Sunday, April 22, 2007
Censorship
Consider the merits/demerits of censorship and state your reasons why you think it is un/necessary.
Censorship is withholding of information from the public by a controlling group or body usually by governments, religious groups, or the mass media. Some feel censorship is a violation of their rights of a freedom of speech and expression. Others say censorship is a must in the violent, abusive world today, where the media has a great influence over our lifes.
Censorship is necessary to prevent sensitive issues from being brought up in the media, such as racial and religious issues. In Singapore context, it is important that the media maintain its neutrality towards such issue to prevent tensions or even riots from arising. One recent example would be the publication of a cartoon in the Danish newspaper which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad. This resulted in much controversy and rioting, particularly in the Muslim world. There were also boycotts of Danish goods.
Another reason for censorship is to protect the young and weak-minded from sex, drugs and violence. It ensures that negative messages do not get to people and that they will not be influenced or affected by it. Television programmes now are getting more violent. The people watching it, especially children, may be more likely to behave in agressive ways and imitate what they see on the television. They may become more fearful of the world around them and become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. From the article, "Rap music blamed for teen pregnancy" and "Does Rap Put Teens at Risk?", studies have shown that many of the violent and sexually degrading lyrics in rap music caused changes in teenagers' sexual behaviour and caused agressive behaviour in them.
"These lyrics are likely to promote the acceptance of women as sexual objects and men as pursuers of sexual conquest"
Teenagers are more likely to practice numerous destructive behaviours such as hitting a teacher too.
However, not having censorship may not be a bad thing. It will expose the young people, thus they will be more matured. The media can show the harsh life of the world out there to teenagers, and teach us not to take things for granted. Some people may feel that having freedom of expression is part of their human rights too, and thus, censorship should be abandoned.
The media can influence the people. But people have control over whatever they do. Personally, I believe that the consumers and viewers should be charged with the ultimate responsibility of self-censorship. Parents can also discuss with their children what they have learnt or what is harmful for them after watching a programme, and instill in them the correct moral values.
It is the duty of the media to remain an impartial observer. However, there are many other sources of media such as the internet, which has become a commonplace in our lifes, and contain many uncensored materials. Driven by human curiousity, humans may attempt to find out the truth or the full story behind an article or programme from other sources and obtain more unsuitable materials instead. Therefore, a certain extent of censorship is necessary in the media, but it is more important for consumers to self-censor what they see and hear.
