. One of the
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language varieties that are well known among many people in America is Slang. It
is a part of “informal vocabulary” that is uttered as a suitable language by the
“people who know each other well”.
4As nonstandard vocabulary expression,
slang words are understood by persons from the same particular region or social
group. This language variety is often used to express the “things that people fell
strongly about”.
5These can be the expression of sexual activity, the emotional
relationship or the physical and mental illness. There are two classifications
related to such expression: swear words and taboo words.
Swear words are the strong language that is expressed by the person to
express their powerful emotion.
6Swear words or abuse words are the words that
are usually used to abuse, as the result of reaction toward unwanted things
occurred. It consists of expression that is used by people to abuse, whether to
abuse another people or themselves. Thus, there is a relationship between the
speakers who abuse or the speakers who are abused.
People usually say swear words when they feel angry or disappointed,
but also when they admire something. Hornby also gives some examples of swear
words which express anger, surprise or admiration, like “Gosh!” and “Golly!”
These two words come from the word ‘God’. “Gee!”, “Jingo!” and “Jeez!” come
from the word ‘Jesus’ etc. then Hornby explains that people express the powerful
emotion when she or he gets able to say swear words.
74
Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 2
nded. (New York: Oxford Up, 1995), p. 534
5
Swan, Michael (1995), op. cit. p.535
6
Ibid. p.574
7
Hornby, A S. The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (London: Oxford
University Press, 1974), p. 28
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Swear words are divided into two groups; Strong swear words and Weak
swear words.
8Lakoff explains that the difference of using swear words such as
Shit! Damn! Etc with Oh dear! Goodness! Etc depends on how people express
their feeling. Strong swears words are the words used to abuse another people by
the words, and these words have the rudest character. Weak swear words are also
the words used to abuse but its character is not as rude as the strong one (Strong
swear words). These are some examples of strong swear word,
Holy Shit! Hell! Son of a Bitch!
Goddamn! Fuck! Motherfucker!
These are some examples of weak swear words,
Blah! Ouch! Stupid!
Dummy! Coward! Oh Gosh!
Swear words and taboo words actually have close relationship. Lakoff
explains that taboo words are often used as swear words because it has magic
power.
9Because of plentiful emotion, people seek the phrase that has bad
meaning in order to give rein to his or her emotion. Therefore, people use the
words that are considered taboo to express their emotion orally or in a written text.
By using taboo words, the users of these words will get satisfied. In normal
situation, people usually dislike using taboo words, but when someone get mad
then he or she will say these words in abusing form. According to Ullman the
8
Lakoff, Robin. Language and Woman’s Place (Toronto: Fitzhenry and Ehiteside Limites,
1975), p 10
9
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words that are considered taboo are the words that related to sexual activity, dirt,
and religion, for example, fuck! Shit! Jesus!.
10When people know that swear words are considered taboo, they try to
find the manners to soften the use of swear words. One of the examples is using
the acronym or slashing. Ullman explains two manners to soften swear words.
First manner is the use of acronym or slashing. For example, God! Become G_ _
d! or G _ _ !. Second manner is by omitting the part that is considered taboo. For
example, God’s blood become “by blood” and “God’s arm become “by arm”,
etc.
11These manners are usually done in written form, for examples in a
textbook, printed ads, movie text, etc. but not in a movie or songs, for instance.
That is why there are a lot of American movies or songs, in which the characters
or the singers always use swear words when they are talking or singing.
The writer chooses movie as the object of the research because there are
a lot of swear words or abuse words that are said by the actors and actresses in
movie, especially in big screen movie. The movie that the writer chooses is
“Crank”.
The movie entitled “Crank” uses a lot of swear words like shit,
motherfucker, asshole, son of a bitch, etc which is used by white American people
and considered taboo in English, so the writer is interested to find out what kind
of swear words that the actors and the actresses use in the movie and then
categorized it into strong and weak swear words. The movie “Crank” was not the
10
Ullman, Stephen. The science of Meaning (Oxford: Barnes and Nobles Inc, 1962), p. 30
11
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only one movie that used a lot of swear words, the reason why the writer chooses
this movie was because the script of this movie is easily to find.
B. Focus of the Study
The research focuses on the use of swears words and its relationship
with taboo words in the movie entitled “Crank”.
C. Research Question
The question of the research, which is going to be analyzed on this
research, is:
1. How do the characters in “Crank” use the swear words to express their
emotion?
2. What swear words that are used by them are considered taboo?
D. Significance of the Research
The writer hopes that this research would give some contribution to the
other about the English language especially swear words language and swear
words that are considered taboo.
E. Research Methodology
1. The Objective of the Study
The Objective of the Study is:
a.
To find out how the Characters in “Crank” use the swear words.
b.
To find out how the swear words that are used by the characters are
considered taboo.
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2. Research Method
The method used in the study is descriptive method. The researcher
describes the data whether the data categorize into strong or weak swear words
and analyzing them whether they are considered taboo or not.
3. The Technique of Data Analysis
The research used the data qualitatively especially the theory of swear
words and its relationship with taboo words.
4. Unit Analysis
The unit analyses of the research are the Crank movie script taken from
www.imsdb.com.
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A.
Definition of Swear Words
Swear words are the words that are said as a reaction toward something
happened that people do not expect and want it. The action that people do not
want or realize can make them feel disappointed, angry, annoyed etc. People who
cannot control their emotion when facing this situation sometimes said some
words. Because these words are expression of their feeling, their characteristics
are spontaneous, rude, and impolite to be used. These are called swear words.
According to Estrich and Sperber, the satisfactions of people who are
angry or disappointed are based on their ability of saying swear words.
12Thus, it
is an utterance when people get powerful emotion. It can be insult, annoyance,
surprise, admire etc. there are some explanation from the experts about swear
words. One of it is given by Swan.
According to Michael Swan, swear words are a strong language that is
expressed by person to their powerful emotion,
13so the expression is about the
language used by the person when they get powerful emotion. Generally, the
12
Estrich, Robert and Sperber, Hans. Three Keys to language (New York: Rinehart and
Company Inc, 1952), p.28
13
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expression is taken from taboo words but with different literal sense. Swear words
are divided into several categories as shown below:
B.
Strong and Weak Swear Words
Swear words are divided into two groups. They are strong swearing words
and weak swear words.
1.
Strong swear words
Strong swears words are the words that have rude meaning that is
expressed by people to their powerful emotion.
14These are some categories of
strong swear word based on the situation where they are taking place as presented
in this table:
Table 01. Categories of strong swear words.
No Categories
Expression
Examples
a. Exclamation of
annoyance
Fuck! God damn! Shit!
Damn it! God Damnt!
Bastard!
“Oh fuck! I’ve forgot
the number!”
b. Exclamation of
surprise
Fuck me! Shit me! Damn
me! Suck me!
“Fuck me! Your girl
is hot!”
c. Exclamation of
unconcern
I don’t give a damn/shit/fuck Rudy: “Why don’t
you try to fix your
TV?”
Josie: “I don’t give a
shit!”
d. Insult
Asshole, Bastard, Damn,
Cunt, Fuck, Bitch, Son of a
bitch, Dickhead, Suck, Shit,
Fucker, Motherfucker, Fart,
Cocksucker, Prick.
“You son of a bitch!”
“All of you asshole!”
“Fuck you!”
“It’s such
motherfucker!”
e. Insulting request
to go away
Fuck off! Piss off! Screw!
Rudy: “Hi sweetie, I
want to fuck with
you”
Cindy: “Fuck off!”
14
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f. Intensifying
used
to emphasize an
emotion
Damn (ed), Fucking,
Goddamn
“Where is my fuckin’
wallet?”
