what is censorship?
TRANSCRIPT
Paper name: Mass Communication Media Studies Topic: What is censorship?
Name; Solanki Pintu
Roll no; 29
M. A. Semester: 4
Email ID ; [email protected]
Submitted to: Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumar sinhjiBhavnagar University
What is censorship?
• Supervision and control of the information and ideas that are circulated among the people within a society. In modern times, censorship refers to the examination of books, periodicals, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports, and other communication media for the purpose of altering or suppressing parts thought to be objectionable or offensive.
History of Censorship
• Censorship comes from the Latin word CENSOR • The origin of the term censor can be traced to the office
of censor established in Rome i 443 BC. In Rome, as in the ancient Greek communities, the ideal of good governance included shaping the character of the people. Hence censorship was regarded as an honourable task. In China, the first censorship law was introduced in 300 AD.
• The First Censorship - Socrates speech about democracy has been censored by the Athens government .
Who imposes censorship
• Rulers of government• Leaders of democracy• Parents• Military officials
Needs of censorship• Protect against pornography and
violent. • Limits certain materials for religious
and cultural reasons.• To avoid virus and spam messages. • Some uneducated peoples may not
know complex ideas in politics.• Avoid in reaching pornography to
children. • Stop illegal materials in internet.
Types of Censorship
• Educational censorship • Moral censorship• Military censorship• Political censorship• Religious censorship • Corporate censorship
Central Board of Film Certification• The Central Board of Film Certification or sensor Board is a statutory censorship and classification body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
• It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952.
• Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they are certified by the Board, including films shown on television.
• CBFC India is considered to be one of the most powerful film censor boards in the world due to its strict ways of functioning.
GUIDELINES ISSUED BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
The objective of film certification will be to that:
• The medium of the film remains responsible.• Artistic expressions and creative freedom should be
respected.• Human sensibilities are not offended by vulgarity or
obscenity.• Scenes degrading women in any manner are not
presented.• Visuals or words disrespectful of social, religious or
other institutions are not presented.
• Visuals or words of defamation of any individual or group of individual and contempt of court are not presented.
• At the same time the Board of Film Certification shall also ensure that:
• Is judged in the entirety from the point of view of its over all impact.
• In the light of the period depicted in the film and the contemporary standards of the country.
Certificates and censorship• Films are certified under 4 categories.• Initially, there were only two categories
of certificates • "U" (unrestricted public exhibition)• "A" (restricted to adult audiences).• Two more categories were added in June
1983• "U/A" (unrestricted public exhibition
subject to parental guidance for children below the age of twelve)
• "S" (restricted to specialized audiences such as doctors or scientists
Example of Certificates and censorship
Indian Movies That Got Banned By The Censor Board
• Bollywood is the largest film industry in the world in terms of number of movies produced every year.
• However, apart from all the hits, flops and the average, there exists another brand of Indian cinema which is deliberately kept out of our reach.
• Films that indulge in strong (read bold) language, suggestive (read vulgar) scenes, gender taboos, Kashmir issues, religion and basically movies which are way ahead of its time.
Is censorship ever “good?”
• Can be used to protect people/interests in matters of national security/inappropriate material for children.
• However, it can also be used as a means of suppression/agenda setting.
• Some artists feel that it is an infringement upon their rights.
• It removes freedom of choice in some cases.
When is censorship justified?
• Censorship is justified in many cases, as it seeks to maintain social stability, racial harmony and to protect the young minds from dangerous materials in movies.
• However, once misused, censorship can violate human rights principles of freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
• Due to complexity of censorship, the government needs to be prudent in using censorship to the best interest of the society.
Losses due to censorship Censorship is the suppression
of Freedom of speech. Censorship in all its forms is often
unjustifiable and is used simply to stop truths or ideas emerge which draw attention to powerful people or governments, or undermine ideology. This is inexcusable.
Sometimes it ruins the creativity or artistic effectiveness of the thing.
CONCLUSION • There is lack of transparency under the Act itself.
• The total discretion is in the hands of the Central Government.
• Most of the time movies are not judged on the matter of contents but on the political influences or the factors which would be affecting the ruling party at the Centre.
• There is Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2010 which still needs approval.
• Now a days censorship has been used to prohibit those films which really holds the real picture of the society.
References
• https://www.slideshare.net/prashantpatel64/censorship-bme1
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_India
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Board_of_Film_Certification
