NationStates Jolt Archive


My essay in favor of censorship

Colodia
20-11-2005, 19:27
Keep in mind I'm completely against censorship, but my essay needs to be in favor of censorship for the sake of knowing the other side of the argument for my Language Arts Honors class.

So this is a persuasive essay. Mind helping me out by telling me if it's effective and if its orangized, focused, specific, and flows well?



1234567In our ever-changing world in which our society is constantly being exposed to more and more false-realities in which people freely commit violent acts and freely use vulgar language as they please, we must fight back and resort to the tool of censorship to save the very glue that binds our society together – civilized behavior. These inappropriate, terrifying, anti-family objects, be it books, movies, music, TV, or even the speeches of our national leaders themselves, whatever it may be, must be censored to the point where it is acceptable and non-threatening to the present and future American society.
1234567A look at our general American society and the media (books, music, movies, TV, radio, etc.) produced and shown in the country first would alarmingly show you that we are being exposed to some very dangerous and very explicit content. You would be hard pressed to watch television for 30 minutes and not find sexual references, and this would simply be in channels that children regularly watch. Watch television channels late at night or channels that children don’t usually watch and the results will be even more staggering with how much inappropriate content is in there. And this is just television thus far. The younger generation is constantly attracted to the movie theatres and we are simply freely catering to their media-warped minds by allowing them access into R-rated and PG-13 rated movies which include violence, vulgar language, sexuality, and crude and traumatic images. Authors, for some odd reason, feel as if they have a shield that protects them from whatever they decide to write. And what they write can easily be more violent and more visually abhorrent than any TV show or movie simply with their colorful use of words. The radio itself can be a tool of anarchy against the very way our nation works. How can we allow broadcasts from individuals who preach the dismantlement of our American society and calls for the people to rebel against our very laws that keep order? We have a very scary and very dangerous range of problems we must deal with immediately and it starts here with these objects of social destruction.
1234567We now have a clear idea of what exactly is the problem in America. Now what is the problem doing to Americans? The movie “Jackass” was released featuring a group of men performing stunts that involved physical pain that no average American would ever do in their life. In the weeks and months following the release of said movie, many children and teenagers were either hospitalized or buried after their reenactment of such stunts. That’s just one movie that caused the deaths of too many victims that weren’t able to distinguish right from wrong after watching this movie. And in the television, sexual perversion and the lack of any sensible ideas has caused for soft-core pornography to be regularly shown in the form of music videos and movies that the younger generation constantly watches. Problem here being is that they are far too young to be exposed to such content; they are not even 18 yet.
1234567And what of the problems we will see in the future if we allow such material to evolve and thrive in the United States? Rest assured that we can and probably will achieve a collapse of the way our society works to make way for a country without morals and without any regard to what is appropriate and what will harm you. As we constantly show the younger generation these materials as they are still developing their opinions about the world, we are condemning them to a future in which they are desensitized to perils that they will see as everyday occurrences such as murder, rape, arson, drug use, and theft. Crime rates will soar, possibly at an exponential growth, as the younger generation ages to the point where they are able to own a gun or they are able to freely drink alcohol. What will we possibly achieve but for a deep dark society that has become so saturated in the problems of the world that it sees no wrong in said problems?
1234567We must use censorship to protect our country before it is too late. This world we have come to is not the world we want to be in which we have no regard for what is right and what is wrong, what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. We cannot allow the family to be destroyed; we cannot allow our country to be destroyed. We need to utilize this tool of censorship immediately before it’s too late.
Sinuhue
20-11-2005, 19:35
I think your argument is weakened by the fortelling of doom approach. Total collapse of civilization without censorship is a hard prediction to back up. I'd tone it down and focus on the aspects you've mentioned in more current ways. What proof do you have that explicit sexual/violent content is in any way bad? To me, this essay sounds like it was written by someone who doesn't believe their position, and who is kind of making fun of it:)
Colodia
20-11-2005, 19:39
I think your argument is weakened by the fortelling of doom approach. Total collapse of civilization without censorship is a hard prediction to back up. I'd tone it down and focus on the aspects you've mentioned in more current ways. What proof do you have that explicit sexual/violent content is in any way bad? To me, this essay sounds like it was written by someone who doesn't believe their position, and who is kind of making fun of it:)
Heheh.

Yeah, good point. I should focus less on "WE GONNA DIE BOY" approach and more on the "THAT'S KILLING YOU...slowly...BOY!" approach.
Sinuhue
20-11-2005, 19:43
Heheh.