“Let the Goddamn
man talk!”
g. Surprised
question
Who/What/Where/Why/How
the hell…?”
Who/What/Where/Why/How
the hell…?”
“What the hell are
you doing?”
“Where the fucks are
they?”
h. Violent
refusal/rejection
Fucked if I will!
Stuff it up your ass!
Shut the fuck up!
Suck this!
2.
Weak Swear Words
Weak swear words are the words, which its expression is not as rude as the
strong one. It is usually used in no powerful emotion.
15These are some
categories of weak swear words, which based on the situation that is taking
place as presented in this table:
Table 02. Categories of weak swear words
No. Type
Expression
Example
a. Exclamation of
annoyance
Oh Jess! Gosh! Blah!
Ouch!
“Oh Jess! I can’t find the
address”
“Gosh! I don’t pass the
exam”
b. Exclamation of
surprised
Oh my God! Fool me!
Jesus Christ!
“Oh my God! I’ve got
the new car”
“Oh fool me! I forgot her
birthday”
c. Emphasize
an
emotion
Oh dear! My goodness!
Dear God!
“My goodness! What a
beautiful view is there”
“Oh dear, you are so
handsome”
d. Insult
Dummy! Fool! Idiot!
Coward! Stupid!
“Don’t do that, stupid!”
“You coward, come
here!”
15
Lakoff, Robin. Language and Woman’s Place (Toronto: Fitzhenry and Ehitside
Limites,1975), p.11
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“Why do you still do
that, idiot?”
In this case, Lakoff says that the difference between using the words such as
Shit and Damn with the words such as Oh dear and Jesus Christ is based on how
the people express their feeling.
16Therefore, the power of emotion will be seen in
choosing the swear words on the sentence. The strong swear words are based on
the emotion power of people in expressing their felling when use the swear words.
Strong swears word is the word which is used to abuse and its characteristic is so
rude. Weak swear word is the word, which is used for abusing, and its
characteristic is not as rude as the strong one.
C.
The Relationship of Swear Word with Taboo Word
Swear words and taboo words actually have a close relationship. Trudgill
explains that taboo words are often used as swear words because they have
magical power.
17It means that the words are impolite and if the people use these
words when they are angry or disappointed, they will feel satisfied because the
character of these words is very rude. That is why taboo words have magical
power.
Taboo words are dangerous, holy, magic, or shocking expressions that are
used by particular people in specific situation.
18This kind of language is usually
considered impolite. Hence, the usage of taboo words is forbidden in formal
situation. There are four main groups of taboo terms:
16
Lakoff, Robin (1975), op.cit. p.12
17
Trudgill, Peter. Sociolinguistic (Great Britain: Hazel Watson,1974), p.30
18
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a. Lavatory
Lavatory is expressions that are referred to the elimination of bodily
wastes.
19Its terms are bounded from the activities that person does in the
bathroom or toilet. For examples:
Piss = urinate
Shit = excrement; defecate
Crap = excrement; defecate
Fart = let digestive gas out from the anus
b.
Private Parts of the body
Private parts of the body are terms that have relationship with people’s body.
For instances:
Asshole = anus
Balls = testicles
Cock = penis
Tits = breast
c. Religion
At first, religion terms are expression of Christian religion that are used by
some people in formal and respectful contexts, but nowadays its usage becomes
unkind and rough in casual situations.
20For examples:
Blast Christ Gosh
19
Swan, Michael (1995), op.cit. p. 573
20
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Christ Jesus Christ Jess
d. Sexual activity
Sexual activity is specific terms that have connection with sexual
intercourse, oral sex, sexual climax, masturbation etc.
21Its use is often prevented
or substituted by different terms in formal situation. These are the example of
sexual activity expression:
Bastard = child of unmarried parents
Come = orgasm
Fuck = have sex with
Wank = masturbate
When people decide to use taboo words, they look for the expressions that
have bad characters; therefore, they can express their feeling. For that purpose,
people use the words which are considered taboo to be expressed both orally and
written. It means those words are the words that have bad characters. People who
use these words can express their emotion. It was just like what Estrich and
Sperber explain, they say that the use of taboo words by all people when they get
powerful emotion is the way to express the emotion.
22The use of words, considered taboo always changes from time to time based
on the user of society. Several years ago, the word Fuck which means, “have sex
with” and Cunt, which means “vagina”, has bad effect for the user. People who
21
Ibid. p. 574
22
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dare to use both of the words will be busted and sent to jail.
23Thus, people
avoided to use those words. At that time, people avoided to use those words
because they were afraid of the punishment.
Now, in the modern age, there is no such punishment anymore if the people
dare to use taboo words.
24It can be seen from American and British movie, the
art literature from American and British and the other English country that use a
lot of taboo words as swear words.
Today, the use of taboo is avoided because of fright and politeness, for
example, on formal situations. It can be seen on television show, on the radio or at
the meeting. In this case, Ullman explains that the using of taboo words in certain
context such as television show will raise reaction those words.
25It is because of fright, Ullman takes the example of some countries habit
such as Jews. Jewish are not allowed to say the word which refers to God directly.
They have to use another phrase, ‘Master’, to replace the word, which cannot be
used. The same case happens in English for the word ‘Lord’ or in France,
‘Seigneur’.
26It is because of politeness, Ullman explains three points of taboo words. It is
something which is related with sexual activity, certain parts of human body and
its function.
27In 19
thcentury, American women did not dare to use the word that
refers to part of the body ‘Vagina’ directly, but they used another phrase, ‘pussy’.
They also liked to say ‘cock’ rather than ‘penis’ and prefer say ‘waist’ than
23
Trudgill, Peter (1974), op.cit. .p. 30.
24
Ibid.p.31
25
Ullman, Stephen. The science of Meaning (Oxford: Barnes and Nobles Inc, 1962), p. 63
26
Ullman, Stephen(1962), op.cit.p.63
27
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‘body’. The words like ‘vagina’, ‘penis’ and body are impolite rather than
substitute words.
2828
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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH FINDINGS
A.
Data Description
There are 95 data of strong swear words which are divided into 8
categories. These are below.
Table 03. Strong swear words found in “Crank”
No.
Strong swear words
Expressions
Page
1.
Exclamation of annoyance
Shit
Damn
2,3,22,32,33.
28,32.
2.
Exclamation of surprised
Shit
7,10.
3.
Exclamation of unconcern
Shit
10,19,48.
4. Insult
Bitch,
Fucked
Asshole
Cockwipe
Son of a bitch
Bastard
Motherfucker
Shit
Fuck
Cocksucker
1,7,17,25,47,50.
2,6,9,35.
2, 8, 9,19,20,21,
38, 43, 45.
3.
5, 24, 51.
5.
6,9,18,20,33,36,
45, 48, 50.
8,15,18,26,27,
33,36,37,41,42,47
18
43
5.
Insulting request to go away
-
-
6.
Emphasize an emotion
Fucking
Shit
2,6,7,13,14,17,32,
41,42.
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Damn
Sucking
Fucked
41,50.
13
17
2,26.
7.
Surprised question
What the fuck?
Where the fuck?
What the hell?
How the hell?
Who the hell?
What a fucking
1, 36, 47.
4,50.
9,20,25,34,43.
36
46
47
8. Violent
refusal/rejection
Don’t fuck with me
Fuck
6
18,41.
There are nine data of weak swear words which are divided into 4
categories. These are below.
Table 04. Weak swear words found in “Crank”
No.
Weak swear words
Expression
Page
1.
Exclamation of annoyance
- -
2.
