Censorship

#1

So. There’s been something on my mind for a long time that I’ve never had a chance to really hash over. And that’s censorship.

I guess it started for me when I was watching “Back to School” on television a long time ago. I know the movie by heart (it’s one of my top favorite films). So, I was just waiting for the scene with Rodney Dangerfield in Sam Kinison’s “Contemporary American History” class, which Kinison’s character used as a bully pulpit to espouse anti-anti-war hatred and diatribes. It’s an awesome scene. If you haven’t seen the movie, I suggest you do so. It’s a bit dated now, but it still works.

So, anyway, in that scene, Kinison’s character asks the “not a fighter” Dangerfield why, in the Korean Conflict, that “we failed to achieve victory”. Here’s the scene (warning: offensive text follows)

Kinison: “You remember that thing we had about 30 years ago called that Korean conflict? Yeah, and how we failed to achieve victory? How come we didn’t cross the 38th parallel and push those rice-eaters back to the Great Wall of China? Then take it apart BRICK BY BRICK AND NUKE THEM BACK INTO THE FUCKING STONE AGE FOREVER?! HOW COME?! TELL ME WHY?! SAY IT!!! SAY IIIITTTT!!!”
Dangerfield: “…all right, I’ll say it! Cause Truman was too much of a pussy wimp to let MacArthur go in there AND BLOW OUT THOSE COMMIE BASTARDS!”

So, like I said, I was watching it on television one day, and Dangerfield’s “censored” line came across as this:

“Cause Truman was too much of a P-wimp to let MacArthur go in there and BLOW OUT THOSE COMMIE PIPSQUEAKS!”

O_o

So, that began my hatred for censorship. I would like to hear y’all’s opinion on it.

#2

I think that an outright ban of a product or media is fundamentally wrong and a limit to free speech in most circumstances, but I can understand regulating daytime television for the benefit of parents who want to be able to watch children with their child and the like.

#3

Sorry to inform you, this thread already exists and was posted a week ago, and will most likely be locked in short order.
https://forums.blackmesasource.com/showthread.php?t=2934

#4

Not really. That thread is about free speech in general. Mine is about censorship in works of art such as movies, books, and the like. Specifically, the eradication of certain portion of the work because it’s deemed “offensive” by a group. This could mean the “commie bastards” line from Back to School, or it could mean wanting to put a pair of shorts on Michelangelo’s David.

“He has an exposed penis that my 3-year-old daughter can see!” :meh:

#5

I agree this topic is really a different kettle of fish to freedom of speech

anyway censorship forever annoys me, especially game censorship, if I can go into a store and buy some porn, why can’t I go in a store and buy a game where I strangle people and bash there heads into toilets on my wii? It’s shame on the parents for not looking at the age certficate if there kids are playing it, you wouldnt give your kid some porn would you? And its also up to stores to ask me for ID if I want to buy an adult game, because yes there are adult gamers around now adays. And movie censorship annoys me, it’s a film, I’m eighteen let me watchthat guy rip that guys face off with acid, while that bitch throws a pickaxe into a baby goats head, a) its not real and b) the special effects are awesome! So leave it alone and leave it in my local cinema!

#6

I don’t really believe that, if you’re the owner of said work, that it should be censored in any way. I bought Back to School on DVD and it has “pussies like you” in all its glory. And that is as it should be.

However, for the more uncontrollable aspects, such as when a movie is shown on broadcast TV, I think that there should be a choice offered. I think two concurrent broadcast streams should be sent–one censored (for those that get hot and bothered by a nipple) and one uncensored and you get to pick and choose which is shown. I’m sure we have the technology to do so.

I think my anti-censorship stance culminated when I was at an amusement park. There was a swinger ride. Along the trunk of the ride was faux Greco-Roman art of gods and goddesses (a la “The Sistine Chapel”). Like the Sistine Chapel paintings, some of them were nude.

