Censorship Theme Analysis - Essay Example

Censorship theme analysis Censorship is the suppression of public information, speech or other related information which may be considered harmful, objectionable, sensitive, inconvenient, or politically incorrect as determined by authorities, governments, institutions, or media outlets. Private organizations, Governments, individuals, and authorities may engage in censorship. When an author or another related creator, as an individual, engages in censorship of their speech or work, it is referred to as self-censorship. The act of censorship may be direct or indirect, in which case it is referred to as soft censorship. This occurs in a wide range of variety including films, books, speech, press, television, radio, internet, and other arts for a range of claimed reasons including hate speech, national security, protection of children, control of obscenity, restriction of political views and child pornography (Paxton 52). Direct censorship may be legal or illegal depending on the place, content, and the type. Many countries offer strong protections against censorship by law. However, diverging rights are made to determine what protection cannot or can be censored. There are no certified laws against self-censorship. The issue of censorship has been illustrated by different authors as themes in their books and novels in order to reveal the importances and disadvantages of this act. The author of the book Fahrenheit chooses to show directly the effects of censorship as the members of the society focus on entertainment. This reason of censorship is disadvantageous since people will never reason on their own or create something sensible rather than live to depend on others (government). In Atwoods novel censorship is not condemned because she thinks that it brings fear of thought in the society. From another point of view, this cannot be significantly correct since there are some form of censorship which must be done in order to protect the society from immoral behaviors such as pornography. The theme in Ray Bradburys novel (Fahrenheit 451) can be viewed from several different angles. The most notable one, the novel gives an anti-censorship message. This is because Bradbury feels that the censorship imposed on this society is quite destructive rather than being important. Books are burned and the owners arrested hindering the members of the community from gaining knowledge. Owning books is illegal, and members of the society focus on immediate gratification and entertainment. There is no clear explanation why censorship has become so significant in the society, but the author alludes to a variety of causes. Discussions about the novel often center on its story foremost as a warning against state-based censorship. He wrote the book during the McCarthy time, and he was concerned about censorship in the United States. During a media interview in 1956, Bradbury said; "I wrote the book at a time when I was terrified of the way things were progressing in this country a few years ago. Many people were worried of their shadows where there was the issue of book burning. Many of these books were being taken off the shelves at that specific time, and things changed a lot during that period of four years. Things are returning in a very healthy direction. The time I wished to do some story about what would happen to a country if things go too far in this direction, when all thinking stops, and we destroy ourselves by this type of action." He said so in reference to the time when reading and possessing of books were illegal. It was seen as waste of time, information, and knowledge. It was, therefore, useless to publish knowledge in books because they were always burned down. However, things started changing after some time (Bradbury 41). Bradbury comprehends censorship to be a natural outcropping of an overly tolerant society. Once a group intends on something that someone has already written, modification of the book takes place and censorship begins. Afterward, another minority group intends on something else in the book and editing done again until the book is eventually banned altogether. In the novel, the society has evolved to such extreme that all literature is unlawful to possess. There is no longer reading of books not only because they might offend someone, but because the books raise questions that often lead to revolutions and anarchy as well. The intellectual thinking arising from reading books can often be dangerous, and the government authorities do not want to cope up with this type of danger. According to Bradbury, this philosophy completely ignores the importance of knowledge and power. One can agree that knowledge can cause disharmony but in many ways, knowledge of the past recorded in the books can hinder a man from making similar errors in the present and the future life (Long 32). As Beatty describes in part one, the government control of the citizens life was not a conspiracy of tyrants or dictators but a consensus of everyday people. The people are weak in mind and ignorant to think for themselves and solve the troubling challenges of the world. It is easier to survive a life of illusion and seclusion where the television is a reality. In the novel Fahrenheit, the tool for censorship is mass media. The programs broadcasted on the television do not provoke the viewers thinking and do not give food for thought but provide mindless entertainment. This portrays that the government does not give viewers the slightest opportunity to use their brains to think of presenting them shows that are meant to entertain and not spark ideas. Because the society depends much on the government, they blindly follow and believe all what the government says. When the hunt for Montag proceeded, the government killed a man and claimed on national television that they have murdered Montag while in actual fact they let him escape. By doing so, they posed the society that the government is always right and that government authorities never lets anyone get away with such acts (Long 44). The people are afraid of themselves which leads them to depend on others to think for them and since they arent thinking, they are in need of something to occupy their time and television comes in resulting to many problems; violence, suicide and depression. In the novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, the theme of censorship is brought up but in a different but similar point of view. The author represented the issue of censorship as spectacle theme in this novel. In Jimmy and Crakes planet, little is left to the fantasy. Watching everything for a price is almost possible. Jimmy and Crake build their friendship upon watching hours upon hours of live suicide, execution, animal killing, pornography, and animal killing. And their world is one of spectacle. There is no censorship done on these activities and thus poses a big threat in destroying the minds and lives of people. The CorpseCorps dont tend to take responsibility about this but instead focus their efforts on those who are against such a living. In everyday life, aspect drives the financial market for beauty intensifying products. RejoovenEsense, Organ Inc., and AnooYoo all make their cash on this seeming world desire. The desire to look good is compulsory, as nearly broadcasting everything and everyone wants to look his or her best (Bradbury 22). Even as the virus is killing and destroying the world, the pattern continues. Several private organizations and individuals broadcast their respective deaths on the internet for the surviving individuals to witness. The collapse of artistic use of language is seen in the different points of the novel Oryx and Crake. Jimmys college asked him to dump away the old and useless library books. Jimmy could not do the act because he was unable to choose which books to keep and the ones to throw away. With regard to censorship, choosing the information to censor is important because one may lose valuable knowledge that might be of great significance to individuals and the society in general. The rationale for censorship is very different for various types of information involved. Moral censorship is the removal of materials considered morally questionable or otherwise obscene. An example is pornography that is often censored under this rationale more so child pornography that is illegal and considered unlawful in most government authorities all over the world. This rationale of censorship is portrayed in the novel Oryx and Crake when Jimmy and Crake build their friendship foundation on watching pornography videos for hours (Atwood 31). In everyday life, extensive viewing of such materials ends up producing adverse sociological effects including a decreased respect for over a long time, monogamous relationships, and attenuated desire for procreation. It also undermines the traditional values that favor family, marriage, and children and thus the need for censorship of these materials arises. Corporate censorship is the process in which editors in media outlets intervene to disrupt the publishing of information portraying their business or business colleagues in an adverse light. It also occurs to prevent alternate offers from reaching public exposure. In the novel Fahrenheit, this method is evidenced when the television supports the unjustified community in providing entertainment rather than emphasizing the members of the community to try and think for themselves and prevent them from depending on others (Atwood 43). Criticization of censorship is common throughout history for being unfair and hindering process. In a 1997 essay on censorship, Michael Landier, a social commentator claims that the act is counterproductive as it hinders the censored subject from being analyzed and discussed. Landier expanded his argument by claiming that those who impose censorship must consider what they censor to be true, as the people, believing themselves to be correct would welcome the chance to disapprove those with the opposing views. The primary importance of censorship is often used to impose moral values on the society. In the novel Oryx and Crake, Jimmy and Crake live to watch unnecessary videos for hours and thus destroys their morals. In the novel Fahrenheit, the society is not morally upright due to spending of time watching television. It leads people to a serious moral problem where they cannot depend on themselves. This brings in the need for censorship in maintaining and preservation of good morals to the community. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake: A Novel. New York: Nan A. Talese, 2003. Print. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. Book Club ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print. Long, Robert Emmet. Censorship. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1990. Print. Paxton, Mark. Censorship. Westport, Conn: Greenwood, 2008. Print. Read More

