Director's Notes: 246 - A Story about Him
Added 2024-04-15 14:00:14 +0000 UTCThe creative team actually discussed whether or not it was appropriate to put cuss words in this episode. It's strange because if you've listened to Night Vale even a few times, you've probably heard a few shits and goddamns in the Weather songs before. So it's not like we're prudes or that we make this show for kids or anything. Or even that we think we have an audience of people with sensitive ears. It was simply a question of authenticity to the writing.
I think in an early episode, the character of Cecil uses the word "asshole." What it was in reference to, I don't recall, but I do think there was one FCC-banned word in the text of Night Vale back in year one, back when we were still finding the voice of the show. But basically, we got away from swear words because it didn't make sense for someone with a terrestrial American radio show to cuss. It's actually illegal to do so. You can get fined or suspended from broadcasting for that shit. So Cecil doesn't cuss.
Then there's the meta elements of our audience. While we've never written this show toward any specific demographic, we're certainly aware that Night Vale has garnered a kind of all-ages vibe. Parents bring their kids to our live shows. 11-year-olds write us emails. While we want to continue to tell adult stories/themes, we can't just ignore the kids in the room.
And you're probably thinking: "Jeez, Jeffrey. I just listened to the latest episode, and I didn't really even notice the cussing. What was the big deal?"
The answer is idk. First time for everything I guess. It seemed super unusual to have such a "real" episode of Night Vale one in which someone casually drops an F-bomb. Plus the disclaimer was the first time we've nudged listeners to listen to previous episodes. I don't know how much of that I want to have to do moving forward, but I think it's good to think about.
Anyway, back to "authenticity." The internal debate about using 2 very minor casual swear words in this episode was way more about the dramatic shift of tone with the character Abby from our usual Cecil-driven episodes. Abby is about as real-world a character as we've ever featured on the show. And save for the Night Vale-y bits about Taylor Swift and Scrabble, her monologue could have been in just about any ghost story or vaguely-supernatural family drama.
So while Joseph, Brie, and I asked ourselves "are we allowed to cuss on this show?" I think we were really thinking "is it okay to get a little bit real for an episode?" We all agreed it was better than okay to do so. It was fucking great.
Jeffrey Cranor
April 15, 2024
Comments
Haha. I have a collection of the original files of all the episodes, each downloaded when they were released, which I regularly listen to while doing household tasks. I've heard them all many times over, and have thus become a walking Night Vale encyclopedia. :-P
Shawn Havery
2024-04-21 05:03:22 +0000 UTCI’m fairly certain the “asshole” comment was Cecil referencing The Apache Tracker. I remember it mostly because it was the only “swear word” l’ve heard Cecil say (unless you count the Unf*ck Your Habitat mention, which wasn’t actually used in the show itself) so it seemed to stand out — plus the way he said it was just hilarious! 😂 “Asshole” is pretty tame too, as far as swear words go. Pretty sure most 11 year olds these days wouldn’t bat an eye at that or any of the other low grade swears out there (damn, shit, hell, etc… does ‘hell’ still count as a swear word??) As for the F word… I mean, I think even PG-13 movies are allowed at least one? So I think a pass now and again is fine — especially when you save it for something like this. Speaking of… I cannot BELIEVE we finally got to hear Abby! And her dialogue was written very much like I imagined she’d speak — just very real, yanno? All the more reason it flowed so well, I think. (( To be completely honest, I heard the warning at the beginning and by the end I was like, “wait, where was the swear word?” so I don’t think it was TOO terribly obvious ultimately… although I waaaas kind of screaming half the episode, so maybe that’s how I missed it… I’m definitely gonna go back and listen again in a few once I’ve calmed down, so I can catch every single gorgeous detail. 😭 )) I really do hope you continue with the adult stories/themes in WTNV — it’s one of my favorite things about the show, I think. Its ability to bounce around between silly and absurd to serious and deep is like little else I’ve seen, and it somehow all just works really, really well together. Like, I LOVE all the silly and nonsensical Night Vale stuff — pretty sure we were all on board with that from episode 1, haha! But the show also gets incredibly deep and poetic at times, and it’s that underlying tone, along with the phenomenal character writing and the steady, interconnected plot line that keeps me coming back again and again (okay, I haven’t really left, but yanno what I mean!). I think it’s part of what makes WTNV so amazing and successful… I’m beyond committed to the storyline, and had it all been either super silly or super serious (nothing at all wrong with either of those btw!), I imagine I may have