“I disagree strongly with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
–Voltaire
Florence and the Machine, a noteworthy indie pop band, have recently come under fire for their seemingly racist use of blackface and misrepresentation of the voodoo/voudou religion in the music video of their song, “No Light, No Light”. In fact, this band has received so much hate from Youtube and various blogging sites that a petition has been enacted to have the offensive material removed from Youtube as well as forcing the band to apologize for its creation. That being said, this article will not argue the content of the material, only the aspect of censorship.
“Perhaps it sounds ridiculous, but the best thing that young filmmakers should do is to get hold of a camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all.”
–Stanley Kubrick
The people who are offended by the use of blackface and voodoo in this music video are justified in their emotions. However, there are millions of videos uploaded to Youtube many would find offensive, but that does not permit them the right or justification in stifling the creativity of another individual.
“Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever.”
–Nadine Gordimer
Art doesn’t exist to be beautiful. Art exists to teach, inspire, unify peoples, broaden horizons, and above all else, it is open to interpretation. Like Judy Blume, I believe that the need to censor stems from fear. Judy Blume is an author who writes books mainly directed toward young adults. Her books are constantly scrutinized because she is not afraid to explore topics that many parents deem inappropriate for children to read about. Parents felt that if their kids don’t read about controversial issues, their kids won’t know about those issues. This ignorance, in turn, will prevent the kids from participating in questionable behavior. This incredibly archaic mindset, rather than being effective, mainly results in children participating in the questionable behavior anyway. In the attempt to censor a film, book, painting, etc. the group is squelching artistic freedom. They are saying to the artist, “I feel that what you have to say is irrelevant. Therefore, I won’t even let you say it.”
“Censorship is to art what lynching is to justice.”
–Henry Louis Gates
Legally speaking, there are certain instances when the use of censorship in film media should be acceptable. One of these instances deals with any sort of pornographic content that exploits the rights of an individual or group of people, such as child pornography. The other instance in which censorship may sometimes be acceptable is in the moderation of government propaganda. Censorship is not something that should be taken lightly, and the act of censoring something should not be based in your feelings or emotions. One person, or small group of people, should never be given the power to dictate what an entire population of people experience. In the process of censoring, free will is taken.
“It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.”
–Judy Blume