Censorship of Violence
Why does anyone care if our society is aggressive? Does the kid who decides to fire a gun into his school do so because he watched Natural Born Killers? Is violence in our communities really causing anyone any abnormal amount of heartache? To the victims, and the families and friends of the victims, surely it does. Perhaps there are still some individuals who care just for the sake of caring, not because they are grieving a loss. But what does it all mean, and what is causing it? Some will point fingers at their televisions and movie theatres and assert that they are to blame. Not being one in the habit of pointing fingers and making absurd accusations, I will explain the free will of man and his inalienable rights to free speech. To censor television and motion pictures because of one faction's set of morals is earily similar to book burning. Censorship of media messages is an explicit violation of our constitutionally protected right to expression, and as such, should not be looked to as a solution for modern-day violence in society. The First Amendment states; "Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." (Jefferson, US Constitution). We are an enlightened population well-versed in the understanding of our constitutionally protected natural rights. Freedom of Speech protects us, as citizens, from being persecuted for expressing our thoughts and ideas. This transcends into the idea of freedom of expression. We all have the right and ability to express ourselves, and to analyze the messages we receive. Our republic was founded on what were then radical, controversial ideas. The founding fathers understood the importance of freedom of expression. So why today do we not? Cries for censorship ring loudly across the nation. Kids are killing kids. Schools are slowly becoming places of violence, not educational institutions, and the solution is not to infringe upon our rights. Information is power. New ideas and thoughts propagate improvement. Without free expression, this is not possible. To control the free exchange of thoughts, ideas, and social and moral inquiry, is to severely handicap the intellect of our society. First and foremost, censorship is a blatant violation of free speech. Second, it is a poor approach to controlling the omnipresent problem of violence in society. In the novel...
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...lines of communication so that what is being watched is discussed. Teach the difference between reality and fantasy. It is not the duty of the government to monitor and regulate what Citizens do. This is a personal responsibility we have to ourselves. Open your eyes, pay attention to the messages around you, and make a conscious effort to analyze what you are accepting into your head. Censorship of media messages is an explicit violation of our constitutionally protected right to expression, and as such, should not be looked to as a solution for modern-day violence in society. Infringing upon our freedoms of speech and expression is not a substitute for being a responsible viewer. Paternalistic Moralism by the government limits our thinking. A universal code of acceptability confines our thoughts to that of one narrow faction. We have the right to express ourselves openly in many outlets. Censoring these outlets not only hurts the artist- be he a writer, painter, or musician, it also denies our society the opportunity to elevate its' thinking. Censorship of violent themes in the media accomplishes little to nothing, and has the exorbitant cost of our personal freedom of expression
Seven Works Cited Have you ever walked into a music store and seen those parental advisory stickers on most of todays' popular music? Or have you seen those TV ratings on the top left corner of your favorite shows? How about the ratings on your favorite video games? I'm sure you have, but do you really know what those so-called harmless stickers, and images do to the world of entertainment and your freedom of expression for that matter? A recent craze to promote "family values" in the U.S. has caused censorship panels to go entirely too far with the censorship of the entertainment industry including television, radio, the Internet, and even authors.
Thesis: Although some people believe that censorship is adequate to select what things does the society will be good and can live around it while others believe that there should be no censorship because it takes away your right of expression of freedom.
these scenes out to allow that age group to see it, it should be left
Without the history of Censorship, what type of things would children be watching? Without the unique methods of Censorship, what kinds of films would be being released into the public? Throughout this essay I will be explaining the steps taken to achieve the level of Censorship, that we have now.
Censorship is a way of controlling the actions of the people. However, censorship is clearly not necessary. The television programs you watch, music you listen to, and books you read are choices. America is based on choices. No one can make you watch, read, or listen to anything. So, if you do not like what is on television, there is a simple solution: close the book, change the radio or television station. Supreme Court Justice William Douglas said it best when he stated, “Restriction of free thought and speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.” Does America want to take the chance of destroying everything on which it was founded, and possibly destroy itself? It is something we, the people, need to sit down and think about.
