Last weekend, my wife and I went to see two movies at Century 16 Theatres in Federal Way: “Atlas Shrugged Part 2” and “Argo.”

Both movies were good and you could take your children to “Atlas Shrugged.” We knew “Argo” was rated R, but braced ourselves and sallied forth anyway.

However, we were not prepared for the ambush of an endless stream of the F-word uttered by the actors. By now, I suppose the public should be inured to the language to which we have been exposed in theaters for years, but the injudicious use of the word in movies for entertainment was never cool or urbane.

Its use does not add to any film, nor does it burnish the image of the actors involved. When it reaches the market on DVD, children will be exposed to the word, which will reinforce its use in their daily conversation. Not good.

At some level, the producers of films should sense that the incessant use of the word is giving us cauliflower ears and knock it off. Frankly, it’s becoming less about engaging the public with an hour or so of entertainment, but more a rite of passage for actors who believe their standing with peers is enhanced by the number of times they utter the word on the screen.

I know the word is not going away, but it’s too bad the rest of us must bear witness to their quest for status.

Don Payne, Federal Way