I See No Benefit In Censorship

I think that T.V writers and the news media should have the right to put whatever they want to into their shows/stories even if it offends the audience. Remember, back then it would have been considered offensive for the media to say, “Blacks should have equal rights”. If the media claims that they have evidence stating that Atheists like me have a low IQ, than by all means there allowed to do that just as they are doing that with Conservatives right now. (This is happening in Canadian politics)

Political censorship can be used to prevent new ideas from spreading to people. As an example, if gay relationships and sexuality are censored much more than heterosexual ones, the government or even a corporation can make it look culturally more wrong and can cause people to support homophobic causes.

For T.V we have Family Guy, which seems to do a good job at insulting everybody but you will never hear the F-word on that show. Same thing with the Walking Dead, it is probably the most violent show on T.V right now but again, you don’t here the F-word. Why is that the worst possible thing you can say to another human being on T.V? Why can’t I say that word on ATS? The literal meaning of that word is sex and we like that a lot! Sex, according to most people is not the devil’s pastime but we consider that word to be really evil on T.V? I don’t get it.

Same thing with movies, violence is more acceptable than swearing and sex. We let young kids go to see Star Wars which has plenty of people getting shot, stabbed and having limbs cut off; and the movie is perfectly acceptable for kids because there is no swearing or sex in the series. Unless of course you consider Padme giving birth to Luke and Lea as a sex scene, than that’s all your goanna get.

My point though is what does censorship really accomplish? On the political side it prevents new ideas from spreading to people. The benefits of legalizing drugs, you’re not going to see that. Atheist Youtube channels going on rants about how god doesn’t exist, those are getting taken down because they are offensive and they contain “hate speech” that list can just go on and on.

Parents in North America wonder why their kids don’t like to talk to them about sex; well I’m positive that this censorship of sex in the media is the main cause but it’s at least part of the problem. The reason why is that Europeans don’t seem to have this problem and they don’t censor sexuality like we do here.

At the end of the day I don’t think censorship of language and sex really “protects the children” because in all honesty a child would be more traumatized by the violence in The Walking Dead rather than a dirty activity or word being seen on television.

this video shows just how silly censorship is in media today

Parents in North America wonder why their kids don’t like to talk to them about sex; well I’m positive that this censorship of sex in the media is the main cause but it’s at least part of the problem. The reason why is that Europeans don’t seem to have this problem and they don’t censor sexuality like we do here.

wrong, there isnt much of a difference when i was in america.

The problem with your suggestion is it would require parental supervision, unfortunatly thats the last thing most parents want in there babysitter (tv).

Originally posted by GuerillaFighter
Political censorship can be used to prevent new ideas from spreading to people. As an example, if gay relationships and sexuality are censored much more than heterosexual ones, the government or even a corporation can make it look culturally more wrong and can cause people to support homophobic causes.

That should be done through education, not television shows; in my opinion. My values do not need to be reflected upon television nor do I want to derive my values from it. Though I agree that the FCC (here in the United States) does have plenary powers to regulate what is permitted and what is not -- yet are mute on say, a person from viewing porn (or similar aspects) at a public library. Go figure right?

For T.V we have Family Guy, which seems to do a good job at insulting everybody but you will never hear the F-word on that show. Same thing with the Walking Dead, it is probably the most violent show on T.V right now but again, you don’t here the F-word. Why is that the worst possible thing you can say to another human being on T.V? Why can’t I say that word on ATS? The literal meaning of that word is sex and we like that a lot! Sex, according to most people is not the devil’s pastime but we consider that word to be really evil on T.V? I don’t get it.

For the States, we have to break this up a bit. As for a show such as Family Guy, which is aired on a basic channel that anyone with a TV and an antenna can get the restrictions are much more strict as opposed to Walking Dead, which is aired on cable channel; in which people have to pay to receive. While the cable channel doesn't enjoy the same freedom as a premium channel. Really it is all just a scheme.

Parents in North America wonder why their kids don’t like to talk to them about sex; well I’m positive that this censorship of sex in the media is the main cause but it’s at least part of the problem. The reason why is that Europeans don’t seem to have this problem and they don’t censor sexuality like we do here.

Personally it was more a cultural aspect than a television censorship aspect in my family. While it was briefly spoken of, it had nothing to do with the lack of overtly sexual themes on television at the time.

At the end of the day I don’t think censorship of language and sex really “protects the children” because in all honesty a child would be more traumatized by the violence in The Walking Dead rather than a dirty activity or word being seen on television.

My kids learn more unacceptable language from their friends at school than they do at home via a television. In the end, censorship is really nothing more than one group wanting to impose their values on another -- and it goes both ways.

One group wants clean television where swearing, sex and violence are not portrayed, while the opposing groups wants all of it displayed.

I personally would rather have no censorship and actually place the responsibility on the parents and society to make the decisions. Market forces in television are very strong. If a show turns people off, then no one watches it. When no one watches it, advertisers begin to not request time during that time slot.

reply to post by GuerillaFighter



It makes no sense to me. They are just words. That is all. Nothing more. Just words. If certain words weren't considered to be "bad", then people probably wouldn't be jumping saying them as much anyways.


It's reverse psychology. Here's an example:
What if we were forbidden to say any of these words:

dead

rabbit

jump

carrot

ear

popcorn

hamburger


I smashed my thumb earlier, with a hammer. Immediately after smashing it, I said...
[color=D4F589]"Dead rabbit!!!! That jumping hurt!!!"

My neighbor was right there. He started laughing at me. I said to him..
[color=D4F589]"Jump you hamburger. It's not funny. It still jumping hurts. You can go ahead and just take your carrot, and shove it in your ear, ya jumping popcorn licker....