Exclamation of surprised
Jesus
Oh my God
Jesus Christ
3,17,43,50.
25,31.
40
3.
Emphasize an emotion
4. insult
Idiot
5,22.
There are 75 data of strong swear words which are considered taboo in
English divided into 4 categories. These are below.
Table 05. Strong swear words which are considered Taboo found in “Crank”
No.
Strong swear words
Expression
Page
1. Lavatory
Shit
2,3,7,8,10,13,15,18,
19,20,22,26,27,30,
31,32,33,34,36,37,
41,42,47,48,50.
2.
Private part of the body Ass
Cock
2,6,8,9,17,18,19,20,
34,21,38,43,45.
3,43.
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4.
Sexual activity
Fuck
Son of a bitch
Bastard
1,2,4,6,7,9,13,14,17
,35,18,26,32,36,41,
42,47,50.
5,24,51.
5
There are five data of weak swear words which are considered taboo in
English divided into 4 categories. These are below.
Table 06. Weak swear words which are considered taboo found in “Crank”
Weak swear words
Expression
Page
lavatory
Private part of the body
Religion
Jesus
Jesus Christ
3,17,43,50.
40
Sexual activity
Then, there are 26 data of strong swear words that are not considered
taboo in English and four data of weak swear words that are not considered taboo
in English because those are not included in category of taboo words.
B.
Analyzing the Data
The data that are analyzed are the swear words and taboo words which
are used in the “Crank” script. There are 104 data that consist of swear words and
taboo words, they are:
1.
Strong Swear Words
The writer analyzes and categorizes the data of swear words into strong
and weak swear words based on the theory that is explained by Swan and Lakoff.
a.
Exclamation of Annoyance
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VERONA: (CONT'D) Let me guess, you're trying to puke the
shit
out, right?
Right? Don't bother
...
The word ‘shit’ that is expressed by Verona in that sentence refers to
exclamation of annoyance. In this case, Verona suddenly remembered that Chev
might be trying to find the antidote of the poison that he gave to Chev’s body. The
word ‘shit’ is used by Verona to express his emotion because he worries that Chev
could find the antidote. Therefore, the word ‘shit’ refers to exclamation of
annoyance into strong swears words. The word ‘shit’ is considered taboo in
English because it refers to Lavatory. ‘Shit’ means human defecation and not
appropriate to be used as a daily language. Such word appears also on page 3, 22,
32, and 33.
(Data 2: appendix page 28)
CHEV: Aww,
damn
it, I'm sorry baby...
The word ‘damn’, which is expressed by Chev, refers to exclamation of
annoyance. In this case, Chev was in a hurry to left Eve’s apartment, he was
annoyed with the Hood, then he grab Eve’s purse, and dropped it down by
accident to switch Eve’s attention. The word ‘damn’ is used by Chev to express
his annoyed with the situation, therefore the word ‘damn’ that is used by Chev
refers to Exclamation of Annoyance into strong swear words. The word ‘damn’ is
not considered taboo in English because it is not included in category of taboo
words and this word also become a common language used by people in daily
activity so when people hears this word it wont caused hurt feeling. Such word
appears also on page 32.
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b.
Exclamation of Surprised
(Data 1: appendix page 7)
ORLANDO: (CONT'D)
Shit
dude, what's the matter with you?
CHEV: Forget it. I just gotta find RickyVerona, that little
bitch...
The word ‘shit’ which is expressed by Orlando refers to exclamation of
surprise. In this case, Orlando was surprised with Chev’s attitude, looked like he
might pass out. Therefore the word ‘shit’ refers to exclamation of surprise into
strong swears words. The word ‘shit’ is considered taboo in English because it
refers to Lavatory, means human defecation. The word ‘bitch’, which is expressed
by Chev, refers to Insult. In this case, Chev used the word ‘bitch’ to abuse Verona.
Therefore the word ‘bitch’ refers to Insult into strong swears words. The word
‘bitch’ is not considered taboo in English because it is not included in category of
taboo words and also because this word is often to be used as a daily language.
Such word appears also on page 10, that the position determine the types and the
functions.
c.
Exclamation of Unconcern
(Data 1: appendix page 10)
CHEV: OK, forget it, listen: I'm dying. I've been poisoned with some kind of
Chinese synthetic
shit.
The word ‘shit’ which is expressed by Chev refers to exclamation of
unconcern. In this case, Chev was poisoned with poison that he did not know. The
word ‘shit’ is used by Chev to express his emotion that he does not care with the
poison; all he cares was the cure. Therefore, the word ‘shit’ refers to Exclamation
of Unconcern into strong swears words. The word ‘shit’ in that sentence is
(28)
considered taboo in English because it refers to Lavatory. ‘Shit’ means human
defecation and not appropriate to be used as a daily language and considered
impolite. Such word appears also on page 19 and 48.
d.
Insult
(Data 1: appendix page 1)
VERONA: (CONT'D) yeah, that's right,
you little bitch
...
if you're watching this
tape it means that I somehow resisted the urge to dismember you and
shove the pieces down the garbage disposal ... opting instead to
poison you in your sleep. Yeah, you heard me...
The word “bitch” which is expressed by Verona in that sentence refers to
Insult. In this case, Verona was admitted that he just given Chelios some poison to
his body while he sleeps. The word “bitch” is used by Verona to abuse Chelios
that his life was about to end because of the poison that he gave. Therefore, the
word “bitch” refers to insult into strong swears words. The word ‘bitch’ is not
considered taboo in English because it is not included in category of taboo words
also because this word often used as a daily language. Such word appears also on
page 7, 17, 25, 47, and 50.
(Data 2: appendix page 35)
CHEV: (CONT'D) (suddenly suspicious) This is
fucked.
The word ‘fucked’, which is expressed by Chev, refers to Insult. In this
case, Chev was just arrived at Don Kim shirt factory to meet Verona when he sees
someone is watching over him from an upper floor window. The word ‘fucked’
used by Chev to abuse or swears the condition, therefore the word ‘fucked’ refers
to Insult into strong swear words. The word ‘fucked’ is considered taboo in
English because it refers to sexual activity and also considered impolite to be used
(29)
as a daily language. ‘Fuck’ means having sex. Such word appears also on page 2,
6, and 9.
(Data 3: appendix page 2)
VERONA: (CONT'D)
... asshole.
The word ‘asshole’ which is used by Verona refers to Insult. In this case,
Verona used the word ‘asshole’ to ‘mocked’ Chev. Therefore, the word ‘asshole’
refers to Insult into strong swear words. The word ‘asshole’ in that sentence is
considered taboo in English because it refers to Private Part of the Body.
‘Asshole’ means the anus. The word ‘asshole’ usually used to mock somebody
toward someone to hurt their feeling. Therefore this word is not considered as a
daily language because it leads to hurt feeling. Such word appears also on page 8,
9, 19, 20,21,38,43, and 45.
(Data 4: appendix page 3)
SPORTSCAR GUY: This is a eighty thousand dollar ride,
cockwipe!
The word ‘cockwipe’ used by Sport scar Guy refers to Insult. In this
case, Sport scar Guy used the word ‘cockwipe’ to abuse Chev’s attitude toward
him, which discriminated him. The word ‘cockwipe’ categorized into strong
swears words because it refers to insult. This word is considered taboo in English
because it is included in Private Part of The Body. ‘Cock’ means men’s sexual
organ and also considered as an impolite language. The word ‘cockwipe’ usually
used to mock somebody toward someone to make them angry. Therefore this
word is not considered as a daily language because it leads to hurt feeling.
(30)
CHEV
:
What? What? You heard me
. That son of a bitch
Ricky Verona.
