my stand on the issue of censorship
Art is a means of communication through which artists have the chance to show us what they feel as well as their thoughts towards something. Censorship, on the other hand, is the type of information given by a government or an institution to show that particular material is harmful to the public. Notably, this practice of censorship has existed since ancient times in all spheres of the world. In most cases, art that contains messages that are against the societal norms or challenges political and religious believes is always kept away from the public. The primary purpose of writing this essay is to show my stand on the issue of censorship.
In my point of view, censorship should be highly encouraged due to several reasons that are listed below. Firstly, there are instances when artists create artistic pieces that criticize the political position of a particular state. Therefore, some restrictions put in place to avoid the pollution of the minds of citizens of a given state. The pieces of art that challenge the politics of a particular country might trigger citizens to be against the government. For instance, the sculpture of Leonard Peltier was removed from Katzen center museum that is located in Washington after receiving threats from certain groups as well as FBI officers because the art portrayed a bad image of the government. Art should be censored to make sure that a state’s political status is in a stable condition.
Some work of art that passes across questionable messages. Since art greatly influences people’s behavior, some of the messages in the pieces of art might drag individuals, especially children, into unacceptable behavior. For example, some of the artwork that are exposed to the public might make children indulge in pornographic activities, racism, and so forth. The work by Dorothy Iannone, “Depictions of Ecstatic unity,” for example, was banned from being exhibited at Kunsthalle Bern in 1969 because it contained pornographic content that pollutes the minds of the viewers. Therefore, the authorities have the responsibility of censoring pieces of art that might be of harm to the public and promote art that is best for people to view.
Another issue that makes me think that censoring should be practiced is that some art pieces often have dirty content which is against religious believe people in a particular society. Some work of art violets religion in such a way that it causes conflicts between different religious groups like Christians and Muslims. Additionally, there are some cases when artists create work that criticizes other religions. In 1987 Andres Serrano made art by the name “piss Christ” which made fun of Christ. Protesters attacked the piece of work in 2011 because Serrano had dishonored the Lord through his art. Additionally, Serrano received death threats.
In conclusion, this essay tries to show that censorship should be supported. Even though art is essential, there should be restrictions in place to control the content that artists pass to their viewers. Censorship is significant to the society because it protects people from harmful content found in art. For example, people should be protected from harmful messages that are exposed to them through art. In this essay, I have briefly explained why I think censorship is essential.