English, baby!

Edited for TV

Date: Dec 09 2009

Themes: Hobbies, Pop Culture

Grammar: Phrasal Verbs

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Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Watching movies in the theater is a lot of fun, but it also has its drawbacks. It’s expensive, for one thing, especially if you buy any of the overpriced drinks and snacks they sell at the concessions stand. Then you have to worry about finding a good place to sit. And you’d better stop by the restroom before the movie starts, because you’ll annoy everyone around you if you have to get out of your seat in the middle of the show.

So it can be exciting when a movie you wanted to see at the theater appears on TV, where you can see it for free and in the comfort of your own home. But once you start watching it, you might notice something weird. In the US, movies on TV often get heavily edited so they’ll be suitable for people of all ages. Violence, nudity, and bad language all get removed. Sometimes the movies are edited to be a different length, too. After all, there has to be plenty of time for all those commercials in the middle of the film.

A film that Devan really liked when she saw it in the theater recently appeared on TV. Find out what she and Beren think about watching feature films on the small screen.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Devan

Beren

Devan: So the other day, I was watching TV, and I was watching the TV Guide channel and it said Boogie Nights was going to be on FOX.

Beren: No way, FOX?

Devan: And I was like, “Wow, they’re really gonna play a movie like this on television?” And I watched it, and they cut out so much stuff that it was like what’s the point, you know? Like why do they…I think that they just get these movies, they get them for TV, that are like movies that are really controversial or risque or have a lot of foul language or nudity in them, and they say they’re gonna show them on TV just because it’s exciting. But then when you actually watch it, it’s completely edited for TV, and it kind of defeats the purpose.

Beren: A movie like Boogie Nights, not only would you have to cut out certain scenes, but you’d have to bleep out every other word to make it suitable for prime-time TV.

Devan: I don’t know, I really hate watching movies on television, ‘cause if it’s not…between them cutting stuff out, bleeping things out, dubbing things in, it’s also all the commercial breaks. It’s just not worth it, I think.

Beren: Yeah. I’d rather watch a movie in a theater.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Discussion

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The movie Boogie Nights is known for including a lot of nudity and being controversial. So Devan was surprised to see that a conservative TV channel was going to show it. When she watched the movie, however, she saw that it had been severely edited for TV. All the controversial parts had been cut out.

Beren agrees that it is usually a waste of time to watch movies that have been edited for TV. Not only do a lot of scenes have to be cut out, but you also have to deal with all the interruptions for commercials. Both Devan and Beren would rather watch a movie in the theater than on TV.

Do you ever watch movies on TV? Do films get heavily edited for TV in your country?

Comments

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Mohammed H. Al-sadi

Qatar

Sometimes with friends .. But I prefer go cinema :)

bilalen2000

Algeria

Good

vishwags87

India

Holmes nash phil

Malawi

You know if your watching tv try to leastan how the actor and actress use the gramma i pay more on movie’s i always knew that after the end am going to get something.

shoaib ca

Afghanistan

I find this reading help full

fernandouio

Ecuador

I really enjoy this reading, because I edited some tv programs in my country .all people fron different ages can wath a really good program in home

Marcelolic

Brazil

Hummm this is an interesting issue to discuss…There has films that you should watch on the movie…For instance,think…It is pretty boring to watch DI Joe on tv,this movie is pretty cool and full of special effects…Watching it on a super screen is amazing! ;)

On the other hand,there has many films full of "bad words",violence and nudity,so it should shown in certains channels,not in a conservative tv channel ;)

In Brazil in the end of 60's we had a strong censorship about everything…So for each film and program on tv there had a censorship to advise to the audience about what they were watching,so It was pretty boring!

luvik palestine

Palestinian Territory, Occupied

oh yaah ..im watching movies in TV to improve my listening and speaking ..but isee thats an english of american people is very difecult cuz i learn english of pritich people..thaxx alot

Temka

Mongolia

I always watch movies on TV . In my country we don't edit movies for being shown on TV, we don't cut out scenes which shows nudity and ugly speaking fighting and scenes for adults. I thing it's bad if the young people or children watching so it's better be edited.But from another sight it's bad for us we can't watch the movie fully. In my country people like watching movie in theaters i don't know why but i know that in the evening theaters show it fully not editing in the afternoon it is being edited.

ray.lee

China

I like watch movies,but i dont like enjoy moveis along,i want to share my happiness to each other !Its wonderful,i think.

Ca_Brazil

Brazil

id rather go to see a movie in the theater; however, when im out of money i try to find some good movie in the small sreen, which its kind of complicated. like there, some movies get edited in order to be suitable, most part its because the time the channel has avalaible to show the movie, and also there are long comercials.

Idarela

El Salvador

In my country, movies are not edited for TV, so i watch my movies on TV and when i wanna go out i go to the theather but is the same for me :D children here don´t watch what parents don´t allow them to watch

guhansr

India

yeah…. its good to bleep out some unnecessary things in television because now days children are spending more time in television than others…

have a good day folks…

noguti

Brazil

Woah!!! that's awesome to watch films in the movie… but I also enjoy watching them on the TV….

Unfortunately they cut out lots of scenes, what's a pity….

about the commecials, I think they are good, because our brains need some time to assimilate the film's content

burcinyo

Turkey

in my country the movies which are moving on tv are cutting off too.i hate this stuations.because this is part of the films and it is loosing their orginality.i go to theather sometimes but generally i watch on dvd.in the outside everybody use foul language and i dont understant why are they cutting?

iwori

Japan

In my country, it hardly happens to cut off ou bleep our but have a number of commercials. Because TV stations choose appropriate flick not need to edit for prime-time.

But they usually don't edit if there are nudity or foul language. I think it is good because they're part of movie.

geen55

Egypt

i spend good time in watch the news on tv

rosendo

Mexico

agree with "BAREN "

saludos.

siberian tigger

Mexico

I enjoy to watch action and horror movies on TV in my contry, but it is natural that some scenes and course words are cutted out becuase most of the times our children can watch bad informantion on TV programs.

Good lock fellas.