The expression ‘son of a bitch’, which is expressed by Chev, refers to
Insult. In this case, Chev was so mad to Kaylo because he did not pay attention to
Chev about what Chev’s told to him. Therefore, the expression ‘son of a bitch’
refers to Insult. This expression is categorized into strong swear words. The
expression ‘son of a bitch’ is considered taboo in English because it refers to
sexual activity. ‘Son of a bitch’ means child of unmarried woman. This word is
not appropriate to be used as a daily language also because this word would make
people angry when they hear it. Such word appears also on page 24, and 51.
(Data 6: appendix page 5)
CHEV: (more to himself) who would've thought that little
bastard
had the stones
to come whack me in my own crib...it's inconceivable... and yet, here we
are
The word ‘bastard’, which is expressed by Chev, refers to Insult. In this
case, Chev used this word to swear Kaylo because he was not there when Verona
came to Chev’s house. Therefore the word ‘bastard’ refers to Insult into strong
swears word. The word ‘bastard’ considered taboo in English because it refers to
Sexual Activity. ‘Bastard’ means child of unmarried parents. This word is very
rude to be used as a daily language.
(Data 7: appendix page 6)
CHEV: DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN
MOTHERFUCKER!
There is banging on the door. A biker yells from outside.
ORLANDO: (calling back) there’s a white man with a gun in here, I would prefer
that he not cap my
ass
, so please refrain from any sudden
ass
The expression ‘motherfucker’ expressed by Chev refers to Insult. In this
case, Orlando told Chev to calm again because Chev still holding his gun.
(31)
Therefore the expression ‘motherfucker’ refers to Insult into strong swear words.
The word ‘ass’ is considered taboo in English because it refers to Private part of
the body. The word ‘Motherfucker’ is not considered taboo in English because it
is not included in category of taboo words and often used as a daily language.
Such word appears also on page 9, 18, 20, 33,36,45,48, and 50.
(Data 8: appendix page 8)
CHEV: His
shit's
not working.
CHEV: Got to kick... some black...
ass.
The word ‘shit’, which is expressed by Chev, refers to Insult. In this
case, Chev was very angry because the Coke that Orlando gave to him not
working; his heart is still pumped with slow motion. The expression ‘shit’ is used
by Chev to abuse or swear “Him’, therefore the expression ‘shit’ refers to Insult
into strong swear words. Two words in that sentence are considered taboo in
English. ‘Ass’ refers to Private Part of the Body. ‘Ass’ means the part of the body
that covers the anus. ‘Shit’ refers to Lavatory because ‘shit’ means human
defecation and these two words are considered impolite to be used as a daily
language because it refers to private activity and private part of the body. If these
two words are mentioned by someone, people who hear it would think this word
sounds very nasty. Such word appears also on page 15, 18,26,27,33,36,37,42, and
47.
(Data 9&10: appendix page 18)
VERONA: You
motherfucker
, my grandfather gave that medallion to my father,
and then to -realizing he's said too much)...
Fuck you
, man, shove
that thing up your
ass.
(32)
The word ‘motherfucker’ and ‘fuck’, which is expressed by Verona,
refers to Insult. In this case, Verona was annoyed by Chev because he messed-up
with his brother Alex, so he used this expression to abuse or swears Chev.
Therefore the word ‘motherfucker’ and ‘fuck’ refers to Insult into strong swear
words. There are two words that are considered taboo in English, ‘fuck’ and ‘ass’.
‘Fuck’ refers to sexual activity, means having sex and ‘ass’ refers to Private Part
of the Body. The word ‘motherfucker and ‘fuck’ is very rude to be used as a daily
language and also impolite language.
(Data 11: appendix page 41)
DOC MILES: Chevy!
Holy shit
, man, I've been trying to reach you for a half
hour.
The word ‘shit’, which is expressed by Doc Miles, refers to emphasize
an emotion. In this case, Doc Miles was so mad to Chev because he was having
difficult to reach Chev, therefore Doc Miles used the word ‘shit’ to express his
emotion. The word ‘shit’ categorized into strong swears words. The word ‘shit’ is
considered taboo in English because it is refers to Lavatory. ‘Shit’ means human
defecation and also impolite to be used as a daily language because it is private
activity which is very nasty to talk about.
(Data 12: appendix page 43)
CHEV: How about the jewelry I got off your faggot brother, you
cocksucker?
The expression ‘cocksucker’, which is express by Chev, refers to Insult.
In this case, Chev was about impatient to kick Verona, he was so mad. The word
‘cocksucker’ used by Chev is to abuse or swears Verona. Therefore, this word
refers to Insult into strong swears words. The expression ‘cocksucker’ is
(33)
considered taboo in English because it is refers to Private Part of the Body and not
to be used as a daily language. The word ‘cock’ means penis.
e.
Emphasize an Emotion
(Data 1: appendix page 2)
VERONA: (CONT'D) ... I
fucking
poisoned you in your sleep. How sick is
that?... for the satisfaction of watching you squirm out your last
minutes knowing it was me that did it to you, and there's nothing you
can do about it... (MORE)
The word ‘fucking’, which is expressed by Verona, refers to intensifying
used to emphasize an emotion. In this case, Verona was annoyed by Chelios.
Verona commands Chelios to kill Don Kim but he did not do it instead of letting
Don Kim to go. Therefore, Verona poisoned Chelios in his sleep to punish him.
The word ‘fucking’ used by Verona is to express his emotion to Chev’s action.
Therefore, the word ‘fucking’ refers to intensifying used to emphasize an emotion.
This word is categorized into strong swear words. The word ’fucking’ in that
sentence is considered taboo in English because ‘fuck’ refers to sexual activity
and not appropriate to be used as a daily language. ‘Fuck’ means having sex. Such
word appears also on page 6, 7, 13, 14,17,32,41, and 42.
(Data 2: appendix page 13)
CARLITO: (shrugs) the
shit
they gave you ... it's the Chinese
shit.
There is no
antidote. I wish there was something I could do.
CARLITO: We give that
shit
to horses...
The word ‘shit’ which is expressed by Carlito refers to emphasize an
emotion. In this case, Carlito feels so sure about his knowledge, that the poison
has no antidote. Therefore the word ‘shit’ refers to emphasize an emotion into
strong swears words. The word ‘shit’ in that sentence is considered taboo in
(34)
English because it refers to Lavatory and considered impolite to talk about it in
public because it is not considered as a daily language and would make people
angry when they hear it. ‘Shit’ means the human defecation. Such word appears
also on page 2, 20, 30,31,34,41, and 50.
(Data 3: appendix page 13)
CHEV: Well you don't have to be so
damn
cool about it.
The word ‘damn’ which is expressed by Chev refers to intensifying used
to emphasize an emotion. In this case, Chev was so mad to Carlito because he
pretends to be so care to him; in fact, Carlito was happy with that moment.
Therefore the word ‘damn’ is refers to emphasize an emotion into strong swear
words. The word ‘damn’ is not considered taboo in English because it is not
included in category of taboo words and considered as a daily language because
people is so often used this word.
(Data 4: appendix page 17)
CHEV: (impersonating Alex) Hey Ricky, whadya think about
sucking
me off, ya
in the mood? Maybe let me lick your
ass
or sumtink?
The word ‘sucking’ which is expressed by Chev refers to intensifying
used to emphasize an emotion. In this case, Chev was so angry with Verona. He
pushed Verona to show his face in front of him using his brother cell phone. He
used this expression to mock Verona, therefore the word ‘sucking’ refers to
intensifying used to emphasize an emotion into strong swear words. The word
‘sucking’ is not considered taboo in English because it is not included in category
of taboo words. The word ‘ass’ is considered taboo in English because it refers to
(35)
Private Part of the Body and considered impolite to use as a daily language. ‘Ass’
means the part of the body that covers the anus.
