All through life people are censored in some way, shape or form. People are censored in how they talk, write, act and many other subjects. Censorship has been a major part of the world ever since people began to try and control what people learn or see. History has shown us this with many examples which consists of people burning many books, destroying music, and altering the media to suit their needs. Censorship is when the information and ideas in a society have been marked as inappropriate by officials and then banned or suppressed. In her article “Censorship”, author Bobbi Swiderek, raises awareness of the issue of censorship in schools or to be more specific the banning of books in school libraries without proper reason and dealing with the irrational fears that seem to plague parents and officials when it comes to certain books. Using quotes from other authors, Swiderek makes a number of conclusions to why the banning of books actually happens and gives am in depth analysis of the subject given. In this article a main sub-theme is made by the author of parents …show more content…
wanting control and they don’t like the ideas that go against the norm being installed in their children. A quote from Judy Blume stated that “she believes that censorship grows out of fear, and there is a tremendous amount of fear on the part of parents who wish to control their young children and shield them from the world (592). While some may argue that this is not true it’s has been proven time and time again in history that parents will go beyond what is reasonable to protect their offspring. An example offered by the text is parents and official banning a book because it had a bit of cursing in it. They didn’t know the context of why the cursing was happing in the book and automatically assumed that it was hurtful. In the article the author made a point about students being exposed to controversial material like the occult, religion, sex and other topics. These topics send an automatic red flag among parents and school officials. These topics are dangerous in that they make students think about the world, but you have to take into account that this is life and they will run into these subjects one way or another. A quote from author Peter Comiers states “controversial books ought to be in a classroom to be discussed and evaluated under the guidance of a teacher” (592). The problem with this is that books that are controversial won’t get the chance to be discussed. A quote from Daniel Cohen, a controversial writer, states “once an author has been targeted as controversial, many times his or her books will not even make it to library shelves” (592). Swiderek makes an argument that if all the books that could be considered to be controversial were removed from libraries then there would hardly be anything worth reading. Another point the author tries to make is that no proper research is done concerning the books being banned.
Books seem to get rejected and banned because they are judged without proper consideration or not being looked at in the proper context. Books are quoted out of context all the time and when quoted wrong, there is a possibility that they can leave a negative perception of what actually happening within it. An example given by the text is when a young student’s favorite part of a book was the first lines of cursing. The book in question is about a young man who joins the U.S. Air force during World War II. Turns out the cursing was happening because the young man choked during a mission which led to the commanding officer to curse out of frustration. The author implores the student to talk to their parents and makes the comment that in this situation the cursing may in fact be
appropriate. In conclusion the author makes a lot of sense in regards to the topic. She gives in depth explanations about the censorship in school libraries and the banning of books. Swiderek advocates that before books are banned that proper research should be done on them and that books should be judged with proper reasoning instead of just fear.
She starts her article by describing her first contact with censorship and continues to talk about her experiences as an author with writing her own books being barred. She takes account of her personal views on how to handle topics people feel should be forbidden from children. She also adds that books should open up conversation between parents and their children. Blume states that we should not let fear be a deciding factor on what is right or wrong but rather be informed and educated about the things we fear. She also said , if applied, censorship is a personal choice and government should not decide what is suitable and what is not suitable for everyone else’s children.
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
What is a banned book? A banned book is a book that has been removed from the shelves; it could be from a library, classroom, or even the bookstore because of its content. A book could be banned for many reasons, but it could be banned because it contains sex, violence, inappropriate language, religious viewpoints, witch craft, and many more things because other people deem it inappropriate. When someone bans a book they ban it for everyone else too.
Countries worldwide actively call for the banning of books that are found to be politically inconvenient, religiously awkward, or embarrassing in one form or another. But for writers like Russia's Vasily Grossman, a book's ban means far more than just a dip in sales. In 1961, he pleaded with the Soviet censors, "I am physically free, but the book to which I have dedicated my life is in jail." (Merkelson). A book represents an idea, thus limiting access to a book is banning the representation of an idea. The banning of books in American schools should not be allowed, because banning books will prevent students from learning the reason for the controversy and alternate viewpoints they can come to on their own.
Banning Books “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written, the books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers” (Blume 1999). Judy Blume can not explain the problem of book censorship any clearer.
Censorship is something that can be agreed or disagreed on in today’s culture. Censorship is the control of the information and ideas circulated within a society (What is Censorship?). The twentieth century is really when this became significant to the public. The public has censorship because some ideas may be objectionable or offensive to people. Censorship is everywhere that is available to the public, like television programs, news reports, books, music, and plays. This is prominent because producers, writers, and the government try to make everyone happy and comfortable about what they are watching or listening to.
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.
Censorship in School Libraries The most debatable and controversial form of censorship today is the banning of books in school libraries. Banning books that educate students is wrong and selfish. Censorship of books in school libraries is neither uncommon nor an issue of the past. Books with artistic and cultural worth are still challenged constantly by those who want to control what others read. The roots of bigotry and illiteracy that fuel efforts to censor books and free expression are unacceptable and unconditional.
Censorship is “the restriction or removal of information, or the prevention of free expression” (Taylor 8). There are many things that can be censored such as books, movies, TV shows, newspapers, and the way people dress. People censor things for a number of reasons- they do not agree with it, find it offensive, or think that it is just inappropriate in general. Different people consider different things inappropriate, so the content of what is censored varies. Anyone can censor, including parents, teachers, school officials, and board members (Taylor 8-10) Many things are censored in schools and places where children are present because parents do not want their kids to be exposed to inappropriate content (Taylor 10). Students are entitled to their First Amendment rights just as much as adults are, but schools still censor things like newspapers, books, and clothing.
Retrieved December 2, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis/Academic database. This article addresses some of the reasons that censors attempt to remove books from the curriculum: Many censors feel that works are not age appropriate for students. Staff, Wire Reports. (2002 October 3). Book banning spans the globe.
Censorship. Censorship is the use of editing information out due to its content. There have many cases where adults have used censorship, as well as many different levels of it. From as high as government censorship to household censorship, it is located everywhere. In America, adults around the country use censorship because it preserves children’s mind’s from seeing things they should not. One popular use of censorship was around the release of J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in The Rye. In the story The Catcher in The Rye J.D. Salinger expresses the topic of sexuality, morals, and uses vivid language. As a result, many schools banned The Catcher in the Rye.
What is Censorship? Wikipedia defines it as, “the suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other groups or institutions.” There are many definitions out there for censorship, but the key word that I almost always see is suppression. I think that alone shows that censoring limits freedom and that it is morally unacceptable. Censorship is should not be permitted, because it goes against the 1st amendment, the government could easily use their new found power and control the public in many negative ways, there is no solid rules stating what is actually considered moral
Censorship is the control of communication between people. This includes restrictions on what can be seen and heard. Mostly, censorship is practiced by Governments. But religious and political leaders and special interest groups also try to control the flow of information. Censorship violates individual rights, hides useful information, and limits freedom of speech.
Hence, censorship is essential in society to eliminate discrimination on basis of race and gender, 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 works of art are restricted to particular audiences based on their age or other characteristics. http://www.ala.org/oif/intellectualfreedeomandcensorship.html) Censorship is not a recent development. It wasn’t imposed properly or there weren’t strict regulations before.
Censorship affects our society in many different ways, it affects the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the books we read, and many other aspects of our everyday lives. Even though many might argue that censorship doesn't really have a place in a society that emphases freedom of speech and the freedom to express oneself, but censorship is an essential and needed part of our growing society, it's needed in the television industry, the Internet, and the music industry. Censorship helps to make our world a better place because it creates a better environment for us to live in.