There is no clear explanation why censorship has become so significant in the society, but the author alludes to a variety of causes. Discussions about the novel often center on its story foremost as a warning against state-based censorship. He wrote the book during the McCarthy time, and he was concerned about censorship in the United States. During a media interview in 1956, Bradbury said; "I wrote the book at a time when I was terrified of the way things were progressing in this country a few years ago.

Many people were worried of their shadows where there was the issue of book burning. Many of these books were being taken off the shelves at that specific time, and things changed a lot during that period of four years. Things are returning in a very healthy direction. The time I wished to do some story about what would happen to a country if things go too far in this direction, when all thinking stops, and we destroy ourselves by this type of action." He said so in reference to the time when reading and possessing of books were illegal.

It was seen as waste of time, information, and knowledge. It was, therefore, useless to publish knowledge in books because they were always burned down. However, things started changing after some time (Bradbury 41). Bradbury comprehends censorship to be a natural outcropping of an overly tolerant society. Once a group intends on something that someone has already written, modification of the book takes place and censorship begins. Afterward, another minority group intends on something else in the book and editing done again until the book is eventually banned altogether.

In the novel, the society has evolved to such extreme that all literature is unlawful to possess. There is no longer reading of books not only because they might offend someone, but because the books raise questions that often lead to revolutions and anarchy as well. The intellectual thinking arising from reading books can often be dangerous, and the government authorities do not want to cope up with this type of danger. According to Bradbury, this philosophy completely ignores the importance of knowledge and power.

One can agree that knowledge can cause disharmony but in many ways, knowledge of the past recorded in the books can hinder a man from making similar errors in the present and the future life (Long 32). As Beatty describes in part one, the government control of the citizens life was not a conspiracy of tyrants or dictators but a consensus of everyday people. The people are weak in mind and ignorant to think for themselves and solve the troubling challenges of the world. It is easier to survive a life of illusion and seclusion where the television is a reality.

In the novel Fahrenheit, the tool for censorship is mass media. The programs broadcasted on the television do not provoke the viewers thinking and do not give food for thought but provide mindless entertainment. This portrays that the government does not give viewers the slightest opportunity to use their brains to think of presenting them shows that are meant to entertain and not spark ideas. Because the society depends much on the government, they blindly follow and believe all what the government says.

When the hunt for Montag proceeded, the government killed a man and claimed on national television that they have murdered Montag while in actual fact they let him escape. By doing so, they posed the society that the government is always right and that government authorities never lets anyone get away with such acts (Long 44). The people are afraid of themselves which leads them to depend on others to think for them and since they arent thinking, they are in need of something to occupy their time and television comes in resulting to many problems; violence, suicide and depression.

In the novel Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, the theme of censorship is brought up but in a different but similar point of view. The author represented the issue of censorship as spectacle theme in this novel.

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