Censorship is defined as the act or practice of removing obscene, vulgar, and highly objectionable material from things we encounter every day. Whether it is on TV, in music, books, or on the Internet censorship is an inescapable part of our lives. Free expression is one of the basic roots that are country is based on, although this right is constantly challenged and contested. The Communications Decency Act was passed by congress on February 1st 1996. This act sent shockwaves throughout the Internet community.
Teachers suspended, radio and television personalities fired, authors disinvited to speaking events, all because their words, opinions or shows did not agree with what a handful of people consider appropriate. One would think these types of situations regarding censorship happened decades ago, not in a time now, where people pride themselves on having an open-mind and the ability of forward thinking. However, censorship still prevails in America today, and not only censorship of pornography or violence on television, but it seeps into our textbooks and classrooms too, all in the name of protecting the children.
Exercising the freedom of speech has two sides: the speaker and the listener. Censorship is unfair to both sides. When it takes away the speaker’s Constitutional freedom of expression, it simultaneously revokes the listener’s right to develop an informed opinion based on unobstructed truth. This opinion has been supported by the courts. In 1982, an informal agreement between several broadcasters from major media outlets known as the Code of Broadcaster Conduct, which banned “depictions of sexual encounters, violence and drug use, as well as excessive advertising,” was nullified because it was a violation of First Amendment rights (“Broadcast Decency”). Excessive censorship is viewed as unnecessary by both the American public and by the government that endorses it.
It won't kill us to make limits, but it might if we don't. That is why it is JUSTIFIABLE to limit adult's freedom of expression--it is in our, society's, best interests to protect the children. Lional Tate is just one example of a child gone bad because of the media. Tate mimicked his idol the Rock, killing a six-year old girl by smashing her skull, pulverizing her liver, breaking her ribs and causing numerous cuts and bruises. If that's not enough of an example what about the teen from New Jersey who simply listened to Ozzy Osborne's "Suicide Solution" and killed himself? These are not random occurrences, we hear about them on the news frequently. If our freedom of expression is harming kids why can't we fix the problem by not allowing them access to it?
The government should not control the content of television shows and limit the amount of weekly violence shown. The responsibility of controlling the viewing of television shows expressing acts of violence should specifically be in the hands of parents. Parents are becoming too reliant upon governmental provisions with respect to raising their children and television violence is becoming an excuse for criminal acts. Children, especially younger children, are impressionable, but with proper guidance from a parental source in regards to television viewing, kids are not likely to act out violent television images.
of art, are removed or kept from the public. Censorship also occurs when materials are
Ever wondered the reason behind racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, children committing crime or violence? The main reason is that censorship is not properly imposed or there is a need of censorship in the society. Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain people, individual, groups or government officials find it objectionable, offensive or dangerous on 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. Hence censorship is essential in society to eliminate discrimination on basis of race and sex, 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 work of art are restricted to particular audiences based on their age or other characteristics. (http://www.ala.org/oif/intellectualfreedeomandcensorship.html)
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.
As new technologies evolve and become a part of our daily lives, so do television shows and what people are allowed to view on a regular basis. Censorship, a word that seems to be causing quite some controversy over certain people may not be such a bad idea. As America has seen, a countless amount of people have been known to complain about censorship on television. Although this seems to be a problem to some, maybe the real question to be asked is, is there enough censorship of television? Many families agree that certain rated R movies should not be shown to young children and only certain shows
Today there is much controversy over whether there should or shouldn’t be censorship of the media. Censorship should not be imposed on citizens by the government or other agencies; adults have a right to view or listen to what they choose. Additionally, if children’s media is censored, parents are the ones who should monitor and regulate it. Parents should be the ones to monitor children’s viewing of television and also what they hear on the radio, CD’s, and tapes.