Censorship

Censorship

The movie industry became a big hit in America after 1910. These movies were silent movies so therefore; we didn’t have the problem with vulgar language. The first spoken movie was in 1927, called The Jazz Singer. At that time, the movie industry was so worried about keeping his or her audience happy and didn’t want to offend anyone. That we didn’t have the problems that we have today. In 1922, William H. Hays founded the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. This organization, which later became the Motion Picture Association of America, established a code to make sure that all movies produced in America followed certain moral standards. Foul language, nudity, the use of words that had sexual overtones to them, and the depiction of various forms of sexuality and violence were all banned from films. These rules called “Hays Code” were followed by the movie industry for thirty years. By the 1960’s times had changed and audiences were more willing to view the kinds of things that had been banned by the Hays Code. Therefore, in 1966, the Hays Code was dropped. In 1968, the Motion picture Code and Rating Program replaced it. With this program, moviemakers voluntarily gave their movies one of four general ratings: "G" for general audience, all ages admitted; "PG" for parental guidance suggested; "R" for restricted audience, with no one under 17 admitted unless accompanied by an adult; and "X" for no one under 17 admitted at all.

Television came about in the 1950’s. Unlike the movies, the government regulates television because it is transmitted over the airwaves, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission. The reason for this is because there are only a limited number of frequencies that can be used for broadcasting and the Federal Communications Commission controls the rights to use them by issuing licenses to television stations. Under this law, these licenses must be renewed every three years. At the time of renewal, the Federal Communications Commission reviews the overall performance of the television shows. The Motion Picture Code and Rating Program needs to be reconsidered for the best interest of the children.

The first reason the Motion Picture Code and Rating Program needs to be reconsidered is because some television shows including talk shows and cartoons should be censor...

... middle of paper ...

...violent television programs without adult supervision, gave these tips.

Children should not spend more than ten hours a week watching television and playing video games. Plan with your children what programs they will watch during the week. Be alert to signals that children will give to indicate they don’t understand or like a program, such as turning away from the television. This will tell you that the program needs to be explained or that the television should be switched off. Offer children alternatives to watching television, such as reading, playing games or helping with an activity. However, with a more effective rating program that has the interest of children in mind, the burden on parents would be significantly less.

Bibliography:

Leblanc, Ren D. :Media's Littlest Victim." Women's Day. June 1997: 150. Internet.

EBSCOhost. October 4, 1998.

Peabody, Alvin. "Glamorized Violence on Television Continues To Pose A Serious Risk to Children." Gannett News Service. April 1998: 97. Internet.

Siano, Brian. "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed." Humanist. Vol. 54 (1994): 20. Internet.

Stein, Richard. Censorship: How Does It Conflict With Freedom? New York: 1995.