Essay about Should Art Be Censored?

1. Clary, Greg. “Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei’s art becomes his messenger”. CNN. CNN, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Sep. 2014. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/13/us/weiwei-exhibit-washington/

Some people think that the fictional violence portrayed on television is harmless entertainment . Others disagree and think that it encourages violent behavior.

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

For instance in the novel the protagonist Guy Montag says “Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave.They might just stop us from making the same damn insane mistakes! I don't hear those idiot bastards in your parlor talking about it”. In this quote we can see some of the effects of extreme censorship, where it can lead to people not being able to discuss certain topics and talk about things that are important because other people find it offensive or can’t even get the news out in the first place because of censorship. Another negative thing that could be caused by censorship is that in a way it would take away the some of our freedom for example in The New York Times article “Lights out, Huck, They still want to sivilize you” it says “This is the academic equivalent od Ed Sullivan in 1967 prudishly making the Rolling Stones change ‘Let’s spend the night together’ to ‘Let’s spend time together.’ Or Cole Porter having to change ‘cocaine’ in ‘I Get a Kick Out of You’ to ‘perfume in Spain’.” In this example you can see how there are other artists that have already have some of their artistic freedom taken away unfairly because of

“She chose to live with it by looking, by seeing, by trying to know- by making an act of private witness.” Censoring images and artwork removes the right to see and know for oneself, a right all people should

Should libraries and schools censor books? Many people think that schools and libraries should censor books but others disagree. While some believe that censoring prevents youth from gaining access to books that are not appropriate, schools and libraries should not practice censorship because it limits the available books and prevents youth from learning how to censor for themselves.

Censorship is “anti-creation” and “the censor’s lie actually succeeds in replacing the artist’s truth”. When something is censored, it is then “thought to have deserved censorship”. This shows that artists need to feel liberated to feel safe enough to be creative and not be silenced by people’s criticism. When something is censored it becomes attacked and starts to define the

Freedom of expression is a right given to fuel people’s imaginative minds that are occupied with different thoughts and opinions. Censorship is only an obstacle, preventing people from expressing their inner beliefs by replacing it with fake ones. Censorship actively prohibits and suppresses people’s opinions to speak up in society freely and openly. It restricts the common adult or child of any gender from being themselves and fighting for what they believe in. Censoring speech and expression only establish greater problems than the one attempting to be resolved that both prevent people from expressing themselves and cover the ears of those who are willing to listen.

After months of planning, sketches, and failed attempts, you finally produce what you believe to be the masterpiece of your career. It is an expression of you and an extension of your soul wrapped inside the breathtaking colors spread across the canvas. A little over a month later, the art director of the museum is forced to take down your work because it is too explicit for the general public. This is what countless artist around the globe experience over and over again. Art censorship has been a conversational topic since the birth of art and remains one today. The article I chose, “Censorship of Offensive Art” by Paul Zelanski and Mary Pat Fisher, speaks about the ongoing debate of art censorship.

The value of freedom can sometimes be difficult to appreciate – when we live in such a great country, we tend to put a “bubble” around ourselves that prevents us from realizing the ways in which others are oppressed. However, the right to creatively express

The era of accountability has heavily swayed public schools towards narrowing the curriculum across content and disciplines. Student test scores have become the measure in which states, districts, schools, classrooms, and teachers are deemed “excellent.” Also, many schools have been confronted with budget cuts that determine the content offered in schools. Unfortunately, arts programming across the United States’ K-12 public education has been minimized and/or not given the proper attention it deserves. To strengthen the argument for arts education, researchers have developed the integration of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to curriculum and lesson planning. I argue that the integration of the arts in classroom curriculum with early childhoods students can provide benefits not only for students but teachers. Arts education centers on allowing both students and teachers to engage in creativity and bring out their multiple intelligence. I recognize four reasons why arts education is a valuable tool with young children: (1) arts can be used across subjects and context (interdisciplinary), (2) it touches on the needs of different learners (multiple intelligence), (3) flexibility that allows creativity in the classroom, and (4) shifts away from traditional methods of rote learning.

During the Zhengfeng (1942-1944), the Chinese Communist Party strongly believed that artistic expressions lacked a unified cultural approach. As such, they used various methods to consolidate ideological unanimity among cadres around Maoism. In his “Talks at the Yan 'an Forum on Literature and Art,” Mao Zedong stresses the struggle on the cultural front as an indispensable

Most people would agree that music and art programs in schools have a huge impact on students not only academically, but in just about every aspect of their lives. Studies have shown that students who are involved in music and art programs have an overall higher IQ and show signs of many other academic benefits. Participating in such programs also allow students the opportunity to express themselves artistically and show the world their perhaps otherwise hidden potential. We all know how fun it can be to show the world your unexpected abilities, and what better way to show those off than the place where we spend most of our day-to-day lives? Unfortunately, even with all these obvious benefits, when the school budget is short, the first

As always, there are those individuals that oppose the power to censor. There are members of society that believe in the freedom to speak publicly and to publish. This is a basic belief in the freedom of expression and is to be protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. On the eve of the bicentennial of the Bill of Rights, the first wave of a nationwide survey, comprising more than 1500 citizens was conducted. Through this survey it was found that American rate free speech as their second most precious First Amendment right and regard a free press highly in the abstract. Although there are strong cases made for and against censorship, the rising trend calling for censorship can threaten our basic rights to free expression and the right to be informed. At the center of the debate is the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees our right to read, speak, write, and communicate freely. The government at the state or federal level cannot

Schools that offer fine arts classes have lower dropout rates and raised attendance. The fine arts positively impact students of lower socioeconomic status more those of a higher  status. The fine arts have no barriers for race, religion, and culture when it comes to being involved in the arts. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to be involved (Katy Independent School District). Without the arts these students have no outlet for creative capabilities and no way to express their talents. Students who need this way of expressing themselves are overlooked and they are the ones who need it the most (Dickson). When viewing the participation of arts in the eyes of a ten-year old, “It cools kids down after all the other hard stuff they have to think about” (Arts and Smarts: Test Scores and Cognitive Development).