Should his plays be banned for their political content?By: Cory D/ Dan L

Born July 26, 1856, in Dublin, Ireland, died 1950.

Originally wrote music and literary criticism before he wrote plays.

Wrote nearly 60 plays in his life time dealing with prevailing social issues.

A die hard socialist, Shaw believed that the working class was exploited and that became the main focus of his work/ plays.

Shaw’s plays advocate and support the concept of Socialism.

Socialism is a political philosophy which endows the principles and theories of economic organization of either direct or public worker ownership of resources and means of production.

• Wrote many brochures and speeches for group called the Fabian Society.

• Fabian Society is a British intellectual Socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy through reformist and gradualist means.

• Through Fabian Society Shaw tried towards equal rights for men and women, furthering the treatment of the working class, advocating healthy lifestyles and the private ownership of productive land.

• Won both an Oscar and the Noble Peace Prize for his contributions to literature and his work on the film Pygmalion, a movie adaptation of one of his plays.

• He actually wanted to refuse the Nobel Prize but his wife, also a member of Fabian, made him go and accept it.

• His plays were first performed in the 1890’s. By decades end he had become an established play writer.

Shaw also wrote, unsuccessfully, five novels at the start of his career. All were eventually published, though.

He wrote letters, short stories, essays and was even an amateur photographer at one point.

But because of some of the content of his plays, some for the socialistic views and various other causes, were banned. Many of Shaw's early plays were either banned by the censor or refused production. He began the practice of writing the challenging, mocking, eloquent prefaces to his plays, which were sometimes longer than the play itself.

Should George Bernard Shaw’s plays be banned for their intense socialist nature? No. Why? Because his plays, although

exemplifying socialist ideals, should not be banned. The plays should be performed and people should be able to watch them and decide for themselves.

Ties into the concept of Freedom of Speech.

Pygmalion Based on the complex business of human relationships in a social world. Phonetics Professor Henry Higgins tutors the very Cockney Eliza Doolittle, not only in the refinement of speech, but also in the refinement of her manner. When the end result produces a very ladylike Miss Doolittle, the lessons learned become much more far reaching. The successful musical My Fair Lady was based on this Bernard Shaw classic.

Should George Bernard Shaw’s plays be banned for their intense socialist nature? Yes. Why? Because plays are a form of media but

can also be considered to be propaganda. With an idea as serious as Socialism, Shaw’s plays should not be allowed to be viewed by the public, as they prove to be a threat to the righteous political views of people everywhere.

In 1933, Shaw's The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God wasn’t banned because of the illustrations made from woodcarvings of the naked black girl in silhouette.

Mrs. Warren's Profession (1893). Describes the mother/daughter relationship between a prostitute and her exacting daughter, and it was banned in London for its "immorality.“

He wrote The Devil's Disciple, a play about an American Revolution.

“Socialism is GGGGRREEAAAATTTT!!!”