United
States censorship methods not effective,
useless
Aneya Fernando
So is it just me, or
has censorship in the media gone overboard?
Every time I turn on the radio, there are those annoying “bleeps” between
every word of Snoop Dogg’s new song.
Or even worse, they change the words completely, like in Eminem’s “Ass
Like That.” Changing the word “ass” to “butt” is
completely ridiculous.
What do people think? That we don’t know what he’s really saying?
That if we hear the word “ass” we will somehow be corrupted for life?
Of course it’s perfectly fine to hear 50 Cent say “I’ll let
ya lick my lollipop” but heaven forbid he says the word “shit.” Is
it just me, or is there something seriously wrong with censorship in the media
today?
If adults only knew what today’s adolescents are saying. Even what today’s
preteens are saying even. Why does my 12-year-old cousin know all the words to
Ludacris “Roll Out?” How can she quote the raunchiest lines from “Wedding
Crashers?” It’s crazy.
I just don’t get it. If people as young as 12 know these things, censoring
the word “ass” does nothing except make them want to hear it more.
We want what we can’t have. Anything your parent’s don’t want
you to do, you’re going to do.
Rebelling is just part of growing up. We all know that.
Drinking is illegal before you’re 21, so you start at 16. Parents won’t
buy “Parental Advisory Explicit Lyrics” CDs for you? Get your friend
to buy them for you. No R-rated movies? Rent them, or better yet, get an older
friend to buy the tickets for you. The list goes on.
All of this censorship is very strange to me. Back in France, they don’t
censor anything. I mean, they let it all hang
out. Literally.
Look into any pharmacy window and there will be a giant billboard of a completely
nude woman. No one even blinks.
My little brothers are so used to breasts out in the open, they don’t look
twice when women walk around topless at the
beach. French teenagers don’t binge drink like some Americans do, and they
have fewer drunk driving accidents than we do. This is because French teenagers
have been drinking wine with family
since they were about 10. It’s no big deal over there, nothing is. And
I love that about France.
Now, I can’t say all censorship is bad. It’s not. Some of it is appropriate,
and some of it is just plain stupid. I think the media censors the wrong things.
It does absolutely nothing to stop teens from cussing or having sex or using
drugs. It just makes them want to do it more.
Censorship in this country is out of control. And not just in the media. Free
speech has become an oxymoron, just as questioning the government does or criticizing
our president now warrants a search from the CIA.
In the end, censorship means one simple thing: Someone out there doesn’t
want you to hear, watch, see or say a certain thing. But we’re in America,
people, the home of the brave. But most importantly, the land of the free. So
always remember that you have your own voice. Use it wisely.
Aneya Fernando is a freshman journalism major.
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