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Censorship and its limits
Censorship and its limits
Essays on censorship
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Censorship
Today I would like to talk about
censorship. Censorship is the removal of information from the public. Today censorship is a
phase of social control. It is becoming more and more common all over the world today. It
reaches as far as political power and public opinion. Often censorship is undertaken by
governments. Censorship is closely tied in as a concept with freedom of speech and other forms
of human expression. The censorship of opinion for the most part was restricted to the control
of speech rather than of printing. The censorship of free speech attempted to control the
audience. The purpose of this speech is to give information regarding censorship knowledge.
Censorship occurs when expressive materials, like books, magazines, films and videos, or works
of art, are removed or kept from the public. Censorship also occurs when materials are
restricted to particular audiences, based on their age or other characteristics. A few types of
censorship are political, religious, and the the censorship of music, but there are many more.
Political censorship occurs when the government conceals secrets from their citizens, while
religious censorship is when any material of a certain faith is removed. This often involves a
dominant religion forcing limitations on less dominant ones. Many musicians protested against
censorship in music and pushed for more freedom of expression. Considerable amounts of music
has been banned since the 1950's all the way to the present. One example is that
many states in the U.S. decided to make it illegal for selling N.W.A.'s “Straight Outta Compton”
album and the fines for catching anyone would go from $10,00 to $100,00 depending on how
many minors were involved.
When a society has freedom, citizens can collect and distribute any information they want
without any restraints. Another example is that in the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms, it clearly states that “Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: the
freedom of thought, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of
communication." which means that this material in any form cannot be altered by the government
in any way. Also, citizens have the right to access information in all forms of media to be able to
watch, read or listen to whatever they want. The concept of freedom involves protecting the
Censorship was portrayed throughout of Fahrenheit 451 , from books to technology. The government had banned
Censorship, as defined in the dictionary, is, in the case of a book, to take out things thought to be objectionable. Censorship is far more than that. This mere word prohibits us from all things
The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) defines censorship as: “The removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational materials… of images, ideas, and information…on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in light of standards applied by the censor” (Miner 1998). In schools there are three types of censorship, one type is a “parent who doesn’t want their child to read a particular book. Another is a parent, teacher, administrator, or school board member who argues that no one in the class, or school should read the book in dispute. Lastly, there is censorship that involves someone who is part of an organized campaign, whether of a local or national group, and who goes in ready for a fight and wants to make a broader political point” (Miner 1998). Although there are many others ways that a piece of literature could get censored, most censored works are asked to be removed from classrooms and school libraries.
Censorship is a concept with several different meanings. To each individual censorship has its own meaning. Is it a violation of our rights or is it a protection for our well being? Censorship in the generic sense refers to the suppression of information, ideas, or opinions. It occurs in all forms of communication from technological media to print media. Each society, culture, or individual's belief is violated by the codes of censorship that our society instills.
Censorship takes on all different shapes and forms: banning of books, television guidelines, laws that curb specific types of speech, and imprisonment or even death for openly speaking. For example, in sixteenth century England, a loyal subject of Henry VII was imprisoned for saying, “I like not the proceedings of this realm. ”1 In earlier times this would have been punishable by death for treason. The need for freedom of speech was first brought up in Massachusetts Body of Liberties in 1641.
The term "censorship" originates from the Latin censere, "to give as one's opinion, to assess" (Culture Shock: Who Decides? How and Why?: Definitions of Censorship). In contrast to this seemingly simple definition, contemporary usage offers no agreed-upon definition of the term or its' appropriate usage, most specifically concerning the highly conteste...
Censorship has been around since the development of music. Throughout history pro-censorship groups, retailers, schools, parents, and legislators have found ways to censor music. (History of music censorship) Many artists have been sued because parents thought the music influenced their children to form certain acts. (Censorship in Music) We know of music censorship mainly because of the development of rock and roll during the 1950's. By 1980's censorship reached new dimensions. In 1992, the Erotic Bill law passed the "adult only" label on certain recordings. While people stand for music censorship, American Civil Rights Union fight to make them understand that musicians have First Amendment rights.