(Data 5: appendix page 26)
CHEV: I bought you some flowers, but they got
fucked
up on the way over here.
The word ‘fucked’, which is used by Chev, refers to emphasize an
emotion. In this case, Chev knew that he was being followed by some guy who
came after him. So, Chev used the word ‘fucked’ to express his emotion.
Therefore, the word ‘fucked’ refers to emphasize an emotion into strong swears
words. The word ‘fucked’ is considered taboo in English because it refers to
sexual activity and not appropriate to be used as a daily language. ‘Fucked’ means
having sex with. Such word appears also on page 2.
f.
Surprised Question
(Data 1: appendix page 36)
CHEV:
What the fuck
is this, you working for the Chinese now?
The expression ‘what the fuck’ which is expressed by Chev refers to
surprised question. In this case, Chev was surprised to see Hood #2 A.K.A a Hood
from Carlito’s place. The expression ‘what the hell’ categorized into strong
swears words. The word ‘fuck’ is considered taboo in English because it refers to
sexual activity. ‘Fuck’ means having sex. The word ‘fuck’ is very rude to be used
as a daily language also considered as an impolite language. Such word appears
also on page 1, 4, 47, 50.
(Data 3: appendix page 9)
(36)
The expression ‘what the hell’ which is expressed by Verona in that
sentence refers to surprised question. In this case, Verona was surprised because
Chev still alive. The expression ‘what the hell’ refers to the act of what was Chev
doing, therefore this expression refers to surprised question into strong swears
words. The word ‘hell’ is not considered taboo in English because it is not
included in category of taboo words and people often use this word in daily
activity. Such word appears also on page, 20, 25, 34, 36, 43, and 46.
g.
Violent Refusal/Rejection
(Data 1: appendix page 6)
CHEV:
Don't fuck with me!!
ORLANDO: OK, nobody's
fucking
with you, just calm down...
The word ‘fuck’, which is expressed by Chev in that sentence, refers to
Violent Refusal or Rejection. In this case, Chev asked to Orlando where Verona
was, but Orlando did not want tell to him. Orlando told to Chev to calm down
because Chev was holding gun pointed to him but Chev ignored him. Therefore
the expression ‘fuck’ refers to Violent Refusal or Rejection. The word ‘fucking’,
which is expressed by Orlando, refers to Intensifying Used to Emphasize an
Emotion. In this case, Orlando was very mad to Chev because Chev pointed a gun
to him. Therefore, the word ‘fucking’ refers to Intensifying used to emphasize an
emotion. The words ‘fuck’ and ‘fucking’ are categorized into strong swear words.
These two words are considered taboo in English because they refer to sexual
activity and not appropriate to be used as a daily language. The word ‘fuck’ means
having sex with. Such word appears also on page 18 and 41.
(37)
a. Exclamation of Surprised
(Data 1: appendix page 3)
CHEV:
JESUS!
The word ‘Jesus’ which is expressed by Chev refers to exclamation of
surprised. In this case, Chev was on the road driving his car, his heartbeat started
to pump slowly and he got panic. Chev used the word ‘Jesus’ because he was
surprised got stuck on the road and tried to called several number but none picked
up the phone. Therefore the word ‘Jesus’ refers to exclamation of surprised into
weak swears words. The word ‘Jesus’ is considered taboo in English because it
refers to religion and considered impolite to say this word directly. Such word
appears also on page 17, 43, and 50.
(Data 2: appendix page 25)
EVE: (CONT'D)
Oh My God.
The expression ‘oh my God’ which is expressed by Eve refers to
exclamation of surprised. In this case, Chev was at the apartment of Eve, she
found him with unshaped body; therefore Eve used this word because she was
surprised with Chev’s condition. Therefore this word is categorized into weak
swears word. The expression ‘oh my God’ is not considered taboo in English
because it is not included in category of taboo words also because this word is
often used as a daily activity. Such word appears also on page 31.
(Data 3: appendix page 40)
(38)
The word ‘Jesus Christ’ which is expressed by Chev refers to
Exclamation of Surprised. In this case, Chev surprised because his left leg has
turned grey. He felt that he was half-dead already. Therefore, Chev used this word
because he was surprised about his condition. The word ‘Jesus Christ’ categorized
into weak swears word. The expression ‘Jesus Christ’ is considered taboo in
English because it refers to religion and also considered impolite to say this word
directly.
b.
Insult
(Data 1: appendix page 5)
CHEV: getting killed, you
idiot!
The word ‘idiot’ which is expressed by Chev refers to Insult. In this case
Chev was talking to Kaylo on his cell phone and asked him what he was doing
last night. Chev was annoyed by Kaylo because he acted like he pretend not to
hear Chev’s words. The word ‘idiot’ is used by Chev to swear Kaylo, therefore
the word ‘idiot’ refers to Insult into weak swears words. The word ‘idiot’ is not
considered taboo in English because it is not included in category of taboo words
also because this word often used as a daily language.
(39)
(40)
CHAPTER IV
A. Conclusion
Based on the previous analysis, it is concluded that swear words are used
by people to express their powerful emotion. Swear words are divided into strong
swear words and weak swear words. Strong and weak swear words consist of
several categories. Strong swear words consist of Exclamation of annoyance,
Exclamation of surprise, Exclamation of Unconcern, Insult, Insulting request to
go away, emphasize an Emotion, Surprise question and Violent Refusal/Rejection.
Weak swear words consist of Exclamation of annoyance, Exclamation of surprise,
emphasize an Emotion and Insult
All the swear words are used by the characters to express their emotion,
it can be strong swear words and weak swear words. The strong swear words are
used by the characters depends on the situation, for example, to express their
(41)
annoyance, to express their surprise, the unconcern, Insult, insult to go away,
emphasize an emotion, surprise question, and rejection. The weak swear words
are used by the characters depends on the situation too, for example, to express
their annoyance, to express their surprise, to express their emotion and to express
their insult.
Most of strong swear words are considered taboo in English because
most of all of them refer to category of taboo, such as lavatory, sexual activity,
private part of the body, and religion. In the other hand, there are only a few of
weak swear words that are considered taboo in English.
Finally, after finishing the research, the writer knows much about swear
words and its relationship with taboo words and hopefully can avoid another
people to use swear words as a daily conversation among other people because it
has very rude meaning and considered impolite.
(42)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chaer, Abdul. Linguistik Umum. Jakarta: Rineka Cipta, 2003.
Estrich, Robert and Sperber, Hans. Three Keys to Language. New York: Rinehart
and
Company Inc, 1952.
Halliday, M A K. The Linguistic Sciencies and Language Teaching. London:
Longman Group Ltd, 1964.
Hornby, A S. The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English. London:
Oxford University Press, 1974.
Lakoff, Robin. Language and Woman’s Place. Toronto: Fitzhenry and Ehiteside
Limites,
1975.
Major Clarence. Black Slang: A Dictionary of Afro American Talk. London:
Routledge and Kegan paul Ltd, 1971.
Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 2
nded. New York: Oxford Up, 1995.
Trudgill, Peter. Sociolinguistic. Great Britain: Hazel Watson, 1974.
Ullman, Stephen. The Science of Meaning. Oxford: Barnes and Nobles Inc, 1962.
