This essay aims to explore the necessities of censorship and the roles it plays in society. It will start by defining the term ‘censorship’ and an introduction to what is and has been censored through different periods of history. Finally, this essay will explore if there is a need for censorship in society with a focus on undesirable material and its effects on children and why.
The word ‘censor’ is defined as ‘to examine and expurgate’. The word is derived from the Latin ‘census’, and refers to the count of the citizens and an evaluation of their property for taxation purposes in ancient Rome. It is also defined as the administration and control of the information and ideas that are circulated among the people within the general public.
In modern times, censorship refers to the inspection of books, periodicals, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports, and other communication media for the purpose of changing, altering or suppressing parts thought to be objectionable or offensive. The objectionable material may be considered immoral or obscene, heretical or blasphemous, subversive or rebellious, or damaging to the national security. Thus, the rationale for censorship is that it is necessary for the protection of three basic social institutions: the family, the church, and the state.
One of the first known examples of censorship existed in ancient Greece, despite its notoriety for its open-minded approach to lifestyle in general (orgies were common and beloved by both the rich and poor). In Athens, where democracy first grew, Socrates opted to sacrifice his life rather than accept the censorship of his teachings in 399 BC. Charged with the worship of new divinities of his own and not acknowle...
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...RT, Richard, The Administration of Aesthetics: Censorship, Political Criticism & The Public Sphere, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1994
3. SMITH, Nigel, Literature & Censorship, D.S Brewer, Cambridge, 1993
4. FISH, Stanley, There’s No Such Thing As Free Speech, Oxford University Press, New York, 1994
5. POWELL, Anton, Athens & Sparta: Constructing Greek Political & Social History From 478 B.C, Routledge, London, 1993
6. GREEN, Peter, A Concise History Of Ancient Greece To The Close Of The Classical Era, Thames & Hudson, London, 1991
7. HEINS, Marjorie, Not In Front of the Children: Indecency, Censorship, and The Innocence Of Youth, Hill & Wang, New York, 2002
8. Asia One, http://www.asiaone.com
9. Think Centre, http://www.thinkcentre.org
10. SG e-zine, http://www.sgezine.com.sg
11. SingaporeArt.org, http://www.singaporeart.org
Dillon, Mathew, and Garland, Lynda. Ancient Greece: Social and Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of Socrates. Routledge International Thompson Publishing Company, 1994, pp. 179-215
Karolides, Nicholas J. Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1998. Print.
Bury, J. B.; Russell Meiggs (2000). A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great
Censorship has been used all throughout history, mainly to prevent the spread of a way of life different than what is accepted. “One of the earliest acts of state-sponsored censorship conducted for the “supposed” common good of the people came in 399 B.C. with the execution of Socrates” (randomhistory.com). The reason for his execution was corruption of the young, but really he was only inspiring a new way of thinking. His teaching drew the youth of Athens away from the traditional Greek culture. This angered the Athenian government and made them fear a revolt. To prevent (censor) his teachings from spreading they sentenced to death.
Censorship is defined as the act of taking out unacceptable parts from books, movies, and other content available to the public eye. In Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, censorship takes over a major part of the citizen’s lives. In the modernistic era, the story is based upon a lot of television and is censored to the important and educational content we have in the present, such as; books, which open doors to infinite amounts of knowledge.
What is censorship? An encyclopedia defines censorship as "the control of what people may say or hear, write or read, or see or do1." There are many reasons why people censor entertainment such as literature and music. Many governments or groups try to preserve their standards of morality by preventing people from learning about or following other standards2, commonly found in the two previously mentioned mediums. There are different ways to censor things. It can be on a local level, such as libraries refusing to carry a controversial book. It can also be on an entirely larger scale. In the 1770’s, French author Beaumarchais had two of his plays, The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, banned by King Louis XVI.2 Back then, these plays were considered outrageous and sometimes blasphemous. To fully understand how our system of censorship works today, we have to look into history to see how censorship got started.
...d Tracey M. DiLascio. "Point: Censorship Undermines Democracy." Points of View: Censorship & Democracy. N.p.: Sally Driscoll, 2013. 2. Web. 2 Feb. 2014.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
Censorship by definition is the suppression of speech or removal of communicative material which may be considered objectionable or repulsive. Censorship is nothing new and its effects are constantly felt throughout society. Many societies use censorship to protect the established moral and social order. Book censorship in western cultures can be traced to the earliest years of Christianity, when the church began to suppress opposing views as unorthodox. In ancient times, before the printing press and the mass production of literature, book burning was an effective form of censorship. This process guaranteed that no one would ever read them. Although book burning was very efficient it is now used as more of a gesture of protest to shock people rather than a real method of destroying a book. In modern times, censorship refers to the examination of media including books, periodicals, plays, motion pictures, television shows and radio programs for the purpose of altering or suppressing parts thought to be offensive. Today’s censorship occurs when certain people succeed in imposing their personal or moral values on others. Censorship deals mainly with the first amendment constitutional. “The law requires that if a book is to be removed, an inquiry must be made as to the motivation and intention of the party calling for its removal. If the party’s intention is to deny students access to ideas with which the party disagrees, it is a violation of the First Amendment” [First Amendment Center]. Though the First Amendment bars government authorities from prohibiting the free exercise, abridging the freedom of speech or practicing religious censorship in the United States, individuals have successfully pushed to remove books from public and ...
Witherbee, Amy and Cushman, C. Ames. "Counterpoint: Sometimes Censorship is Necessary." 2011. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 March 2012.
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 has been a factor in the lives of humans since long ago in the times of the ancients, however, its prominence increased during the Middle Ages when literature became more common. Take censorship of books, for example, which has been relevant since the time after the persecution of the church, when it banned books about and/or including superstitions or opposition towards them, such as the condemnation of Thalia by Arius, a novel which portrayed “a literal, rationalist approach to the New Testament texts” (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/589822/Thalia), when “The First Ecumenical Council of Nicæa (325) condemned, not only Arius personally, but also his book... …The Emperor Constantine commanded that the writings of Arius and his friends should be burned and that concealing them was a capital crime, punishable by death.” (Rick Russell Former editor of AB Bookman's Weekly.) We look back on this as monstrous and wretched to deny someone their opinions and hide away the history from the public simply because it was in the favor of any particular group or sect. However, when we use censorship as a way for parents and teachers of children to regulate the reading material that we allow them to associate with, it’s suddenly justified and correct. Those censoring the books obviously think so. They hold the belief that they are protecting their youth from violence, harsh language, and crude humor. Parents and teachers around the nation censor The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain for similar reasons, but they continue to overlook the bigger picture. This title teaches the history of our nation, important life lessons, and the responsibilities of maturity and of growing up.
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 is blocking or hiding something that is considered unacceptable to the public eye or a group of a certain age. In looking at the effects of censorship on society, it is apparent that it can both be beneficial and harmful. Censorship is seen to be beneficial through preventing dangerous people from viewing government documents and preventing children from viewing inappropriate content. Censorship can be harmful when it comes to taking away rights declared in the Constitution and setting unequal standards for men and women. These examples show how effects censorship has on society can be both good and bad. Looking at facts and credible opinions is a way to truly see how censorship has negative and positive effects.
Kieran, M. (2008, January 28). Art, censorship and morality. Open Learn, the Open University. Retrieved January 5, 2014 from http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/philosophy/art-censorship-and-morality