The Importance Of Censorship Of Art

Once upon a time, in a world not far from here, there are students who are forced to miss their annual train ride to Hogwarts, lock the wardrobe to the magical land of Narnia, and walk through the English countryside themselves instead of upon the back of Black Beauty. Why are these students deprived of those occurrences? They live in America, the land of the free- except when it comes to the books they can read. In fact, many schools across America exercise the practice of banning books. Since 1982, libraries, parents, and schools have attempted to ban 11,300 novels, according to the American Library Association. The essentially innoxious books are challenged for an assortment of reasons, including use of malapropos language, graphic or explicit

On the other hand, some people argue that book censorship is a violation of their constitutional right to freedom of speech, and the right to self expression. One article puts its effects this way, “Permitting restraints on literature sets the stage for attacks on all expression that is artistically or politically controversial or that portray unpleasant realities of life.” This,

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

“Censorship is the tool of those who have the need to hide actualities from themselves and from others; their fear is only their inability to face what is real.” While adults are capable of making rationalized decisions based on extreme conditions, children and other vulnerable groups are unable to, and therefore rely on a more palatable means of communication. Consequently, it is best to use censorship in a corresponding manner. Censorship is the act of suppressing ideas which may be considered objectionable, harmful, insensitive, etc. All around the globe, whether it be school systems, government, religious organizations, or even media outlets, people have debated against the practice of censorship and the effects of such an imposition.

Book banning is a prime target for censorship. Censorship in print media, notably book banning, occurs across homes, schools, stores, and other facilities daily. Censorship in the schools is the most widespread and exposed place for book banning. Do

Many books have been challenged or censored during different places and time periods. For example, the earliest book censorship in America was done by the Puritans in the 1600s. Seven decades ago, the Nazi Regime censored and modified The Bible in order to create a version that suited their ideologies. Today, “10 percent of all books” are removed from the public view (“2016 Book”). Nearly “ninety-nine percent” of the books that are challenged are pulled, or essentially banned, from three locations that need it the most: “the public library, school, and school library” (“2016 Book”). These are the places where people obtain knowledge from and it would be a loss to libraries to have a book removed from their shelves. Right now, the two largest demographics that support censorship are “parents and patrons” (”2016 Book”). In the past, they have had an upper hand due to financial backing from patrons, people or organizations that commit to a cause. These supporters believe that censorship must exist to prevent harm towards readers. On the other

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.

Books have been banned throughout history by rulers who want to control their subjects. In the famous novel Fahrenheit 451, books were illegal and any books that were found were to be immediately burned. Basic human rights of these imaginary citizens seemed to have been violated, but these key examples are nothing like book banning in schools. Books are banned in school libraries every year; they are singled out for having inappropriate content, which some believe should not be allowed to be read by students. Content that should not be read by students includes profanity, racial slurs, violence, and sexual situations. Unlike in the past, people are allowed to argue against the banning of books

Book Banning in Schools Books are banned in school libraries every year. They are pointed out for having inappropriate content, which some believe should not be allowed to be read by students. Unlike in the past, people are allowed to argue against the banning of books as well as fight for it. There are many arguments for the banning of books, such as: it protects family values, parents must protect children from the offensive material that can be found in them, and there are legal standards for the removal of books. On the other hand, there are some that believe that students need bold books to further grow and mature.

Censorship, is when a piece of art is monitored because the content is not appropriate for society or people of all ages. I believe that censorship hurts the artist and their right to freely express themselves.

As an essential part of culture, art is arguably at the core of culture, which naturally leads to the importance of art censorship in America’s Culture Wars. Also, decision for selecting art works which could own fellowship and funding reflected the conflict in politics between different parties and groups. So, the significance of censorship would be questioned and the standard of choosing some outstanding works to receive funds would be attacked in this American Culture war.

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.

value in the work of choice. Seldom is the teacher or librarian alone in thinking

During the late 20th century early 21st century. A movement spun up of people who rejected the condition of athletics and preferred to work with shocking Subject matter otherwise known as the abject. “Abject art is used to describe artworks which explore themes that transgress and threaten our sense of cleanliness and propriety particularly referencing the body and bodily functions. The term abjection literally means ‘the state of being cast off.”(TATE, n.d.) . Some of these artists include Cindy Sherman, Tracy Emin and the David Lynch.

First, censorship may obstruct the Freedom of Creativity‬ of the artist, which will affect the development of the Art industry. The idea of the artworks is independent to the artist, who