lost interest over time? Or more people might have? I know you guys have said it before, that you can just “hop in” wherever and even listen to episodes out of order, and while there are definitely plenty of episodes that can stand entirely on their own, I never could bring myself to agree with that idea… I just don’t think it would do the show and your writing justice, if that makes sense? It’s not always perfectly paced, especially when you go back to the first year or so — because like you said, you guys were still trying to find your footing so to speak, — but it DOES eventually find it’s pace and flow and all that jazz, and it just builds on itself over and over in the best ways (you guys’ ability to go back and pull whole ass story arcs from a single line in like, the third episode or something, is so absolutely OUTSTANDING — it’s so hard to believe sometimes that you didn’t have every little detail plotted out from the very beginning!) When I see new listeners joining in, they often will ask something like “hey, so I’m 4 or 5 episodes in and I like it, but is it all just gonna be random like this? Or will there be more of a plot?” And, of course, the older fans with rush in to confirm “OMG YES PLOT WILL HAPPEN WE SWEAR JUST BUCKLE IN AND ENJOY THE RIDE!!” Had the show kind of just continued to follow its initial patterns from that first year or so, then yeah, I’d totally be more likely to be like “listen however you want!” but because it grew and evolved over time, just as you were growing and evolving as writers, I‘ve just always felt that I couldn’t honestly recommend the out of order listening style in general… Of course, I have a whole list of episodes that can more or less be listened to on their own that I like to recommend to new fans who are trying to get a feel for things. I think there are some really exceptional single episodes (or in some cases, little “mini arcs” of 3 or so episodes) that perfectly capture the overall feel of Night Vale like, “listen to this, and if this is your vibe, then you’ll love the whole show — just stick with it the first 20-some episodes and know that it only gets better and better from there!” (( Although, NOW it sounds like I’m dissing the early episodes which omg that couldn’t be further from the truth! Please don’t think that! I just meant more from like, a plot line point of view, etc. since new listeners are still trying to get a feel for whether or not they’re up to commit to a 10+ year, 200+ episode ongoing show, yanno? The answer being being yes, definitely, absolutely, ofc!)) ANYWAYS, sorry for going off on a totally random spiel like that. I’m super sorry if I was coming off as critical at all because I DEFINITELY did not mean to, I swear! Like, this is YOUR show, bottom line, and I think yins should do whatever the heck you want to with it, including however you wanna promote listening to it! 🙇🏼♂️ I hope you never ask yourselves what you’re “allowed” to write into your own show, and continue to go with whatever feels the most right to you in the end. I mean, I think that’s what you guys have been doing most of this time, yeah? And that’s clearly been working, so… Yeah. Keep it the fuck up!! 👏🏻
WhenTheFoxGrins
2024-04-21 02:26:04 +0000 UTCHOW DO YOU REMEMBER THIS??
WhenTheFoxGrins
2024-04-21 02:20:37 +0000 UTCYeah, I think the swearing worked as a creative choice. And PG-13 movies are generally allowed to have one (1) f-bomb.
Griselda Gimpel
2024-04-16 01:36:45 +0000 UTCI'm still hoping for A Story About Kevin :D
Maeve Hightower
2024-04-15 19:51:33 +0000 UTCIn my profession which shall not be named within earshot of Tamika Flynn, which deals with people and books with F-words in them, I seem to think there are two kinds of people who object to cussing. There are those who unobtrusively try to avoid it because it makes them feel unsafe, without realizing that's what it is--you probably sensed this kind exists and didn't want Night Vale to make anyone feel that way. The other kind doesn't fully understand their own dogma about it, but does take pleasure in the opportunity it affords to go after people whenever it appears. Their speaking voice: 16 on a scale from 1 to shattering glass.
KG
2024-04-15 18:31:25 +0000 UTCOK, good for once the voice in my head was right lol
Ray Timpson
2024-04-15 16:00:38 +0000 UTCIt absolutely was. "What an *asshole* that guy is..."
Shawn Havery
2024-04-15 15:58:25 +0000 UTCJeffrey, you guys have actually nudged listeners to listen to previous episodes at least once before. Way back in the intro to Episode 109: "A Story About Huntokar", Joseph says: "Hey, uh, if this is your first time listening to the podcast, this is maybe not the one to start with. I mean, listen, follow your heart, but it'll probably be super confusing without some background on the story."
Shawn Havery
2024-04-15 15:57:09 +0000 UTCIf I remember correctly, the asshole in question was in reference to the Apache Tracker.
Ray Timpson
2024-04-15 15:41:09 +0000 UTCWhere's the episode illustration?
Shawn Havery
2024-04-15 15:27:48 +0000 UTCcouldnt agree more ❤️ i was far more shocked to hear a voice that isnt Cecil than i was hearing someone say a few cuss words.
DragonbornCanid
2024-04-15 14:09:39 +0000 UTC