Rabbit Jumper!

Just words.......

We let young kids go to see Star Wars which has plenty of people getting shot, stabbed and having limbs cut off; and the movie is perfectly acceptable for kids because there is no swearing or sex in the series.

I do agree with you, but personally, I don't think this↑ is a very good example. Was there even a single drop of fake blood used on any Star Wars movies? They just got hit with a pretty colored light, and would fall down lol. It would be a little different if they had bullets. I'm not positive, I haven't watched those in awhile, but I don't even think there was any blood when Luke's arm got chopped off lol.

edit on 3/2/12 by BrokenCircles because: (no reason given)

censorship of language and sex? To a degree maybe,
but this is far from the truth. Comedy central after 11 o clock
or so can air every swear there is.. Now comedy central
is not getting special privileges, any channel can do this, they just do not..

Same with sex, I was watching the boon dock saints a couple days ago on IFC
and they showed breast it was like 9 o clock and IFC is not a premium station.

Originally posted by popsmayhem
censorship of language and sex? To a degree maybe,
but this is far from the truth. Comedy central after 11 o clock
or so can air every swear there is.. Now comedy central
is not getting special privileges, any channel can do this, they just do not..

For the most part true -- though there are still some words I believe and some scenes that are cut regardless.

Obscene Broadcasts Are Prohibited at All Times

Obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution and cannot be broadcast at any time. The Supreme Court has established that, to be obscene, material must meet a three-pronged test:

An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and
The material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

That is taken from the FCC's website. Though, I believe a Supreme Court case was heard this year in regards to language. I will have to research that.

Same with sex, I was watching the boon dock saints a couple days ago on IFC
and they showed breast it was like 9 o clock and IFC is not a premium station.

IFC, on most carriers, falls under a premium channel though it all depends on how a company packages their channels.

Post Script
Here is the court case -- FCC v. Fox Television Stations

and

FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc et. al.

Everyone who thinks censorship is silly, is supporting the New World Order, believe it or not, either directly or indirectly.The world is becoming more and more immoral by the day, descending into darkness and everyone is either too busy going about their own lives or too ignorant/uninformed to notice and do anything about it. There's no hope for the future of America.

Everyone who still thinks that we're gonna get out of this and return to peace eventually will find out sooner or later that won't be the case

reply to post by popsmayhem

Originally posted by popsmayhem

but this is far from the truth. Comedy central after 11 o clock
or so can air every swear there is..

So you are saying that there is no censorship, but there are rules?


If it is not permitted at 2:00 P.M., but is ok after 11:00 P.M., then obviously it is being censored, during the daytime hours.

Originally posted by ownbestenemy

Originally posted by popsmayhem
censorship of language and sex? To a degree maybe,
but this is far from the truth. Comedy central after 11 o clock
or so can air every swear there is.. Now comedy central
is not getting special privileges, any channel can do this, they just do not..

For the most part true -- though there are still some words I believe and some scenes that are cut regardless.

Obscene Broadcasts Are Prohibited at All Times

Obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution and cannot be broadcast at any time. The Supreme Court has established that, to be obscene, material must meet a three-pronged test:

An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and
The material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

That is taken from the FCC's website. Though, I believe a Supreme Court case was heard this year in regards to language. I will have to research that.

Same with sex, I was watching the boon dock saints a couple days ago on IFC
and they showed breast it was like 9 o clock and IFC is not a premium station.

IFC, on most carriers, falls under a premium channel though it all depends on how a company packages their channels.

Post Script
Here is the court case -- FCC v. Fox Television Stations

and

FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc et. al.

edit on 2-3-2012 by ownbestenemy because: (no reason given)

'

On the same page I think now.

If comedy central can play the whole south park movie
and i mean it is the whole thing they play
uncensored why is it comedy central the only ones
actually airing something uncensored like that..
Seems like most stations will not even go there
not because they can't but because they have no
audience for it. A side from the few adult toy infomercials
no one is using the ability except like one or two channels.

BrokenCircles what i'm saying is that channels can air uncensored
material after a certain time up until a certain time, but there is only
one channel I know that is even utilizing that ability.
Majority of people don't want to hear Ryan Seacrest cuss like a sailor on American Idol.. lol
although i am not one. just for funny value

There must be some need for censorship, ATS does it, and im sure it has its reasons

*cough*....google....*cough*.....rankings money money money adverts....*cough* *cough*

Same applies for television, its not really so much about the imaginary moralistic outrage for TV networks or internet sites[well maybe for the viewers/readers], its all about demographic manipulation for proffit maximization.

Originally posted by Ixtab
There must be some need for censorship, ATS does it, and im sure it has its reasons

*cough*....google....*cough*.....rankings money money money adverts....*cough* *cough*

Same applies for television, its not really so much about the imaginary moralistic outrage for TV networks or internet sites[well maybe for the viewers/readers], its all about demographic manipulation for proffit maximization.

Well here in lies the argument though. ATS "censors" because it is a private company invoking its reserved rights upon users that agree to such when they sign up. The acceptable amount of censorship that we face here on ATS is in the minds of the owners, best to facilitate broad discussion with the hopes of the most civility.

Of course we are going to have profit maximization -- what company do you know sets out at the beginning of the year with minimum profit margins (or are you trying to connecting two issues here with subtle inference about profit?)

Absent the FCC rules, most broadcast companies have their own set of standards and practices and/or belong to an industry-wide group that aims to provide quality broadcasting (quality meaning appealing to the broadest section of the population). Demographics come into play when it comes to advertising, this much is true. But manipulation of that?