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Shania Carter Is censorship a good or bad idea?

I think that censorship is a good idea because there are many things that it talks about and should cover. There is unnecessary content that is available to young children and for that reason most explicit or graphic content should be censored, until the child is older and is aware of certain language and explicit content i.e. music and films. For my first example, I am going to use the film Woman in Black. When this film first came out, the rating was a 12A this meant that anyone 12 and over would be able to see the film, in my opinion, this film was not a 12A as it contained parts where most adults were scared because the woman in black had a huge dark presence, this could easily frighten the children into thinking that this lady will haunt them. Another point I would like to make about the censorship in films, is the advertising of horror movies in the cinema. Most young children visit the cinema during the day; however the horror movie adverts can be quite up front, and again this would not be a good sight for the children because they are not aware of the real life and film so therefore can get scared easily. On the other hand, films should not be censored because you have the ability to close the book, walk out of the cinema or turn over the channel if you dont like something. I think that self-censorship is one way to solve the controversy. The film producers have to make their money for a particular target audience, so if you dont like the horror movies, when the advertisement is on the TV, it is easy to turn it off. I also think that censorship should be in place in mainstream music, there is a lot of music stars from America that release music in the UK charts. When you listen to that type of music most of the song is blanked because it is deemed as wrong, such as alcohol or smoking. An example to use, is Miley Cyrus, she has caused controversy because she releases songs where she is swearing or not wearing very much clothing. The music industry is widely open to any age, the music videos are on TV and the music is on the radio which therefore any young child can access. The way that censorship hasnt been used properly in this circumstance is that there is many lyric sites which still hold the explicit wording and which everybody can access.

Furthermore, censorship shouldnt be put in place for music because the children listening to this music now, will grow up learning the swear words anyway and also you cant stop the children listening to the radio or the TV because you cannot predict which music videos are to be shown and what content are in them.

I also think that censorship is used correctly in gaming such as GTA. There is quite a lot of violence and some parents are willing to buy this game for their children even though it is an age 18. There are other games that involve torture and killing which shouldnt be exposed to children, some as young as 12. This is why there is censorship and an age limit to stop children thinking that it is ok to go out and steal someones car, or pull the trigger on a gun. Moreover censorship shouldnt be heavily used in gaming because; again you have the choice to play that game and see the material, such as the torture part on GTA. You are then old enough to think about your actions and decide if you want to see that side of gaming. Self-Censorship Self-Censorship is when you turn off the radio or not buy a game yourself which means that you are banning that certain thing from your life and the government doesnt need to do it for you. So, you are leading yourself and know what to watch and not watch because you have made your own choice to say no to a certain film or TV show. I think that censorship has some good and bad points over the internet because there are only so many restrictions in place. Starting with the negative, there are 11 different countries all over the world, that dont have access to internet, these countries are; Bahrain, Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan and Vietnam. Most of these countries are quite religious so therefore the internet is a bad thing because it leads to watching and looking at explicit images which is deemed wrong in these religions. However, the social networking sites are vastly growing with more and more people wanting to join them every year; this internet ban has restricted these people from finding out different stories from around the world and also connecting with people from different countries. On the plus side of censorship on the internet is that there is an age ban to watch certain videos on YouTube or to sign up or sites such as Facebook because anyone can post anything on these types of sites. The age restriction is to protect the young group of people who want to watch their kind of videos, e.g. Cartoons such as SpongeBob or Spiderman. I think that social media should not be censored as then it is a suppression of speech. People use social media to voice their opinions to the community and beyond and therefore open up a debate with people who obviously are going to have different views. Twitter, globally has more users than Facebook, twitter is a place where lots of opinions are shared, however like all media there can be racist remarks and a lot of people swearing. I think that these racist comments and swear words should be filtered before actually being posted online, this way the media is safer as it is censored and everybody can use it safely.

One particular media I think should not be censored is any books containing homosexual upbringings, it is a way of life now and has been accepted in society, even if someone doesnt read the book In Our Mothers House they are going to bump into a gay couple at some point in their lives so books like In Our Mothers House helps to teach rather than offend and therefore should not be censored in any part of the world. In my opinion, I use twitter regularly to connect with people globally about sport and football in particular, for this reason I do not think that twitter should be censored as Sky Sports as an example, wouldnt be able to communicate with people during live games if they are watching the match.

The media that I think should be censored is the alcohol and smoking advertisements. The advertisements always show the positive side of drinking such as in the Tia Maria advert or for the new range of electric cigarettes VIP. Only once a year there is an advertisement for smokers to stop, whereas these other advertisements are running throughout the year. I think that the smoking and alcohol should be censored before the watershed as it is giving out an impression to children that it is good to drink and smoke and that you can look great whilst doing it. Cigarette adverts were banned as it wasnt safe to show people smoking actual cigarettes. These e-cigs are advertised as safer and a nicer way to help people stop smoking and this is why it is such a glamarous advert.

Shortly after the Second World War banning some advertisements occurred and took anti-smoking initiative one step further and passed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act, banning the advertising of cigarettes on television and radio starting on January 2, 1971.

