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The controversy of censorship
Censorship in america 1950- present
The controversy of censorship
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Censorship is the suppression or elimination of a part of a book, film, music, webpage, or media because the content is obscene or politically unacceptable or a threat. Censorship began in the 19th century when the media became a big hit. Many countries wanted to control and limit what the press could say. Since media was the easiest form people would find out information from. Countries like Russia and Japan started to censor to improve the way the citizens thought about the nation. Soon, censorship caught on and other countries started to censor anything and everything that seemed like a potential threat to them. Current day, the FCC evaluate and censor all media for any material that may be deemed inappropriate. The FCC does not only evaluate …show more content…
The most common type of music listened today is rap and contemporary. Using explicit language is expected in rap and contemporary. Recently a new regulation had been passed. It states that if the song created by the artist contain any inappropriate or explicit language, they have to record a different track that does not contain any inappropriate language to be aired on the radio. Many artists found this regulation unreasonable because it contradicts artists license. Which would be a violation of the first amendment. The first amendment contains the freedom of speech and self-expression. So by censoring music, it not only limits the artists license but also makes people ignorant to the real meaning of the …show more content…
Some people may view censorship on the internet positively due to some of the content posted. Such as pornography, hate speeches and much more. But the real question is to what extent can we censor the internet. Children today do not learn everything from the internet, they can learn from the streets, the schools, and the friends that they converse with. If they really set their minds to search on the internet for this, they will find a way. Kids today can google how to take off parental control or how to hack the system. Humans were made with curiosity and want to know everything. If we censor things, it will be registered in our brains that they are in the bad category and all teens like to rebel and venture in the bad category. By placing censorship on the internet, they are only influencing them more to look
Lastly,music censorship also gives the impression that people are not mature or responsible enough to handle this type of music. Even with some kids listening to the music, there is no reason the censor it because chances are they have heard the words or phrases that are censored. There are people over 18 who can control what they are and aren’t listening too. In the article “Most Valid Pros and Cons of Music Censorship” it states, “People have the right to listen to the kind of songs they want ”, it also says in the same article “Children will be learning about sex, violence and drugs from other means and at a certain point of their lives” (Most Valid Pros and Cons). Censoring the bad things in music protects kids from things they will learn anyway, and people have a right to listen to the kinds of music and things they listen to and watch.
The type of content usually censored is sexual or violent things but Ballaro states, “Some bans (and the filtering software used to enforce them) eliminated access not only to pornographic materials but also to legitimate health and medical information” (Ballaro 1). If someone were to become sick, looking up symptoms on the internet is not the most efficient way to go about finding out what sickness they have, or what kind of treatments there are. Going to a professional would ensure that they get the correct diagnosis and treatment. Everything on the internet can be changed and not knowing the accuracy of a source is going to make the search more or less accurate. Children are also a big part of why things are censored. In the same passage, it is explained,“Opponents of Internet Censorship argue that education, not censorship, represents the best means of protecting children…” (Ballaro 1). Telling someone not to do something will just make them want to do it more. Educating kids on the dangers of the internet will not stop them from going on the internet. Protection children from all scammers and hackers, not just to mention explicit material, would also be challenging considering the internet is changing rapidly each day. Why not just block websites that are bad so even if children are tempted, they can not go to
The First Amendment to the Bill of Rights exists because the Founders of our country understood the importance of free expression. The First Amendment states "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . ." (Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution 17). One of the ways the American people use this freedom of speech and expression is through the creation of the art form known as music. Music's verbal expression bonds our society through our emotions and experiences. This fundamental right of freedom of expression is being threatened by public and governmental groups who believe they have authority to monitor and decide what others should experience. The censorship of music lyrics is a violation of our First Amendment right, and public groups should not be allowed to bypass this right to censor obscene lyrics produced in the music industry.
The media censorship appears in various forms and in almost all countries; few have legal systems that guarantee absolute freedom of the media.
