Censorship
With your partner…
• Come up with a definition or example of
censorship.
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cen·sor
1.an official who examines books, plays, news reports, motion
pictures, radio and television programs, letters, cablegrams,
etc., for the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable
on moral, political, military, or other grounds.
2.any person who supervises the manners or morality of others.
3.an adverse critic; faultfinder.
4.(in the ancient Roman republic) either of two officials who kept
the register or census of the citizens, awarded public contracts,
and supervised manners and morals.
Examples of censorship…
• Perhaps the most famous case of censorship in ancient times
is that of Socrates, sentenced to drink poison in 399 BC for his
corruption of youth and his acknowledgement of unorthodox
divinities.
• Italy- (and the entire Catholic World) Pope Paul IV ordered the
first Index of Prohibited Books in 1559.
• US- Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first
banned in 1885 in the Concord Public Library (Massachusetts).
• USSR- 1917 began a new, long and extensive era of strict
censorship under the revolutionary rulers of the USSR lasting
until the end of the 1980s.
Examples continued…
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Germany- Numerous book pyres were enthusiastically lit by the Hitler Jugend, the
young members of the fanatical Nazi movement, growing stronger and gaining
ever more power in Austria and Germany during the 1930s. In order to cleanse the
minds of people and society any book written by a Jewish author, communist or
humanist, was fed to the flames.
Algeria- "Those that live by the pen shall die by the sword“ With these words the
Armed Islamic Group (GIA) declared war on the media in Algeria. From May 1993
until the end of 1995, 58 editors, journalists and media workers were
systematically executed with the intent of punishing and scaring journalists from
acting as mouthpieces for the Algerian authorities.
Canada- In the early 1910s, motion pictures were rising in popularity. It was
decided nationally that censorship of them was necessary in order to be suitable
for a wide, general audience of varying ages, mental, and educational levels.
(Canadian censors removed controversial scenes such as those with women
smoking, disrespect for officers of the law, and depiction and patriotic waving of
the American flag so the boards could promote a sense of Canadian nationalism)
No Facebook in China!?!
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lcXxL4m
np0
Pros of censorship?
• With your partner, discuss when/why
censorship might be useful.
Check out the articles…
• “The Kite Runner” Banned in Afghanistan
• “Ontario Parents…”
Writing time…
• In a developed response (use the rubric to
guide you) discuss censorship.