(43)
http://www.imsdb.com
(44)
CRANK
Written by
Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor
February 20, 2005
FADE IN:
VIDEO SCREEN
EXTREME CU: PACMAN, from the old video game, just a yellow ball with a mouth, fills the screen in all it's lo-res glory. The camera tracks along as it rolls along a tight corridor, gobbling dots. EXTREME CU: A RED GHOST follows, in hot
pursuit. EXTREME CU: PACMAN gives it the slip, cuts down and gobbles a big dot.
EXTREME CU: RED GHOST transforms into BLUE GHOST, changes direction and runs. PACMAN chases ...P... but just before he catches up the BLUE GHOST transforms back to RED and changes direction again. PACMAN barely escapes.
PACMAN flees, but at every turn he is confronted by another ghost. The CAMERA pulls out in a series of jump cuts to reveal that unlike the old arcade game, this game screen goes E forever, an infinite maze ... and instead of the original on
four there are thousands of ghosts at all sides, closing in. The sound of the game redoubles, reverberates, deafening... SOUND: A HEART BEATS SLOWLY IN THE DARK.
FADE IN:
INT CHEV'S BEDROOM, MORNING
This scene plays out as a continuous POV shot, right up until CHEV's face is revealed for the first time.) CHEV CHELIOS, wakes up in his apartment to a RINGING CELL PHONE, groggy, vision doubled ... from his POV we see him examine his
hands, which don't feel right, don't want to move right. The CELL PHONE, coming from some other room, plays the PACMAN. Theme in beeps:
BEE-DEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEE-DUM ... He tries to get out of bed, HITS THE GROUND. Plush rug, ultra modern bed frame, night stand, high tech stereo, the works. He crawls/stumbles into ...
INT CHELIOS LIVING ROOM, CONTINUOUS
... The living room, decked out by Kostabi paintings and glass furniture then into... INT CHELIOS KITCHEN, CONTINUOUS
... The kitchen, with a black marble island and hanging copper. He jams his head under the Fossil sink and runs the water. He steadies himself against the matching black marble counter, staring at his hands.. Tries to lift them and BANG! He's back on the floor, stunned. All the while we hear the faint sound of his HEARTBEAT ... slow: LUBDUB... LUBDUB...
LUBDUB. He begins crawling back into... INT CHELIOS LIVING ROOM, CONTINUOUS
... the living room, toward the telephone where he spots a plain black VHS tape propped up in front of a plasma screen TV with police ribbon wrapped around it, tied in a bow, like a present.
CHELIOS
(barely comprehensible)
What the fuck?
He grabs the thing, fumbles to unwrap it, shoves it into the VCR and pushes PLAY. INT. TV SCREEN It's RICKY VERONA on the SCREEN, a young, irritatingly slick EASTERN EURO ... little to no accent - fast talking
(45)
VERONA. Pale nicotine sunlight filters in through the blinds. There are HOODS loitering around the room. It was apparently shot only hours before. (The discernible sound of CHEV'S heartbeat will subliminally increase in speed and
volume throughout VERONA'S monologue the cell phone continues to ring, somewhere.)
VERONA
What's shaking, douchebag? Thought I'd
give you the heads up. You're dead.
On the TV - VERONA points into the CAMERA
.
VERONA (CONT'D)
Yeah, that's right, you little
bitch
...if you're watching this tape it means that I somehow resisted
the urge to dismember you and shove the pieces down the garbage disposal ... opting
instead to
poison you in your sleep. Yeah, you heard me...
We stay with CHEV'S POV as he flashes a frantic glance around the room. The LUBDUB of the HEARTBEAT is much LOUDER AND FASTER NOW; we really begin to notice it.
VERONA (CONT'D)
... I
fucking
poisoned you in your sleep. How sick is that?... for the satisfaction of watching you
squirm out your last minutes knowing it was me that did it to you, and there's nothing
you can do about it...
Cut to high angle view from a hidden lipstick camera; CHEV is on his knees in front of the set, looking around ... we still don't see his face clearly.
VERONA (CONT'D)
... that's right, you're on candid camera, try not to embarrass yourself...
Cut back to CHEV'S POV. He holds his head down over the carpet and shoves a finger in his mouth, GAGGING.
VERONA (CONT'D)
Let me guess, you're trying to puke the
shit
out, right? Right? Don't bother...
(MORE)
VERONA(CONT'D)
The
shit
I gave you is some
fucking
high tech sci-fi Chinese synthetic
shit
that even I don't know
exactly what the
fuck
it is. All I know is once it binds with your blood cells, you're
fucked
, baby... and believe me, it's
done binded. By now
you'll be feeling your joints stiffen up... hard to breath...
CHEV puts his hand on the left side of his chest to feel his heart. The BEATS of the heart grow louder still, but the rhythm
falters, begins to slow...
VERONA (V.O.) (CONT'D)
... your heartbeat is slowing down like there's rust in your veins... you're like the Tin Man in the
Wizard of freaking Oz...
One of the THUGS, ALEX, contributes from offscreen.
ALEX
(amused by his own wit singing)
"If he only had a brain."
(46)
VERONA
(irritated)
Scarecrow. Whatever. You get the point. You're
fucked
. You got maybe an hour, max, tough guy
... baby ... sexy ...
The THUGS are into it; VERONA is rolling. One of them comes up beside the bed and plants a big kiss on CHEV'S unconscious head.
VERONA (CONT'D)
Hey, it's been real. Probably should've thought twice before you whacked Don Kim. Experiencing
a little 20/20 hindsight?
I thought so. Have a nice death...
Finally the CAMERA reverses to reveal CHEV'S slack-jawed face, staring at the TV. CHEV is in his late 20s, handsome in an offhanded way. All of the background noise – the HEARTBEAT, the CELL PHONE - cuts to dead silence... and
through the silence, a SINGLE WORD:
VERONA (CONT'D)
... asshole.
(A driving SOUNDTRACK kicks in. The OPENING TITLES play over the following:)
Finding a drunken man's strength, CHEV flips out. He rips the TV out of the stand, TEARING THE WIRES FROM THE GUTS OF THE WALL. He launches it straight into the floorboards with a BONE-BREAKING CRUSH. He KICKS over
the rest of the entertainment system, JUMPS on it and heads out of the room.ROLLER DOLLY follows him on a STUMBLING RAMPAGE through the apartment and down the hall. By the door, in an ashtray with his car keys, he finds it: his God-damned CELL PHONE. Of course it stops ringing just as he picks it up. He pockets it, BANGS OPEN the front
door and is out.
INT CHEV'S APARTMENT BUILDING, GARAGE, CONTINUOUS
ROLLER DOLLY still on CHEV. He jumps up on the hood of a moving RED SPORTSCAR as it backs out
of it's parking spot,
walks right over it and hops off, clicking the keyless lock button on his chain in mid-air ... the door to his
BLACK AUDI
pops open ... he gets in.RED SPORTSCAR GUY is the sort of classic intolerable LA ASSHOLE we love to hate: platinum hair, suspenders, designer shades, programming his Blackberry while driving, etc.
SPORTSCAR GUY
This is an eighty thousand dollar ride,
cockwipe!
CHEV backs out, runs him right over. CH-KUNK, CH-KUNK. CHEV'S AUDI blasts out of the garage and down the street. SPORTSCAR GUY holds his backwards leg in agony.
SPORTSCAR GUY (CONT'D)
(screaming like a girl)
You're a dead man!
INT CHEV'S AUDI, MOMENTS LATER
(47)
CHEV quickly looks up and yanks his steering wheel to swerve around oncoming traffic.
CHEV
JESUS!
The CAMERA ZOOMS in on CHEV'S CHEST: it becomes JUST SLIGHTLY TRANSPARENT... we see the movement of his beating HEART SPEED UP with the near miss. He HEARTBEAT SOUND is amplified as we MOVE IN CLOSER.