Censorship has been a big part of the world’s history and especially America’s history. One of the most quoted amendments to the United States constitution is the first amendment; “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...” This amendment guaranteeing free speech, press, and religion is still heavily debated and contested today. Censorship, as a challenge to free speech and press has been allowed many times and has been heavily debated itself. Many people censor for many different reasons and in many different forms. Censorship itself is not always a bad thing and has in some cases been used for protection of the general population.
The head of the Boston Coalition for Freedom of Expression, Jim D' Entremont, explains one of the bills passed by Governor George W. Bush Jr. as "Prohibiting the state of Texas or any of its agencies from investing in any private concern that owns at least ten percent of any corporation that produces music which describes, glamorizes or advocates violence, drug abuse or sexual activity" (111).
Censorship should be something that people and businesses choose to do on their own, for their own reasons. The media should never be allowed to censor anything, because it is their job to provide information, not hide it. Businesses should decide whether or not to apply censorship as a business model, based on what they believe that the customers want, not based on any law that one thing or another should never be seen or There cannot be too much free speech, the more the better. Everyone everywhere should always have the right to say whatever they want. People should also be allowed to argue with people whose opinions the dislike.
Military censorship occurs mainly in wartime, and is used to protect national security. Military censors have the authority to read the mail of service men and women. The censors can hold information from the press as well. Political censorship is used by governments that do not accept opposing ideas. "Democracies do not officially permit censorship, but many try to censor radical ideas".
Ever wondered the reason behind racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, children committing crime or violence? The main reason is that censorship is not properly imposed or there is a need of censorship in the society. Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain people, individual, groups or government officials find it objectionable, offensive or dangerous on others. There are varieties of other definitions but all have in common the concept of withholding information and/or resources from those who seek it. Hence censorship is essential in society to eliminate discrimination on basis of race and sex, protect children, maintain stability and restore what censor sees as lost moral values. Censorship occurs when expressive materials like books, magazines, movies, videos, music or work of art are restricted to particular audiences based on their age or other characteristics. (http://www.ala.org/oif/intellectualfreedeomandcensorship.html)
Censorship according to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press can be defined as, “To remove anything offensive from books, films, etc., or to remove parts considered unsuitable from private letters, especially ones sent during war or from a prison”(Cambridge Dictionary). Censorship in the news and in the media takes many forms in todays fast paced world. Even with the slightly leak in information or even misleading information could cause todays world to be turned on its head and can cause people to interpret the issue in many ways which could have numerous implications. This is why such information is filtered by some governments around the world before it is aired or printed. There are countless arguments as to why or why not information should be censored as each individual is entitled to their own opinion. Censorship impacts people ability to choose freely as it is controls ideas and thoughts and thus influences their freedom of expression or their to express their views on issues, ideologies or even practice their faith.
Since the foundation of the United States after a harsh split from Britain, almost 200 years later, an issue that could claim the founding grounds for the country is now being challenged by educators, high-ranking officials, and other countries. Though it is being challenged, many libertarians, democrats, and free-speech thinkers hold the claim that censorship violates our so-called unalienable rights, as it has been proven throughout many court cases. Censorship in the United States is detrimental because it has drastically and negatively altered many significant events. Censorship allows governments more control of society than they already have, slowly progressing governments utilizing censorship to a dictatorship. Often times, this censorship can lead to immense rebellions.
Censorship is blocking or hiding something that is considered unacceptable to the public eye or a group of a certain age. In looking at the effects of censorship on society, it is apparent that it can both be beneficial and harmful. Censorship is seen to be beneficial through preventing dangerous people from viewing government documents and preventing children from viewing inappropriate content. Censorship can be harmful when it comes to taking away rights declared in the Constitution and setting unequal standards for men and women. These examples show how effects censorship has on society can be both good and bad. Looking at facts and credible opinions is a way to truly see how censorship has negative and positive effects.