The First Amendment clearly states that the U.S. government cannot make a law stopping the freedom of speech. Pro-censorship supporters say music is not included under the First Amendment but it is since music is expression. The freedom of speech includes freedom of expression and the right to hold your own opinion. This country is founded on the idea that we should be able to say, read, or publish anything we want. Music is an artist?s form of expression and banning or censoring his or her music would be stopping his or her right to say whatever he/she wants. We also have and value our own opinions and ideas and in return, respect every one else?s. If someone bans or censors a certain song because of it?s ideas, then we are not respecting the artist?s right to an opinion. An audience might have a certain opinion which we can discuss among ourselves, yet if an artist wants to sing a song about it, people want...
Many bills have been passed to stop explicit messages in music from getting out. Censorship limits the amount of lyrics that get out to the community about violence. (History of Music Censorship) It may also limit anything in music that a community might find offensive to its values or beliefs. The lyrics presented in some songs are not appropriate for young adults. Some say music censorship goes against the First Amendment. It stops artists from expressing how they may feel. The profit on albums often goes down because of censorship. Censorship constantly targets rap and hip hop, and they are usually hit the hardest. (Forms of Music Censorship)
Many people say yes, that there should be censorship because lyrics from songs are telling our youth it is acceptable to participate in illegal actions such as murder, rape or drugs. These people believe that the lyrics actually drive people to become social deviants. In one case, the parents of John McCullom sued Ozzy Osbourne, because his song "Suicide Solution", "aided, advised and encouraged" McCullom's suicide (Nuzum 1).
Censorship is detrimental to society. People can’t learn from their mistakes if we hide them. People can’t decide the best option if we say there are no options. People can’t understand each other if they don’t know what anyone is thinking. People can’t mature when they are “protected” from mean words. People can’t be themselves when they are being censored.
There are a couple of different ways that I can think of for radio stations not to censor songs without parents worrying about their children hearing swears. One of which is to put a warning before inappropriate songs. Before a bad song comes on the radio station should put in a voice recording that says, “Parental discretion is advised.” Or something like that. Sometimes on Kiss 95.7 the people on the station announce a song before it comes on. When they do this before a bad song they could simply say, “This song contains inappropriate language. Parental discretion is advised.” Some parents will still be against my argument. Children today have access to the radio without having their parents around. I understand that they might ignore the warning and listen to the song anyways. However, I see no harm in a child hearing a bad song if they know that they should not go out and use that kind of language. I think it partially has to do with how a child is raised.
Everywhere someone turns there are censors, protection against “explicit material” and pixels to blur out the middle finger and body parts. If one turns on the tv, there will be blurs and bleeps between every channel and even parts being taken out of movies because of content that is censored from the audience. Words, music, and even television are censored to “prevent negative displays of cultures,individuals, or communities” (“Revealed…”).Censorship is mainly regarding parents and children- what they deem has the best and worst influence on them. Of course one can argue that censors are mandatory,for children especially, but in truth censors are non essential nuisances. What these censors do is create a barrier for teenagers and preteens from reality and what actually happens in real life. As well as shielding young children from harmful material that a child should not see. Although censors are needed to protect children from explicit material, there is also too much censoring in books,music, and television.
Censorship is Necessary to Protect Children from the Internet Do you want our future generations being exposed to violence, hate, sexuality, illegal substances, and false information, and then one day think it would be cool or alright to try these things? The internet is filled with dangerous information, that children should never have the freedom to access. Children learn from example, and if they search, watch, or read something on the web that could be potentially dangerous, they could be influenced or curious and think that it would be alright to imitate one day. If our children now are viewing these things, it could mean that future generations could grow to be more violent and our world could become more dangerous than it already is today. Censorship is necessary if we plan on having our kids grow up in the safest environment possible.
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.
To conclude, those offensive lyrics by rappers and rockers shouldn’t be available. These should be banned for good to keep minors from detrimental music. The facts proves these offensive songs have a horrific impact on minors and shouldn’t be heard in music ever
There are two real issues at stake when looking at this controversial topic. The first issue is finding a way to protect our children from potentially damaging material. There are advocates to censoring the Internet and removing this type of material because it will help shelter our children from this type of content. On the other hand, Free Speech advocates believe that it is the individual citizens right to have access to this typ...
The history of censorship on television shows that the amount of censorship has decreased over time. The amount of censorship also differs from country to country, and every network