Censorship

Definition: The act of suppressing or deleting anything considered objectionable

Something to think about…

• As long as humans have sought to communicate, others have sought to prevent them. Everyday, some government or other group tries to restrict or control what can be said, written, sung, or broadcast. Almost every idea thought has been considered objectionable to someone and almost everyone has thought that the world would be a better place if “so and so” didn’t exist.

“Burning a Book” by William Stafford

• What does the poet seem to be saying about the difference between truth and lies in the first stanza?

• Why does he end the first stanza with a description of “a few charred words” that are left in the fire?

• What do you think the poet means by “some books ought to burn, trying for character”?

• What does the poet seem to be saying is the worst type of censorship? Why?

• What do you think about the poet’s stance on censorship?

History of Censorship

• Socrates was accused of corrupting the youth and believing in alternative gods. He was sentenced to drink poison.

Soviet Union

• Stalin developed an elaborate system of censorship. He authorized the newspapers, banned books, and prevented the foreign import of literature.

Nazi Germany

• The Nazi’s burned 20,000 volumes of “offensive” literature in 1933.

1st Amendment• Congress shall make no law

respecting an establishment or religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof; or abridging freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances.

Put this amendment in your own words. Do you ever think that there is a time when it is necessary for the government to limit freedom of speech/expression?

Censorship in Times of War

• During WWII, Roosevelt created the Office of Censorship. He asked the director to use his utmost discretion on international communications. From 1941-1945, every letter that crossed the U.S. borders was subject to be opened and scoured for information.

• In 1979, the U.S. government sued the magazine The Progressive for trying to reveal the production of the Hydrogen Bomb.

• In1991, George H. Bush restricted media coverage of casualties from the first Iraq war.

• In 2001, the government passed the Patriot Act.

Other Forms of Censorship

• Look at the document labeled “Banned & Challenged Books.” Which books have you read? Are you surprised that any books are on this list? Why?

Censorship in Music

• Look at the document labeled “music.” How has censorship changed between 1950 and today? What are you most surprised by?

Censorship in Fahrenheit 451

• Censorship is the main theme of Fahrenheit 451. In the world of Fahrenheit 451, books are burned because they trigger thought and discontent, two things which are unwelcome in this “happiness oriented” society. What’s unexpected about censorship in Fahrenheit 451 is that it seems to have originated with the people, not the government’s desire to control. People were unhappy and discontented so the government sought to remove the source of their unhappiness and replace them with activities which would prevent them from thinking, and thus being unhappy.

FACT:FACT:FACT:FACT

• Ballantine Books originally published the novel in 1953, but in 1967 brought out a special edition to be sold to high schools. Without informing Bradbury or putting a note in the edition, the publisher modified seventy-five passages in the novel in order to eliminate words like “hell,” “damn,” and “abortion.”

Vonnegut Letter

• Read the letter and answer questions:

Silent Debate

• Does the government ever have the right to censor materials?