INT EVE'S APARTMENT, SIMULTANEOUS We see an old school tape answering machine pick up at her place:
OMAN (V.O.)
Hey, this is Eve...
This is apparently typical - she's an answering machine girl in a cell phone world. He holds back his frustration as the message plays.
EVE
I'm glad you called, but I'm not here.
Can you leave me a message? Unless
you're trying to sell something, because
I'm absolutely not interested. But if
you're not ...
EXT CHEV'S AUDI, SAME TIME
CHEV begins to POUND HIS HEAD against the steering wheel.
EVE
... then just ... oh, wait ... time's up -
INT EVE'S APARTMENT, SAME TIME SOUND: beeep!
CHEV (O.S.)
GET A CELL PHONE!!!
We hear CHEV'S car SQUEAL again... INT CHEV'S AUDI, SAME TIME ... CHEV recovers from another near miss.
CHEV
Shit!
He clicks off the cell. His eyes try to focus on the road.
NOTE: Through it all, the low beating of the heart - from slow to fast - sometimes barely audible, sometimes mixed way out front - clues us into the state of his adrenaline. He grabs up the cell phone again and punches in a speed dial.
CHEV (CONT'D)
Come on ...
ANSWERING SERVICE (O.S.)
Doctor Miles' office, may I help you?
CHEV
(48)
Let me talk to him.
SPLIT SCREEN WITH:
INT CHOCOLATE'S APARTMENT, SIMULTANEOUS
CHOCOLATE, a too-skinny, cracked-out BLACK CHICK, sits in front of a multi-line phone in a broken down apartment. She's wearing a headset. She takes a long drag off her cigarette.
CHOCOLATE
(a generic imitation of politeness)
I'm sorry, the doctor isn't in the office
at this time, may I take -
CHEV
Where is he?
CHOCOLATE
I beg your pardon sir?
CHEV
Where – the-fuck - is - he?
In more SCREENS WITHIN SCREENS we see a 'WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS' sign, then DOCTOR MILES reclining on a massage table with a bunch of HOOKERS.)
CHOCOLATE
I don't know sir, this is his answering
service, would you like me to have him paged?
CHEV
(exasperated)
Fine, yes, please let the doctor know
that Chev Chelios is a dead man if he
can't call me back within the hour... got that?
CHOCOLATE
Can you spell that for me sir?
She searches the food and carton strewn tabletop for something to write with.
CHEV
D-E-A-D. Chelios... got it?
CHOCOLATE
Yes sir...
CHEV
Thank you.
CHEV hangs up. CHEV finds himself nodding off in the car ... The CAMERA ZOOMS back into his chest. This time it becomes COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT - we see his HEART BEAT SLOW DOWN:
(49)
The CAMERA SWOOSHES down to CHEV'S FOOT as he STEPS ON THE GAS... then back up to the HEART as the ADRENALINE CRANKS HIM UP... the BEATING SPEEDS UP -
SOUND: ... LUBDUB, LUBDUB, LUBDUB..!
... and the CAMERA SNAPS back out to CHEV'S FACE as he seems to come to his senses. CHEV takes the cell. One-clicks, and sticks the phone in the cigarette adapter. Four rings. Finally someone picks up.
KAYLO (O.S.)
Hello?
CHEV
Kaylo. My man. So, where were you
Last night?
PLIT SCREEN WITH:
INT KAYLO'S HOUSE - SIMULTANEOUS KAYLO is late 20's, slightly plump, hispanic, with gelled back curly hair. The room is unkempt. A woman in a robe shuffles by vaguely in the background, possibly his mother?
KAYLO
oh, what's up Chev?
CHEV (O.S.)
I said, where were you last night?
IN A SCREEN WITHIN A SCREEN WE SEE HIM DRESSING UP IN DRAG,
PUTTING ON LIPSTICK, FAKE TITS, THE WORKS, VOGUEING AT SOME FREAKY CLUB, ETC. INT CHEV'S AUDI - SIMULTANEOUS
KAYLO (O.S.)
I ... uhh ...
CHEV
Yeah, yeah. You wanna
know what I was doing?
KAYLO
What?
CHEV
GETTING KILLED, YOU
IDIOT!
KAYLO
What?
CHEV
What? What? You heard me.
That
son of a bitch
Ricky Verona.
KAYLO
Ricky Verona ...
(50)
(more to himself)
Who would've thought that little
bastard
had the stones to come whack me in my own crib... it's inconceivable... and yet,
here we are.
KAYLO
Where are we?
Silence.
CHEV
I'm dead and you're simple. Now listen:
you put the word out I'm looking for
Ricky Verona. Anyone sees him you call me.
KAYLO puts his hands up in the air, dumbfounded.
CHEV (CONT'D)
I'm going to get that little
son of a
bitch
if it's the last thing I do... it
may actually be the last thing I do,
understand that? Copy me on that?
KAYLO
Ricky Verona?
CHEV
Find him!
Arriving at his destination CHEV clicks off, simultaneously
Closing KAYLO'S SCREEN IN A SCREEN, and shoves the phone into his shirt pocket as he screeches up the sidewalk. TEXT STREET, NEAR BLACK SABBATH CLUBHOUSE, MOMENTS LATER
run down street in Inglewood. The BLACK SABBATH CLUBHOUSE is a low lying pool hall/bar with a crude hand-painted sign reading BEER POOL DARTS. Motorcycles are parked out front. OLLER DOLLY from alongside CHEV'S
car at high speed, break off and follow inside as CHEV parks haphazardly, rushes out and busts into the joint ... INT. BLACK SABBATH CLUBHOUSE, CONTINUOUS
The continuous ROLLER DOLLY move takes us inside and KEEPS GOING. Eight or ten BROTHERS, some wearing motorcycle leathers, are scattered around the room, shooting stick, drinking, etc. CHEV BARGES IN, drawing a GLOK .45
from his coat and goes straight at ORLANDO - black, hip, 30's, better dressed than the others - who is at the center of a group of BAD ASSES. Before anyone has time to react CHEV has the GUN PRESSED INTO ORLANDO’S FOREHEAD
and is pushing him through the place into the bathroom. Everyone scatters and takes cover at the site of the GLOK;
firearms appear.
CHEV locks the door, SLAMS ORLANDO against the far wall and starts circling around him with the gun beaded on ORLANDO'S forehead.
CHEV
(out of his mind)
Where's Verona!!
(1)
CARLITO
Shut up, Verona.
DON KIM
So this is how it is.
Everyone turns...
DON KIM, in a Ralph Lauren polo shirt and white slacks, is standing at the entrance of the bar. He's got an ASIAN GANGSTER on each side, one of them holding out a smoking, silenced GLOCK .9mm.More ASIAN GANGSTERS appear all around, moving in, taking position. The GANGSTERS all look about 16 years old, dressed for a hot night at the
FLORENTINE GARDENS... but their eyes are dead-blank COLD AS HELL.
VERONA
What... you... he...
CHEV
Presto.
One of CARLITO'S GOONS points an UZI at DON KIM... and is FILLED FULL OF LEAD in the blink of an eye by a pair of ASIANS on his blind side... who are CUT TO RIBBONS by another of CARLITO'S MEN... and ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE.CARLITO scrambles away from the table and grabs one of his GOONS, using him as a shield as he
makes his way behind the bar... the GOON absorbs a hail of bullets...
VERONA whips out a .357 MAGNUM, turns toward CHEV... summoning a surge of strength from out of his ass, CHEV kicks the table forward, pinning VERONA'S legs to the bench - the ICE BUCKET slides into CHEV'S lap... He snatches out a bottle of Dom Perignon and fastballs it at VERONA'S GUN HAND... the bottle SHATTERS...
