Government Must Not Censor The Arts Essay

The people that control what is censored are groups of people who find it either misleading or harmful and believe that others should not be exposed to it either, but this system seems unfair and biased against those who do not have an issue with the challenged work. American author Mark Twain once stated that “Censorship is telling a man that he can’t eat a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.” This quote is very true because the complaints one person has about a book or TV show should not stop people who want to view the content from being able to access it.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, Censorship is: “The suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security:” In practice this means that anything deemed offensive by certain authorities may be banned,for example: Criticism of a regime in songs.

Censorship has been a touchy topic over the past few years. Everyone has their own opinion on the topic, but the fact is censorship is way more damaging than people may notice. First off, the definition of censorship is to restrain, block, and censor ideas and information that some may find offensive. The basic definition of censorship completely violates the First Amendment. We, as Americans, have the right to Freedom of Speech. Censorship blocks that by blocking anything some may find offensive. It’s not fair because they’re blocking out how people feel/think just because someone found it “offensive” or wrong. It completely contradicts the First Amendment. People have the right to know about the world and what’s happening. Keeping the

Censorship is oft used to mute freedom of speech and self-expression, which are human rights. We need them to express individuality, to differentiate ourselves from each other. There was a teenaged boy who came out as gay, and when he told his story, it was censored from his school newspaper.

There is a difference between censorship and prior restraint. Censorship is the censoring of writing by government officials, and it is a way to control the flow of information under the constitution before it is published; the prior restraint is a form of censorship and is an official government restriction from speech prior to publication. Moreover, these things can be censored; speech, art, books, films, plays, photography, TV programs, Radio programs, Internet, News reports, etc. Usually prior restraint worked before the expression is made public by government, but censorship imposed by government, licensing, or self-censorship.

The idea of censorship has been a part of society for a long time. In her book Censorship, Judy Monroe explores this topic. In her book, Monroe studied that censorship is dated back to 443 B.C. when the Roman government elected officials to check the moral and conduct of their citizens( Monroe 10). This means that censorship has been part of

One of the most egregious examples of censorship in modern United States history is the censorship of art and other media performed by the FCC. The FCC is responsible for censoring ‘obscene material.’ This ‘obscene material’ includes speech that “criticize, ridicule, “stereotype” or demean individuals or groups because of the religion, race, nationality, gender or other characteristics of the group or individual;” the FCC also regulates for ‘indecent’ sexual content, and ‘profane’ content (1). There are a few issues with this regulation: A) what is offensive is subjective and B) legitimate criticism of the aforementioned list exists. At the end of the day, whether or not something is offensive is up to the individual, and legislating what can and cannot be said based off of the opinions of the

In 1791, the United States adopted the first amendment, which states that “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (Ivers, 2013).” The freedom of speech that is documented in the First Amendment is not only constitutional protected, but it’s also a very important part of the democratic government independence, which holds essential values in our society. American citizen’s right to free speech should be held as one of the highest virtue and any censorship of freedom of speech should not be allowed, but only respected

What is censorship exactly? Censorship is suppression of words, images, and ideas that can be offensive in nature to society (“What is Censorship?). Censorship doesn’t focus on media outlets, but it can be applied to a wide selection of topics. These include speech, art, books, films, plays, photography, television programs, radio programs, internet sources, and media outlets (“Defining Censorship”). How are these censored you might ask? It’s not only the government who censors topics, but it can be from different sources. The federal, local, and state governments, churches, private groups, speakers, writers, artists, and quite frankly anyone has the ability to censor what they want (“Defining Censorship”). Why would these sources want

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Censorship has been around for hundreds of years. From 213 BC to now it has had a large part in everyday life. Censorship will unfortunately be a part of our lives for a long time in the future. The AASA defines censorship as the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary,artistic,or educational materials--of images, ideas, and information--on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise in light of standards applied by the censor. That means that when you suppress information you take away the information that people need to not discriminate. Therefor, censorship is harmful because it controls people's education and knowledge of the real world.

Censoring art is taking away the freedom of the people to view what they have the rights to view. There is nudity and sex scenes

For many artists, the most fundamental muse is the power to express oneself both openly and freely. To restrict an artist and their right to free speech seems to be indicative of upholding the stature and integrity of the nations that it represents. What if art is used for the simple purposes of entertainment, rather than inform? While free speech is regarded by many Americans as an important right, courts grapple with several fundamental issues (Kammen 2007). An increase in the freedom of expression suggests an increase in the amounts of instigated censorship, which in turn, creates numerous effects, both negative and positive, that have been attested to art and its public funding. But first, why not explore why we should fund the arts.

Being frustrated is disagreeable, but the real disasters in life begin when you get what you want. For almost a century now, a great many intelligent, well-meaning and articulate people have argued eloquently against any kind of censorship of art and entertainment. Within the past twenty years, courts and legislatures have found these arguments so persuasive that censorship is now a relative rarity in most states.

The founders of the United States wrote protections into the Constitution and established the government in such a way as to prevent tyrannical leaders from censoring others’ viewpoints. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press”. This amendment guarantees free speech, and censorship is a direct violation of the First Amendment rights promised in the Constitution. There will inevitably be issues of controversy among people and stances that the majority finds incorrect. However, the purpose of the First Amendment is to give everyone the opportunity to speak his or her ideas and opinions, no matter how controversial.