Yeah, good point. I should focus less on "WE GONNA DIE BOY" approach and more on the "THAT'S KILLING YOU...slowly...BOY!" approach.
Give clearer reasons on why certain things are inappropriate. Also, define how much censorship you are talking about...it can't be an all or nothing approach (or is this assignment looking at it that way?). You can discuss current methods of censorship and agree with them (film and video game ratings for example), and discuss whether censorship should be market driven or government imposed. Think about it a bit more...map out your concepts. Who should do the censoring, what is the purpose of it, and to what extent should it be implemented, as well as what form should it take. Radicalism often weakens an argument. You could argue this well taking a little more moderate approach.
The Scientists
20-11-2005, 20:02
Yeah, good point. I should focus less on "WE GONNA DIE BOY" approach and more on the "THAT'S KILLING YOU...slowly...BOY!" approach.

You sexist pig! Why must it always be the boys who are going to die a horrible death? Kill some girls, bastard!
Jurgencube
20-11-2005, 20:13
The conclusion seemed a bit vauge. Even when you write esseys supporting something never give a black/white answer, try and say to some extent its useful and how.

As long as its not coursework or anything hand it in and the teacher always gives better critism and advice than anyone.
Fallanour
20-11-2005, 20:50
I think it would be more relevant to discuss violence in a censorship essay concerning the United States.

Consider the relation of the general murder rates between the United States and other countries (often, it will be surprising and worrying). Consider how United States movies/games are generally more violent and explicit with regards to violence than other movies/games. Consider then, that you've accepted violence in your essay by only mentioning sex and stupid things. Consider that there may be a direct link between violence and murder rates.

I myself find censorship abhorrent. Punish people as much as you want, but don't censor them.
Neo Kervoskia
20-11-2005, 21:26
Your essay doesn't hold water because there is no mention of pi.
Socan
20-11-2005, 21:39
i dont think pie's should be censorded, sausage rolls yes, pies no

If you want to win an arguement the best bet is to label the opposition in favour of child-murder. ie

"So you want to allow rude lyrics on songs? Thats one step away from child murder you drunk lesbian bitch"

DISCLAIMER: Nothing against drunks or lesbians, however, I hate bitchs
AnarchyeL
20-11-2005, 22:13
Must your essay specifically deal with the kind of "moral" censorship (sex and violence) you discuss?

If not, you should consider modeling Herbert Marcuse's argument in "Repressive Tolerance," or Stanley Fish's argument in There Is No Such Thing As Free Speech... And It's A Good Thing, Too.

Both amount to essentially the same thing, viz. the argument that "free speech" expresses an ideal of tolerance... but that if "tolerance" means anything, it has to stand up against intolerance. Of course, that's a kind of censorship--of hate speech, Nazi rallies, and any other regressive speech that promotes intolerance.

In other words, "free speech" was never an ideal unto itself. It arose as part of political movements trying to break free of political, religious, and cultural intolerance. It meant freedom for a particular kind of speech, the kind of speech that promotes a healthy democracy...

And so on. It's a rather fine argument, in that it brings the ideal of free speech itself into the argument for censorship.
Safalra
20-11-2005, 22:43
You can discuss current methods of censorship and agree with them (film and video game ratings for example)
Classification and censorship are different ideas, though.
Sinuhue
20-11-2005, 23:03
Classification and censorship are different ideas, though.
Not really. Classification is soft-censorship. If you need someone else’s consent in order to access certain information/media, then you are being censored.
Fallanour
20-11-2005, 23:19
Not really. Classification is soft-censorship. If you need someone else’s consent in order to access certain information/media, then you are being censored.

Actually, you're not being censored. It is the certain information/media that is being censored.

AnarchyeL made such a better point than I did, I suggest you follow his advice.
Sinuhue
20-11-2005, 23:30
Actually, you're not being censored. It is the certain information/media that is being censored.

AnarchyeL made such a better point than I did, I suggest you follow his advice.
I never said that classifications censored YOU. They censor the people who created or expressed the information. But censorship affects you...it reduces your access to information.

In any case, in a secondary school exam, the concept of censorship is usually pretty wide open to interpretation. Which is why I suggested it be narrowed down.
Fallanour
20-11-2005, 23:32
I never said that classifications censored YOU. They censor the people who created or expressed the information. But censorship affects you...it reduces your access to information.

In any case, in a secondary school exam, the concept of censorship is usually pretty wide open to interpretation. Which is why I suggested it be narrowed down.

Point taken and hopefully understood. Technically speaking though, you aren't ever censored, the other things are just censored from you.

You in english has this nasty thing of being so ambigious. You could be anyone.
Sinuhue
20-11-2005, 23:33
Point taken and hopefully understood. Technically speaking though, you aren't ever censored, the other things are just censored from you.

You in english has this nasty thing of being so ambigious. You could be anyone.
Yeah, I hate that too:)

Well...YOU could be censored if you were prevented from expressing your views...or are you taking it from the viewpoint that it is your views being censored, not you personally? Anyway...that's going into it a bit further than this project really needs:)