I do not think that libraries should censor which books they put on the shelf because each part of the library is sectioned off so that there is a childrens area and an adult section. This way the child cannot go and pick up an explicit book such as 50 shades of Grey by E.L James or pick up a book that contains a lot of violence like The Hunger Games. Modern libraries make sure that the books they put on their shelves are not too explicit so for that reason, I dont think that any libraries should censor their books. I think that censorship cannot be harmful as it protects you from different situations in life, such as violence, obesity, drugs and sex. However it doesnt protect you because if these advertisements were banned all the time, no one would know how to react in real life e.g. if someone had been beaten up, no one would know who to turn to because the advertisement had been banned as it promoted violence or bullying. Books are written for fictional purposes and entertainment only so therefore doesnt actually represent someones real life. On the other hand, video games and films do have an age restriction because they do look at someones life. Video games such as GTA 5 look at modern houses, strip clubs, marriage break ups and car stealing; these examples do happen in everyday life, not to one person in particular but to many and it can be distressing for people to see especially children and young teenagers. Films are also censored because there are stunt men and women that can actually get hurt in the movie and also in films with a real life cast- there is lots of blood and violence which again can be distressing to see. I think that self-censorship is very important because the government control a lot of unnecessary things and we can choose whether we want to ban something particular from our lives. For example, The Sun newspaper is censored in Merseyside, this is not something the government has done, but the people themselves. It is simple to say no to something in your life so self-censorship is good because you do not have anyone taking things away from you or telling you what should and shouldnt be banned in your life. Using these examples from gaming and newspapers, some parents use their self-censorship and inflict it on their children because of certain morals. This can be done by some parents to protect their children from violence and becoming too engrossed in a certain lifestyle from a young age. I do not think that any ideas should be banned from the classroom because everyone has a right to share their ideas and to have the freedom of speech. If someone in a class is promoting an idea of a drug life then I think that should be banned because not everyone agrees with that lifestyle yet everyone knows the consequences. I always stand by freedom of speech but certain ideas i.e. drugs should not be talked about in the classroom, because someone could pass that information on and it could lead to the police officer as word gets spread quickly. Some people are very opinionated like myself, so I want to speak up whenever possible during class times, if someone has something to say it needs to be said and people should accept that, if people do not want to listen that is their own self- censorship.

I think that people should not be granted gagging orders because the publisher has a job to dowhich is to write about celebrities also if there has been a crime I do not think that the criminal should be granted a gagging order because they should be named and shamed and the whole world needs to know about this certain criminal. Wayne Rooney has been at the centre of attention for gagging orders as twitter and Wikipedia both leaked this after reports from newspapers and a worker from Wikipedia claimed he was having an affair and therefore wanted the press not to know about it. Rape allegations came against two Coronation Street stars, both the suspected victims were kept under closed doors, even when the men were found not guilty. If people in this circumstance are kept quiet, other witnesses cannot come forward to help the case and also looks suspicious to if they are actually telling the truth although there can be other personal reasons for not wanting to have their name publicised.

The media effect theory is about how the media reflects the public and the media already existed. This theory first came about in the 1920s after many people had reacted to the Nazi propaganda. However there is a negative side to this theory- after a teenage boy had murdered his friend in 2004, the game Manhunt was banned because the murder style was very similar and could therefore have implications on its game players. I think in some respects, the theory does effect people from the media because different situations can influence people to do the same as the advertisements e.g. going out to buy expensive drinks or heavily smoking. This can have an effect on many peoples health and lives. CAP and ASA are the two biggest companies supporting each other and looking at different ways to deal with complaints made about certain advertisements.
The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) write and maintain the UK Advertising Codes, which are administered by the Advertising Standards Authority. We also offer the industry authoritative advice and guidance on how to create campaigns that comply with the rules. (http://www.cap.org.uk/About-CAP.aspx)

ASA look through advertisements, picking up on any that prompt complaints and then the advertisement with the most complaints will be censored from television.

The most recent advertisement to be banned by the ASA was the Marmite ad. It sparked complaints after the advert looked like it was showing welfare officers looking for neglected marmite.

Ofcom recently targeted junk food advertisements as they were being showed on the television to often to children aged 16 and under. After some of the junk food advertisements were slowed down the rate of obesity numbers slowed down too and the number decreased to 37%. In Sweden and Norway it is illegal to show children any type of advertisement to do with sweet shops or junk food, as the obesity numbers needed to be stopped fully. Rules by the ASA and CAP. Harm- Marketing products aimed at children should not affect their moral, physical or mental health. Unfair Pressure Marketing products aimed at children or featuring children should not exploit their vulnerability, lack of experience or loyalty. Direct Persuasion/Parental Authority Marketing products with an exhortation should not be aimed at children at all. Promotion Promotions that require a purchase to enter e.g. a competition should not be aimed at children or young people who have easy access to a credit card or mobile phone.

Conclusion In every media that has been discussed, films, books and video games I have come to the conclusion that not everything out there should be censored. I have also come to the conclusion that selfcensorship is also very important because as a person you make your own choices whether to censor something from your life. I definitely think that censorship should be used heavily in the music industry because there are so many young people looking up to musical artists however they constantly use inappropriate language and provocative clothing in their music videos making it harder for the child to like their idol because of parental guidance. An example of this is Miley Cyrus, he drastic change from Hannah Montana (TV show) has rocked the boat for a lot of children who they once saw. Overall, it is impossible for everything to be censored in media, as we cant always have our own way and we might not think beyond some advertisements such as the Marmite ad but companies like ASA can. There are also advertisements and types of media that exploit certain cultures and ethnicities, such as the aid charities in Africa or the gaming that uses racist terms. I reiterate that we cant always have our own way and censor everything as it would be a suppression of speech, freedom of speech is heavily implied in media and we cannot stop people having their say. It is a way of life and if everything was censored it would be a boring life, advertisements are there to test the consumers but can sometimes forget about the effect it has on certain sides of the public and organisations such as ASA and CAP.

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