Censorship

 Censorship not only affects the Film industry but the Music Industry too. It appears that everyone from Beastie Boys to The Beatles and The Kinks to Kylie Minogue have been censored at some point. I’m sure you would agree that none of these artists’ lyrics are in some way endangering the public. Yet they are censored time after time. 

 However, there are some instances where censorship is needed and used appropriately. To protect victims of crimes, respect the deceased and not allow discriminatory opinions to filter through into our media. Of course this is ultimately flawed, because after all, whose choice is it to decide what we can and cannot see. It should be our own. Whether it is by bleep censors we hear on our screen, the content control systems the BBFC have, or the pixilation that we see everyday. It seems everything is being censored. It’s plain and simple, censorship doesn’t work. Despite the government’s new rules of taking down any information on the internet that could be deemed offensive or untrue, it doesn’t work. A company in the U.S. sent over 100,000 takedown notices to ‘Youtube’ last February, but seconds after it was all removed, new users uploaded it again. Computer programs such as ‘Limewire’ enable files to be transferred from P.C. to P.C. in a matter of seconds. Of the millions of views presented in these files, none are censored. It seems clear that the censorship law cannot be properly enforced.

 This view is shared by many journalists around the world who feel that the same, repetitive, premeditated and lack lustre drivel is churned out day by day. When the government censor texts and films, we all lose out a little. There might be a joke or one line or even a fundamental idea that is lost because of censorship. This causes articles and other pieces of media to lose that raw individuality that represents the ever changing world we live in today. In conclusion, any view or opinion expressed in this speech is not that of any major branding or multi-national corporation. It’s just my opinion being put across in a non-censored way. If it doesn’t stand up to your arguments then fine. If you don’t agree then fine. And if you thought it was terrible then that’s fine too. We just don’t want it censored.