Censored Art Analysis

Although we, as citizens of this country, are guaranteed freedom of speech and press by the first amendment, we are encouraged to “watch what we say”. In order to avoid unnecessary violence and to keep people from being offended, it is recommended the certain things be censored. While many may look at this censorship as a well-needed percussion it can reversely be seen as going against one's first amendment rights, in itself causing controversy.

Art has been around since the beginning of humankind and it has been and will always be a visual form of human expression, ideas, and morals. Art is subjective and everyone will feel differently towards one specific artwork. But disliking an artwork because it offends you does not mean that you must destroy it. Recently, a white artist, Dana Schutz created an abstract painting of Emmett Till, a 14 year old African American that was killed by a couple of white men because he supposedly whistled at a white lady. Many people have deemed this artwork as a form of cultural appropriation and have demanded the artist to take it down. Despite the controversies of this artwork, art should never ever be censored because it violates the artist’s freedom

A censor, according to Marriam Webster, is “an official who examines materials for objectional matter.” Censorship is the “actions or practices of censors.” Nazi Germany aspired to align professional and cultural organizations with their policies and ideals. The Government began to censor organizations of anything deemed Jewish or anti-nationalist. On May 10, 1933 students burned more than 25,000 books that didn’t mesh with Nazi ideals as a form of censorship. In 34 University towns across Germany, thousands of masterpieces

However, the amount of censorship on arts and media has been recently declining, “it’s ben glacial, but it’s happening” (Sterngold 8). Individuals who disagreed with the amount of censorship and the ideas or values being censored stood up and spoke what they believed. With the years of struggle, the pressure groups and individuals eventually won, resulting in less censorship in media. With less censorship, it allows people to speak what they believe, without fearing how society will react.

The subject of censorship is a very controversial one, especially the banning of books. Many people believe they must protect themselves and others from the "evils" of many classic books and works of art because they can be deemed "indecent" in one way or another. Many believe that this is absurd and censorship in its current form is a violation of our First Amendment right to free speech. Personally, I align myself with the latter, however I do feel there are occasions where censorship is justifiable. The censorship of books is a division of censorship that, apart from Internet censorship, receives the most publicity. Banning books is the most popular form of such censorship. Many banned books are literary classics, such as The Catcher in

Censorship has happened everywhere and happens everyday especially inside schools. In city schools there have been conflicts over what students should or should not learn. Censors decide that they should protect students from materials and activities that are upsetting and issue the wrong ideas. These ideas are said to "weaken parental authority, challenge students political moral, or religious views, or brainwash them into other ways of thinking (Sherrow10)." By protecting them they mean targeting academics. Courses that deal with drug prevention, sex education, development of character, or clarification of

The First Amendment speaks on the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition; so important, they found their place in the US Constitution. Even with these freedoms meaning so much to the majority of America, somehow today we still encounter differences in political and religious views that seem to provoke people to act violently against a piece of art or even physically against the artist that created it such as in the recent case of artist Illma Gore. Often the violent action of destroying a work of art is “more offensive” than the image itself. We should allow artists free reign of subject matter as well as style and work together to prevent art desecration and violence through education of the arts. Censorship is the result of the fear of art. When the fear of art turns into iconoclasm or, rejection of a valued belief system, that fear becomes lack of government funding, desecration, and physical violence.

Censorship has happened everywhere and happens everyday especially inside schools. In city schools there have been conflicts over what students should or should not learn. Censors decide that they should protect students from materials and activities that are upsetting and issue the wrong ideas. These ideas are said to "weaken parental authority; challenge students political moral, or religious views; or brainwash them into other ways of thinking (Sherrow10)." By protecting them they mean targeting academics. Courses that deal with drug prevention, sex education, development of character, or

Censorship can be found all the way back to 443 BC, Rome. It was used in Greece, and a good government meant the people were shaped well. In order for the people to be well shaped they needed censorship, which is why it was such an important job. The first law for censorship did not become established until 300 AD in China (Newth). Frank states that many works of art have been changed and sometimes even erased because the content was not liked by people. The biggest reason why people do not like by people were for religious, social, or political reasons. Censorship was pushed artists’ freedom away by not letting them fully express their work. In 1565, Michelangelo's famous Sistine Chapel fresco was said to be unholy and wrong in the Catholic

Understanding this, I want to make it clear that censorship should not be the solution. I believe that artists should be able to make and

Censorship is one of the most controversial topics in America today. It provides rules or discipline for new technology. It covers music, video games, movies, plays, and the internet. Censorship is all around us, but how has it affected our nation as a whole? Censorship is the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are “offensive,” happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others.

For example, the novel Of Mice and Men has been banned, because of racism and profanity. This can be seen when the characters in the book refer to the only African-American ranch hand as a “stable buck” or refer to him using the n-word (Steinbeck, J/ Of Mice and Men/ 1937). It is understandable to want to keep children protected, and to not repeat the behaviors of the characters in the book, but it is the ugly truth. It is an accurate depiction of the 1930’s and Great Depression era. In Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Sexual Grounds, Author Dawn Sova gives a brief overview of the book, From Here to Eternity. She said that it is about “American soldiers stationed in Hawaii in WWII,” and that it has been banned for its vibrant descriptions of when the soldiers took “trips to bars, to meet with women so they could temporarily quell their loneliness” (Sova, D,B/Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Sexual Grounds/ 1998). This is another example that illustrates the type of uncomfortable history that people may want to suppress, but it’s accurate historical fact and one of many stories about what took place during WWII. To censor this is wrong because others should have the right to learn from the

What’s even more disappointing than this prejudice is that most young people aren’t aware of the restrictions they live under. Censorship sets unclear boundaries about what is okay and what is inappropriate. We all know the basics: we aren’t allowed to use profanities, and create images or essays that touch on drug use, violence, gangs or sex - however lightly. But did you know that you can be suspended for what your teacher or principal considers unnecessary expression of your religion or sexual

Being an artist regardless of the medium is all about creativity. Allowing someone step in to enforce rules strips away that creativity. Art is about expressing thoughts and feelings stifling creativity can be detrimental to one's health. People are encouraged throughout life to be creative. Only to be censored by someone if their art is deemed inappropriate is absurd! Igniting that flame, then removing it in the same breath because some might find its offense is counterproductive.

Censorship is a very thought-provoking topic. For centuries artists have fought for their right to reveal their freedom of expression through their art. Restriction on art is not a cutting-edge concept. Censorship has been taking place since the 1500s, thus art has been restricted for ages. The suppression of art could be for a number of reasons. Political, moral and religious can all be possible reasons for censorship.