WHY WE CURSE @ THE FLOGG

The goddam pie chart

“You have such good content. Why do you feel the need to curse? You’re short changing yourself.”

Aunty Junie was not the only person who was complaining about the willfully gratuitous and excessive use of expletives in The FLOGG. But she is the least of my problems. Aunty Cynthia and Aunty Martha taught me how to write and read. They cured a learning disability I had in early childhood without disrupting me in the least. I was in an out of Dunnotar (St Lucia’s first special education school) so fast, I hardly ever remember that it was my first school. They are good Christian ladies. I do NOT want them to see this blog. And OMG, what will Uncle Harry say? Thank God Uncle Dave was going blind before they got internet at his house. I don’t want my cousin Warren or anyone reading this stuff to him. Why?

Yes Lord...I got it

Because I curse. A lot. Seemingly for no good reason.

But there are good reasons. Let me explain:

Words are just words. What is really provocative and offensive about The FLOGG? The ideas. The audacity. The convention-killing courage. The FLOGG is dangerous and offensive  because  it successfully attacks  the status quo  over and over and over again, with very little possibility of recrimination as the owners, managers and editors have nothing to lose and everything to gain from doing exactly what  the rest of the media fears.

For those who didn't get the fucking pie chart

The offensiveness of the f-word is a fucking anachronism.  What is offensive is not the word ‘fuck’. It is the vehemence with which I use it. I could attain that vehemence using other more family friendly words. But vehemence, when appropriate, should not be circumscribed or curbed. Furthermore, self-censorship is the worst form of censorship and I’ve done enough of that in my life. And that is  the first reason, when it comes to cursing, that I must insist of saying, fuck that shit.

Another reason for excessive and gratuitous offensive language is competition in the media. It’s off the charts. St Lucia has more newspapers and broadcast stations than many countries with twice our population. Plus the international completion. Adam Smith could not have  predicted  what I’m dealing with, starting a content driven media operation. 

The FLOGG aims to get cool and reasonable people, who have otherwise tuned out on the national political and developmental debate, due to cynicism, to tune back in….using cynicism as a magnet. Many young people have confessed that they have no other source of national news than The FLOGG. Sad, but true. (I really need to get some staff and build a real one-stop shop.)

I have built an audience by speaking to the young, the free and the intelligent in the language they speak to each other with. For me to win that audience everyday, I can’t just be excellent. I need some MODDAFLOGGING SHOCK AND AWE. Those who cannot deal with it are welcome to go back to the traditional broadcast media where they belong.

I don’t want HTS’ or  The Star/Voice’s audience. There is an audience out there that is specifically FLOGGagenic and I will FLOGGmatically and  FLOGGsistently keep things as FLOGGalicious as possible in order to satisfy them. Where the regular media is satisfied to hit the audience with WHAM, BAM,  THANK YOU  MA’AM, The FLOGG will also go down on you. And if you insist, (search Allen Chastanet, Richard Frederick,  Mae Wayne on this page.) The FLOGG will also give it to you up the ass.

 

Da man eh know how to curse yet

The language of storytelling achieves three things to varying degrees, depending on the reader. It describes what we want things to be, what we pretend things are and sometimes, when we’re lucky, what things actually are. Now the reality is that most people curse. They do.  Most people do not make an effort not to. The FLOGG is aims to speak of the subject matter of WHAT WE WANT THINGS TO BE in the language of WHAT IT THINGS REALLY ARE. Traditional media is like high class Egyptian hieroglyphics, in this context, while The FLOGG is the vernacular Egyptian used in the street and in trade. Fucking A!

The FLOGG realizes that some people are turned off by the gratuitous and excessively strong language.  However, The FLOGG also realizes that this shit works and while it might need some calibration to  go truly viral on a regional or global  scale, it is exactly what the  younger, more intelligent, less engaged audience needed at the  time.  With proper management and a good strategy,  The FLOGG will be more qualified to become the true Caribbean CNN/BBC than CANA or Caribvision or any of them could ever hope to be.

Oh fuck! Shit,  sorry,  I meant to say "HE SALOP!"

And so, to those who are offended, there shall be no apology.  Fuck all you backward tightwad  assholes.

Except you, June Frederick. We still love and respect you. And shall refrain from cursing in your personal presence. As we have always done.