VERONA bobbles the .357... it hits the ground - GOES OFF - and the four fingers of VERONA'S right hand are VAPORIZED. VERONA SHRIEKS like a ten year old girl at a JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE concert.Behind the bar,
CARLITO quickly punches up his cell phone
.
CARLITO
Get me out of here! NOW!
EXT. STANDARD HOTEL, ROOFTOP - CONTINUOUS
A PILOT is standing by in CARLITO'S personal HELICOPTER, waiting on the roof.
PILOT
Yes sir.
He fires her up, LIFTS OFF...
INT SMOKING LOUNGE, STANDARD HOTEL - CONTINUOUS
CARLITO'S and DON KIM'S MEN have backed into opposite corners of the room, and are firing back and forth. VERONA crawls along the floor, gathering up what's left of his fingers... comes across a SYRINGE and grabs it in his
teeth like a PIRATE'S KNIFE.
DON KIM stands amidst the chaos, completely unperturbed.
CARLITO
(from behind the bar)
I'll kill you for this, Chelios!
(2)
CHEV
Too late!
CHEV swoons, almost passes out... catches sight of a GUN and pries it from the hand of a dead GOON... he spots VERONA'S FEET disappearing behind a wall, takes a bead and fires - blowing off a set of toes to go with the fingers. An ASIAN GANGSTER runs up and lobs a GRENADE behind the BAR... it bounces along and comes to rest next to
CARLITO.CARLITO thinks quick, grabbing one of his GOONS - a 265 pounder - from behind...
CARLITO
Get down!
He BODY-TACKLES the BIG MAN onto the floor, right on top of the live grenade, and brings his weight down on top of him.
GOON
Thanks, boss.
BOOM!
The BIG GOON'S body absorbs the blast, which picks them both up five feet in the air... CARLITO, momentarily airborne, pops up from behind the bar like a JACK IN THE BOX, then drops back down with a THUD...
CARLITO
Ronnie James Dio...!
The LOUNGE opens into a daylight drenched POOL AREA... CARLITO'S HELICOPTER drops down into view, roiling up the water...
CARLITO makes a break for it.
CHEV
Oh no you don't...
CHEV goes after him, spinning and careening across the slick floor like a CHARLIE CHAPLIN DRUNK ACT, dodging bullets and blasting away...
EXT STANDARD HOTEL, DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - DAY
Police have surrounded the hotel and are pouring into the Lobby in teams. Squad cars, CHERRY TOPS FLASHING, SWAT vans pulled up on to the curb, people roped off, crowd control, news vans, the works.
A TV REPORTER is sending a live feed amidst the pandemonium.
REPORTER
Police have moved to surround the
Downtown Standard Hotel, where the
suspect ... the unidentified madman ...
is believed to be holed up and making a
desperate last stand ...!
(3)
CHEV staggers out into the daylight as the windows to the restaurant shatter - and is met by a SWIRLING RUSH OF WIND as the HELICOPTER attempts to set down amidst the chaise lounges and futuristic plastic cabanas. CARLITO is climbing in as CHEV clambers up and GRABS HIM FROMBEHIND. CARLITO spins; CHEV shoves the gun in his face.
CHEV
Present from Kaylo.
But just as he's about to pull the trigger, he FREEZES... face TWITCHING... knees BUCKLING ... and we see that VERONA has come up behind him and JAMMED
THE SYRINGE RIGHT TO THE HILT INTO THE BACK OF HIS NECK. CHEV drops to his knees. His HEARTBEAT is deafening, GLACIAL.
VERONA
(in a bloodthirsty rage)
Now what? Now say
shit!
CARLITO
(shaken for once)
Jesus
, man, where the
fuck
where you?
VERONA grabs the gun out of CHEV'S hand and points it atCARLITO.
VERONA
WHO'S THE
BITCH
NOW?
He blows CARLITO away with three shots.The PILOT starts to lift off in a blue panic. VERONA shoves CHEV aside and hops into the back seat, pointing his gun at the PILOT'S head.
VERONA (CONT'D)
That's right,
motherfucker!
FLY!
VERONA whips the gun around as the bird rises, intending tofinish CHEV off from the air... and has the gun removed from his hand by CHEV, who has climbed onto the landing skids, hooking his dead arm inside the passenger space, going
up with them.DON KIM watches the HELICOPTER rise as his MEN finish off the last of CARLITO'S GOONS...
DON KIM
Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend's forehead.
GANGSTER gives him a sidelong look.
DON KIM (CONT'D)
(explaining)
Confucius.
... the DOOR BUSTS IN and the place is crawling with S.W.A.T. EXT THE SKY ABOVE LOS ANGELES, SECONDS LATER
CHEV'S HEARTBEAT IS SLAMMING as the bird rises high above the rooftop and the surrounding streets. He wrestles his way up into the back seat as VERONA tries desperately to push him out.
NEWS HELICOPTERS hover around the midair struggle like wasps, shooting across at the action. LIVE TELEVISION BROADCAST: An announcer babbles over phenomenal live video of CHEV and VERONA
struggling in the helicopter.
(4)
CHEV has VERONA locked up; both men are fighting with just one hand ... VERONA manages to work his up to CHEV'S shoulder, where the steel needle still pokes through. He slides it out and stabs at CHEV'S face ... CHEV catches his wrist in
time to hold him off, but his grip is slipping...
The spaces between CHEV'S HEARTBEATS have grown longer and longer ... he's obviously having a massive coronary...
VERONA
You're dead, you're dead, you're dead!
CHEV swoons; his eyes roll back in his head ... he starts to go limp, fall backwards ...Then, with a final rush of adrenaline, he grabs VERONA by the neck and pulls him along. The two men FALL FROM THE HELICOPTER.
CHEV continues to strangle VERONA in midair.
CHEV
I told you I'd kill you,
you son of a
bitch!
VERONA'S eyes bulge in disbelief. CHEV continues to strangle him until VERONA goes limp, glassy eyed ... CHEV finally lets go ... VERONA'S body drifts away ...
CHEV (CONT'D)
There.
Now he's alone, free falling ... it's almost peaceful up here. EXT THE SKY ABOVE LOS ANGELES
It occurs to him he still has his cell phone. He retrieves it from his coat pocket and clicks a speed dial. INT EVE'S APARTMENT, SAME TIME
SLOW ZOOM in on EVE'S answering machine as he talks.
EVE (O.S.)
... leave a message.
BEEP.
CHEV (O.S.)
Hey doll. Looks like I let you down
again. You were right about me ... funny,
you really have time to reflect on things
when you know you're going to die ...
seems like all my life I've just been
going, going, going ... I wish I'd taken
more time to stop and smell the roses, so
to speak, but well, I guess it's too late
now... you were the greatest, baby.
EXT STREET, IN FRONT OF HIGHRISE, 1 SECOND LATER
Still frame of a city street, traffic sounds - CAMERA down on the ground. A homeless guy ambles along, looks up, hustles his ass out of the way ... VERONA hits the ground - SMACK! - BOUNCES, flies out of frame. Next is CHEV - he SLAMS off the canvas top of a moving convertible car - BAM!CHEV flies high out of frame, then comes down hard, smashing into a NEWS STAND right in front of the CAMERA ... TRADES and FISH WRAPS rain over CHEV and the
surrounding area... on each a different HEADLINE... "Bo Sox Break The Curse"... "Bush To Swiss: You're Next"... etc. The screen CUTS TO BLACK.
(5)
then - SOUND: LUB DUB. KICK TO SOUNDTRACK.
(6)