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Debate about censorship
The bad side of censorship
The bad side of censorship
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The Dilemma of Censorship
The issue of censorship always provides an interesting debate. There
are many intelligent and very valid arguments for and against the
issue. However I strongly believe that the act of censorship is
wrong.
I believe that all films, songs and television programs should be
released uncut from any government or senior authority intervention.
A film or piece of music is a work of art, thus it should be marketed
as its creator intended. Because of this the cutting of a film or
censoring of a song is the same as the mutilation of a painting or an
act of vandalism.
Indeed musicians are often referred to as artists and this especially
true of those that right there own music, it reflects their emotions
and feeling and who has the right to censor someone’s feelings, past
and emotions.
In the case of films censorship is widely used as a marketing ploy.
The largest market for cinemas is the 14-17 age group. Therefore by
editing a possible 18 rated film down to a 15 it stands better chance
of being big at the box office, thus making it more money. This is
made more probable by the fact that in Britain cuts are agreed between
the British Board of Film Classification and the distributor-not the
writer or director! I understand that is not suitable for an 11 yr
old to watch a film with a large sexual content but instead of cutting
these scenes out to allow that age group to see it, it should be left
to the appropriate age to view. i.e. (certificate 18) The BBFC is
fully aware that if a film is given an 18 certificate than some 16 and
17 yr olds will see it and if a 15 certificate is awarded to a fi...
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Hollywood ‘blockbusters’ that do so. Real art with a real moving
message should not be tampered with it should be offered to the world
unexpurgated and uncut.
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that,
‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this
right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to
seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and
regardless of frontiers.’
Thus making censorship an absolute breach of ones human right.
Unfortunately, this world is not safe, censored or kind. It consists
of murderers, rapists, and some intensely sick people. Why should we
be forced to have our artists and our creative people’s thoughts
feelings idea’s and emotions of the world culled and conformed to make
sure its ‘safe’?
Although Valenti and the Rating System's advocates claim that parents should have the final choice in what their children view, the system may, in practice, obstruct that purpose for parents who decide that their children should see some films. For films with the controversial NC-17 rating, the theatre is prevented from letting young John Small and his under-aged ilk from seeing a film despite his parents' permission. In fact, had John actually been accompanied by his parents, the theatre would have had every right -- some would even say responsibility -- to refuse his admission. The printing of the NC-17 rating often does not read -- as would be reasonable -- "Intended for Adults Only" but rather the more rigid "Not to be Attended by Children Under Seventeen.
The MPAA rating system was once a good source for people to find out whether a movie would contain immoral or violent images; currently the system has grown to become ineffective in today’s society. Society changes as well as movies; content and subject matter has changed for movies of this generation. If the system is not changed it will not help parents to know what movies will be appropriate for their children to watch. Because of the influence and prevalence of movies in our society and culture today a rating system is important, if that system fails to do its duty the negative influence that the movies can have on the children and youth of tomorrow will be great.
In today?s society, we value and learn to tolerate different cultures and people. Sometimes people end up expressing themselves differently as well. This country is based on the idea that we may express ourselves any way we want to, be it religion, organizing, writing, or speaking. Music has been a popular form of expression for centuries. These days, in the country best known for freedom, some people are trying to censor it the freedom of music. Music should not be censored along with any other form of expression otherwise what we and artists say are being controlled. If we value freedom, then that includes what we may say and how we say it even in musical form.
Music censorship has been debated since the beginning of recording history. The censoring of music is the practice of restricting free access to musical works. Songs with strong language, racist views, or harmful references will have warning labels on them. There are currently no laws regarding the censorship of music. Censorship originated from a wide variety of motivations, including moral, political, military or religious reasons. The censoring of music is incorrect and should be eradicated. Music has been prominent in culture for thousands of years; it is a big contributing factor to moral compositions, for some it is a personal refuge, for others it is enjoyment, music is an important aspect and to censor music would be racially discriminative, insensitive, and detrimental towards society.
it was 12 for a girl and 14 for a boy and again this is apparent in
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)
On one hand, people believe that lyrics should be censored so that people can be protected. And on the other hand, people believe that the First Amendment protects everyone's rights to free speech. Basically, it is a matter of whether lyrical censorship is accepted. Many people say yes, that there should be censorship because lyrics from songs tell 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.
Despite the fact that the ACB admits adults should be able to watch, play and read what they want, the sole criterion provided for RC classification is “content that is very high in impact and falls outside generally accepted community standards.” (Australian Classification Board, 19/5/2013).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Imagine yourself with your friends at the movies. All of you finally want to see the movie you have been waiting for over and over and over again. But there is but only one problem. When you and your friends finally want to see that movie, you all find out that the movie is R-rated and you need to be 17 or older or be accompanied by an adult. Doesn’t that make you feel angry? Later, you have to wait until the movie is re-released on DVD or Blu-Ray or watch it on Netflix. R-rated movies have mature content such as various weapons and have ways of showing gore or violence. There are movies like Taken or The Hangover that obtain such content.
Just like movies and TV shows, video games have the same rating system based on age.
Every human possesses some guaranteed basic freedoms and rights, whether it is the freedom of speech, or the freedom to express themselves. However, the government seems to be increasingly determined to limit these freedoms using censorship to confine these rights that we usually take for granted. The most important facet of media in general is that it allows people to express themselves freely. In fact, this freedom of expression that music allows us is one of the primary reasons why it exists. Sadly, many of the current artists have forgotten that, but nonetheless, censorship seems to always be there to limit the expression of those who choose to place deeper messages in their songs. Tackling censorship is much more important than it appears to be at the surface; to take down censorship would help preserve the expression of thought. It would help preserve the right to listen to the unaltered forms of everything. Most importantly, it would help preserve the rapidly weakening basic right of speech.
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.
Factors Contributing to Movie Publicity One might argue that the movie quality would be the key determinant in
Is Censorship Justified? Ever wondered the reason behind racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, children committing crimes or violence? The main reason is that censorship is not properly imposed or there is a need for censorship in the society. Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain people, individuals, groups or government officials find objectionable, offensive or dangerous to 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.
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.