Censorship is the control of public communications. Because censorship occurs in some form within government, schools, media and popular culture, it is a very approachable, socially-relevant essay topic. Most of the time, censorship, while important, won’t get much wider dissemination beyond the student community.
That is partly because censorship isn’t as controversial. In fact, a survey conducted five years ago by the U.S. government found that 88% of adults had heard or seen government officials censor on-topic speech. Not so controversial when you consider the fact that, according to the New York Times, just 18% of American students ever see government officials censor or use the “n-word” (only 2%).
There are, however, some elements of censorship that are very, very controversial. As one professor of political science explains: “The fact that I would say people are free to say or think what they please that I would say people are free to be free to think different thoughts that’s what allows them to speak out. It’s not what stops them.”
The problem is, even though these values have been debated all over the world, in the U.S., most people tend to keep it in the family library, in schools and in government offices.
Ben Franklin stated that “Any society that will give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both”. In one form or another our society embraces censorship whether it’s intentional or not in order to ensure safety. Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, … Read more
Many countries have different kinds of leadership. They range from dictators to royalty, to multiple people having government leadership. The purpose of the government is to deal with laws, foreign countries, and, in a way, to gain power. The government will do what it takes to maintain power in the world and over its people. … Read more
Manga is the Japanese correspondent to comic books in the West and has been able to gain a large international following in the past 20 years. However, it is still a niche culture in America. Many people do not understand manga and create false assumptions regarding the topic. People do not understand the cultural differences … Read more
Art Censorship Art is a part of everyone’s life, whether they acknowledge it or not that’s different. Without the work of artists and their creative capabilities, life would be extremely difficult and depressing. Artists have always despised censorship and control by the government. In the digital age they come under more scrutiny as power hungry … Read more
Freedom of speech issues are constantly in the media today. There are plenty of incidents where people’s constitutional rights were met with great and unnecessary force. The First Amendment in the Constitution of the United States of America guarantees the freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, press, and the right to petition the government. These freedoms … Read more
The average citizen would be surprised how often he/she looks at any media related things, such as newspapers, television, books, even the internet, that are censored. Think about it. Have you ever watched a movie like 21 Jump Street on TV, and during a conversation, a character’s dialogue goes silent? The character’s lips seem to … Read more
The Persistent Propagation of Pernicious Propaganda Everyone is happy. Why shouldn’t they be? There is enough to eat, enough walls with family in them to keep everyone occupied, enough sports for others, and cars speeding to a hundred miles an hour for those who are adventurous. If someone is tired, there is always a fistful … Read more
Books have a numerous amount of ways to get banned. Book banning can cause the books not to be presented in certain places. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, was banned and challenged due to inappropriate language, rape, sexually explicit, racism, and not appropriate for certain age groups. Banning the books means to remove the … Read more
Clearly something hard to talk about constructively. “Obscenity” is difficult to discuss honestly. After all, what makes a thing obscene? It is Something too vague perhaps to be defined. It’s an elusive term we use, but can’t explain. Different people often see things differently. Some see obscenity in nude pictures, statues, paintings, etc. While others … Read more
Censorship plays a role in everything that is portrayed on the Internet. However, due to the size and its rapid growth, it has become almost impossible to control. In respect to censorship in the Internet, we will be examining the issues of pornography, privacy, security, and the Napster debate. In 1989, the World Wide Web … Read more
Censorship is summarily defined as the suppression of objectionable material. That means that material such as pornography, militant information, offensive language, anti-religion, and racism would be restricted in use. Freedom would not only be restricted to material placed on the web, but also what you could access, and where you could explore. Should the right … Read more
“Inevitably, being an uncontrolled system, means that the Internet will be subjected to subversive applications of some unscrupulous users. ” (Kershaw) The concept of the Internet was created in answer to a strategic problem faced by the United States government during the Cold war era. A nuclear attack would easily disrupt a traditional computer network … Read more
With more and more frequency the newspapers are reporting instances of school children distributing disks of pornographic images which they have downloaded from the net and recently a university student was found to be operating such a site for material. On November 11, an Associated Press release (Phillips,1994) reported that Carnegie Mellon University had decided … Read more
Censorship, so far as I see it, is like a law which prohibits swimming altogether because such a law will prevent someone from swimming in a sewer (Brower 1). Here, in the twenty-first century, the banning of thoughts and ideas in humanities and media has become one of the most widely disputed issues facing this … Read more
Censorship is the removal of material from public viewing or the ability to withhold any material from being released. Using this definition, this issue of pornography seems to be in the grey area of the censorship debate. On the one side there are the people who want to protect their children from pornography and violence, … Read more
The freedom to read is essential to the democratic way of life. But today, that freedom is under attack. Private groups and public authorities everywhere are working to remove both books and periodicals from sale, to exclude certain books from public schools, to censor and silence magazines and newspapers, and to limit “controversial” books and … Read more
I object to the gradual loss of the freedoms promised in the Constitution. This last outrage, the loss of part of our Freedom of speech and assembly, contained within the telecomm act of 96 is just another step along the road to complete police state takeover. We are being treated like recalcitrant teenagers by those … Read more
The beginnings of rap are believed to based on African rhythms that were used as a form of communication by the native peoples. The lyrical component of rap music is thought to have been greatly influenced by Cab Galloway with his repetitive chants and scats, along with his call-and-response technique with the audience. Rap evolved … Read more
The beginnings of rap are believed to based on African rhythms that were used as a form of communication by the native peoples. The lyrical component of rap music is thought to have been greatly influenced by Cab Galloway with his repetitive chants and scats, along with his call-and-response technique with the audience. Rap evolved … Read more
During the past decade, our society has become based solely on the ability to move large amounts of information across large distances quickly. Computerization has influenced everyone’s life. The natural evolution of computers and this need for ultra-fast communications has caused a global network of interconnected computers to develop. This global net allows a person … Read more
The Vietnam War’s Effects on American Society The Vietnam War had a profound effect on American society. It changed the way we viewed our government, the media, and our Constitutional rights. Because of this shift in perspective, the country was torn apart and yet still came together in new and different ways. The Vietnam War’s … Read more
Things are heating up in America. People are protesting outside of the movie theaters, concerts, and book and record stores of this great nation everywhere. What is all the fuss about? Censorship, Government officials and raving mad protesters alike have been trying to stop the expressive creativity in everything from Marilyn Manson to Mark Twain. … Read more
During the past decade, our society has become based solely on the ability to move large amounts of information across large distances quickly. Computerization has influenced everyone’s life. The natural evolution of computers and this need for ultra-fast communications has caused a global network of interconnected computers to develop. This global net allows a person … Read more
Freedom or Suppression ? Government censorship can be looked at as a blessing or an unneeded burden. I personally feel that all censorship is completely unnecessary and should be found unconstitutional. It is the countless moral views that bring no right answer for what should and should not be censored. I know that the governments … Read more