Evidently, someone complained because, the next time I was there, the “naughty bits” were covered up by strategically placed ribbons. That made me want to :rage:.

I understand the desire to shield your children from things you deem morally incorrect, but does that mean that YOUR desire is allowed to supersede ours? Should I have to hear Rodney Dangerfield complain about “commie pipsqueaks” because you don’t like “commie bastards”?

Are you going to put pants on David?

#7

i think swearing on tv and film shouldnt be censored if its histroically accurate and/or relevevant to the mood of the scene. Like in school when I was 14 our drama teacher allowed us to use this when we did a scene similar to that of the diner robbery in pulp fiction

Honey Bunny: Any of you fucking pricks move, and I’ll execute every motherfucking last one of ya!

Created a sense of tension that couldnt be rivaled by a few fudges

#8

Snakes on a plane:

“Im tired of these mother fuckin snakes on this mother fuckin plane”

To

“Im tired of these monkey fighting snakes on this monday to friday plane”

#9

It seems to me that it should all depend on if the user has a choice or not. With nearly everything that is censored - from TV to movies to statues at the fair - a person could choose to have seen the thing or not.
Only in a situation where a person has no choice but to see something should censorship even apply. For example: if a person decides that he wants to create “art” by painting a large, naked person above a highway tunnel (which apparently actually happened somewhere)…well that’s a tough example because it begs the question, should the naked body be censored.
Okay, a large naked women being screwed vaginally, while having her throat cut. I think we can all agree that that’s offensive. Considering that drivers will all see this art, won’t have much of a choice but to do so, in this case it probably should be censored.
But you’d be hard-pressed to find a real-world case where censorship would be permissible. In nearly every situation, it isn’t.

#10

I hate the censorship in germany… games without gore, zombie games without splatter… wtf?!

#11

Your government just wants to prevent the current generation from turning into Lil’ Hitlers… Because they’re such scamps.

#12

Sometimes I am actually in the mood of reopening all the concentration camps and this time using them to get rid of all the downright stupid and batshit crazy people.

But, then again - I can never be too sure that wouldn’t include me.

#13

I trust nature to take care of humanity in the long run :stuck_out_tongue:

#14

completly off topic but how would you sort the “batshit crazy people” to the normal people, arent we all in reailty one footstep away from being nutty?

#15

religion would be a good indicator :wink:

Nah, that was cruel. Sorry.

You’re completely right, of course. There’s no way of doing this. And I would never seriously ponder it either.

#16

I despise censorship. The censorship on television is sort of okay with me though but danielangeo’s idea about 2 streams, one uncut and one cut, is pretty good. I think they should do the same thing with foreign movies, one stream in the original language with subs and the other with the dub. I hated having to watch Kung Fu Hustle on TV with the dub, but that’s sort of a different story.

I actually did a report on censorship last year and while looking for info found a website where they rent movies but all the movies are censored. Pretty stupid. There was also some people that wanted to have censored DVDs available in stores to buy.

Movies and the like are one thing but art censorship is totally ridiculous. That story about the ribbons over the pictures at the amusement park just boils my blood. Also, schools not being able to take kids to museums of art because parents complained about the nudity bugs me as well.

It’s like they think it’ll cause their kids to go crazy or something if they see the human body or violence. It just ruins the creativity of the original artist.

#17

What I think is ██████████████ and ███████████████. Because ███████████████. so you see, ████████████████████████████████████. It’s really quite simple

#18

You win.

#19

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some people don’t like seeing bloody gore and the like in their movies - if whoever made the movie wants to accommodate them, I see no reason that they shouldn’t release a censored version.

A private producer can do whatever the fuck he wants with his products. They’re his, for God’s sakes. The problem with censorship comes when it is mandated by a government - in fact, MOST problems arise when something is mandated by a government.

#20

Like clean water, clean air, safe bridges, safe food, safe medicine, rural electrification… :rolleyes:

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