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Role of censorship in media
Essay on literature and censorship
Role of censorship in media
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Banning books isn’t uncommon. Books can be banned for many reasons such as violence, sexual content, or just plain “garbage”. It’s understandable that some things should be censored when it comes to children since everything they take in is absorbed. Where the line is drawn is banning books to the public. In some cases, books have been banned from public libraries. People should be able to read what they want since it is their living and it doesn’t involve others. Now when teaching in schools it is also understandable to censor books from their library but to a certain extent. Censoring in elementary and junior high is common, but high school students should be treated more and more like young adults. The big controversy going around is that …show more content…
The media in this day and age is filled with violence, tragedy, death, etc. From the news to what is broadcasted on the internet, television, magazines there is not as much censorship to prevent everyone from not seeing what happens every day. Banning a book “sends a message to [students] that there is something wrong with reading- that we don’t want them to read this book because there’s something in it that we don’t want them to know” (qdi CPS). Even the author herself stated this about her graphic novel, “It’s a drawing and its one frame… I don’t think kids …have not seen any sign of violence… they see all kinds of things in cinema and the internet. It’s a black and white drawing and I’m not showing something extremely horrible” (Marjane). Even going through the novel myself, I couldn’t find a reason why the pictures themselves were anything too risky. Yes, we see depictions of torture but never once do we see an ounce of blood or anything that is considered horrific. It is something that even looking at history text books you can’t really compare. History text book have twice as graphic depictions and this is taught as far back as junior high
A variety of books are challenged and banned simply because it's just unsuited for certain age groups. But, no matter what age, shouldn't people be allowed to read whatever they desire? We has human beings have that individual right. On the other hand, if a parent does not want their kid reading a book they have a right as their guardian to tell them what books are and are not suitable for their age. It's not really fair for someone irrelevant in a child's life to tell them they can't read a book that may be appealing to them.
As the book was published and the general public began to read it; different opinions on the book started to come to fruition. “ The controversy began in March 1976 when the chair of the Long Island School Board, Richard J Ahrens, … ordered 60 books to be removed form the Island Tress School District High School Library.”(Nicholas 48). This appears to have caused many individuals and groups great concern. Their concerns mostly appear to be from rights violations. In 1979 a U.S. district court judge ruled that school boards have the right to determine the “suitability” of the content of library materials. Ultimately the courts became involved due to continued disagreements between the school board and those against the banning of the book.
Why banning these book will be a good benefit. These books need to be at a level of maturity.
Banned Books are books that have been taken off of library shelves because they have been found to have inappropriate content. Books are often challenged by parents who do not want their kids to read them and be exposed to this material. However, Taking books off of shelves is unfair to people mature enough to process the content and hinders the learning of those who would be able to gain something from reading the books. What children are or are not allowed to read should be the parents responsibility. Books should not be banned and made unavailable to those who wish to read them and are capable of gaining something from them.
The dispute of whether banned books should be taught has been debated for years upon years. Although there is a simple solution that allows each individual to decide whether or not they are exposed to these “evil” banned books. This simple solution encompasses the creation of an optional class that’s curriculum is based on books that have been challenged or that are or have been banned. This class would still complete the obligatory state standards, which would make it equal to a normal English class. This is a simple middle ground in which these banned books can still be taught with the lessened concern of offending students, parents, etc.
School administrators banning certain books does not help our society in any way because by keeping certain parts of a book out of readers hands students and other people are being deprived of what is out there for us to learn. Keeping certain books from students is not fair to them because they are not able to learn to the best of their abilities even if it does not agree with their opinion. Organizations and schools are not seeing the piece of writing as a whole ad instead are seeing just a certain word or a certain phrase that does not agree with them or goes against a
The Diary of Anne Frank, The Scarlet Letter, and To Kill a Mockingbird all have something in common. These books not only have been staples in english curriculum across the nation for many years, but they also have been banned and challenged time after time for their content. Although theses novels teach valuable lessons, some people cannot seem to look past certain parts of their plots. Many groups have taken action to ban an abundance of books that they personally feel people should not be exposed to. Banning books prevents a well rounded education, takes away the right to choose what to read, and will ultimately have no real purpose because people will be exposed to
When you ban books you can’t only think about the bad, sometimes there is a special thing the author wants the kid to learn in the story, also known as the moral. As said in Schools and Censorship: Banned Book, “A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials based upon the objections of a person or group. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.” As I said before, banning books could have a huge impact on many peoples learning and
The American Library Association also says that books are usually banned with the best intent and to protect people from difficult situations (Brunner). There is a week that celebrates banned books called Banned Books Week. This week was established in 1982 in forms of events and exhibits surrounding censorship (Leigh). Banned Books Week celebrates readers everywhere to encourage us to pick up a book that has been questioned (Hub). There are many reasons why school administrators should not ban books the students are
Some schools think that is a good idea to censor and ban books. People who support this idea want to protect children from inappropriate and difficult topics. Studies show that if children are exposed to violence and sexual content at a young age they are more likely to exhibit these behaviors in the future. Schools do not want parents to blame them for their kids inappropriate actions.
He may be right that most challenges of books do not result in a ban, but book banning still exists and the threat of censorship is unsettling. Most books that are challenged are generally banned because they involve one of the following: racial themes, different lifestyles, profanity, sex, violence, witchcraft, or unpopular views. Just because someone opposes something in a book does not mean it should be banned. Is banning books going to protect children from the evil in the world? Children are exposed to things such as profanity and violence all the time through the Internet and social media and it is almost pointless trying to ban books just to protect a child’s innocence. Parents have full right to monitor what their children read, but they do not have the right to remove books from public libraries as they see fit. Reading is the best way to improve our intelligence, we should appreciate books for being unique and controversial, not ban
The Scarlet Letter, The Diary of Anne Frank, and To Kill a Mockingbird all have something in common; these books, although great literary classics, have been banned in schools throughout various points in history. These and other classics are vital for young adolescents to be exposed to since they instill important values and introduce wholly different eras with dated and unconventional ideas. Unfortunately, the government has decided that such improper books should be forbidden from schools due to parental concern for their children’s school reading. Even though this government interference protects what students read, such as the unconcealed use of profanity, racial slurs, and sexual references, books should not be banned in schools because this act goes against the First Amendment and hinders students’ ability to learn and develop as human beings.
Banning the book from the shelves and classrooms seems unnecessary for many people. Many people believe the book should not be banned but only modified to replace the “N-word” with the word “slave.” With the modification, people claim that the book would still send its message across, yet in a less offensive way. Mark Twain scholars believe that the modification will make the book more adaptable for teaching and it will still manage to send it’s message across, without the need of the “N-word.” Professor of Syracuse University, Boyce Watkins, stated in The Joey Behar Show that there is censorship present in our society already in “movies, television, and other forms of art” and that censorship on a book is not an exception. Modifying the book
When a book is banned from the public, then the people around become more dumb. By being more dumb, it is meant that those people are less prepared for the differences they will come across, and therefore, are also less open minded. Books are an outlet of creativity and understanding and should not be
Is banning books the best option? “More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association,” (“About”). These 11,300 books have content that some people do not agree others should be reading. The challenged books may cause a conflict to a reader. One reason to resolve the conflict is by banning or burning books.