What I learned in this class was more reinforcement and broadening of two simple ideas that I had already possessed: open-mindedness and choice. These seem to be the key terms upon which this class was built. I learned that an astounding rate of those who would ban or censor certain books had never even opened said books, let alone read them.
How can one judge something one does not understand? It’s a philosophical question, and I may be straying from my point, but there’s a lack of understanding that revolves around censorship. Andrew Smith said: “People fear what they don’t understand”. How can anyone be certain of the obscenity of any art form without bothering to look within the contents? I believe that no one should. They do, of course, and this is the problem.
There should be more awareness about what exactly the public is and is not allowed to encounter. The MPAA rating system censors sexual content four times more than violent content. Female pleasure is censored more than male pleasure, although nudity of a woman is more widely accepted that male nudity. There is a deeply endowed sexist mentality that is rampant in the industry, but that is another argument entirely. The fact is that it is not fair. Movies and books should be available to everyone, period.
People should be allowed to make the decision for themselves whether or not they want to watch a movie with a sex scene, or read a book which has a vivid murder scene. If someone doesn’t want to be privy to those art forms, then they should not be forced to partake. Taking away everyone else’s opportunity to enjoy something just because a small group may disagree with the content is wrong.
That’s my issue with censorship.
That’s what I learned in this class.
Expand Your Mind 