Censorship...

    The definition of censorship has probably changed from generation to generation.  I believe censorship laws are just another way of saying that you have crossed your limit and have violated some ones rights.  I personally believe it is not the government who chooses to censor certain websites in Canada or even in school. It is the society itself that chooses what they want to ban in public.  Equality is the main focus; we cannot show a disturbed scene of a movie or on YouTube because we have little kids watching.  We also do not want them to read bad language used in a book because they might end up exploring and experimenting what they have read (such as swearing in public). People freely express what they think about a certain topic but someone else might not like their opinion because it can be very offensive; obviously that video/book would then be banned because we are creating issues in our country.

 

 Canada wants everyone to be treated fairly, if someone does not like something and has a whole group saying they do not like it,  then by all means the material will be censored.  Society has power to censor, the government has power to censor and if some people do not like the idea of censoring then they have the rights to fight for justice and give great reasons to help stop censoring.

 

Below is a link of a video that explains a couple of funny cases that have been censored in each country, check out what happened in Canada.

 

 

 Do you guys think Censorship laws adequate or not?  I feel in today’s society everything has become a joke to us and nobody really takes a lot of things to heart.  We are opened to racism, movies are being rated to whether it is R rated or PG and so on. I believe censorship laws are not necessary because we have enough laws to protect us if we cross our limits in public. Internet is just a way to talk to others and express your feelings to the whole world and find out what others think about the issue. There is no need to censor what we have to say unless it’s really brutal and we have crossed beyond our limits about someone’s religious belief or so.

 

Hope you all enjoyed my blogs, I sure have learned many facts about censorship throughout my research.  Especially when I went to my local library and by searching through online! What have you guys learned and found interesting from the information I have given to you?

 

 

BOOKS THAT HAVE BEEN BANNED AND WHY?

Children’s book called Bratz has been banned from being put into Scholastic sales. Parents have complained that “the dolls promoted precocious sexuality”. The books being chosen to put into Scholastic sales must "offer materials that appeal to children where they are, not where we would like them to be" (Schmidt). Meaning kids ages five should not be putting make up on that the dolls promote in their books. There was even a fashion Bratz video game being sold in the Scholastic that thought fashion tips to little girls, such as ages five and above.

 

 

 

Canada schools have also banned Yertle the Turtle by Dr.Seuss, published in 1958.  This occurred because the quote Yertle the Turtle was seen to be a “political statement”.  

 

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H Lawrence was banned in Canada for about 30 years because it used “obscene language” and for many other reasons. “The story (an affair between a working class man and an upper class woman), some sex scenes, and some specific words were all considered offensive”( Timothy).  But in 1960 the “novel was not obscene according to the Canadian Criminal Code^”.

I’m surprised to see that these books have been censored here in Canada.  I guess back in the days the censorship laws might have been different because today we are all really open to read or see things at such a young age. I do find it necessary to ban the Bratz books from the scholastic because it does not really teach kids the knowledge of the real fashion world. It is based on the basics such as makeup and clothes, but little girls age five do not need to learn about makeup and high fashioned clothing tips. Scholastic books are usually chosen by parents so even if it was not banned, it would be parents’ choice to let the child purchase the Bratz books or not.

I went to the public library to ask information about challenged books and the librarian gave me a list of books that have been partially banned or censored in Canada. But I was unable to find some good information about them through my research on the internet. Based on what the librarian said, did you know that Harry Potter was partially banned in Canada? This occurred because the whole witchcraft theme went against the Christian faith. Also a children’s book called Tango Malus Three was banned because it talked about two male penguins taking care of their adopted penguin. It was banned because children should not be learning about the whole gay pride topic at such a young age. 

 

 

       Do you think it is okay to censor books if they cross their limits and are obscene, such as the ones listed above?

 

 

 REFERENCE

        Ray, Timothy. Lady Chatterle'ys Lover . N.p., 10 2010. Web. 26 Oct 2012.< http://www.censorshipincanada.ca/2010/11/lady-chatterleys-lover.html>.

Schmidt, Sarah . "Bratz books banned from Scholastic sales." . The Calgary Herald 2008. Web. 26 Oct 2012.

Canadian School Bans Dr. Seuss’ Yertle The Turtle. N.p., 26 2012. Web. 26 Oct 2012. <http://www.themarysue.com/yertle-the-turtle-banned/>.

 

. On the Subject of Lady Chatterle'ys Lover and banned books. N.p., 24 2011. Web. 11 Oct 2012. <http://magicbulletin.me/2011/04/on-the-subject-of-lady-chatterleys-lover-and-banned-books/>.

 

Yertle the Turtle Banned For Being 'Too Political'. N.p., 25 2012. Web.

 

. Lady Chatterle'ys Lover. 1999-2012 GradeSaver LLC. Web. 11Oct 2012. <http://www.gradesaver.com/lady-chatterleys-lover/wikipedia/controversy/>.

 

 

 

 

 

Censorship and Government

At the Federal Court of Canada there has been a controversial case about section 13 under the Human Rights Commissions Act, whether or not it is constitutional. Section 13 is about internet censorship (hate speech law), meaning you do not have the rights to say what you wish to under section 2 of Fundamental Rights. “Marc Lemire, webmaster of freedomsite.org and a former leader of the far-right Heritage Front, had violated the act by allowing the posting of comments that were likely to expose homosexuals and blacks to hatred or contempt”. But guess what? Marc won his case against the Human Rights Commissions here in Canada and got section 13 to become unconstitutional. Section 13 has got its official court date on “Dec 13 and 14” at the Federal Court of Canada, located on Queen Street.

 I never knew this case existed and I’m glad Marc successfully won against the Human Rights Act, by letting us Canadians have the freedom to what we want to say on the internet. I’m surprised he got justice for all of Canada because nobody has ever won a case against the Human Rights Act to prohibit internet censorship laws, under section 13 of the Human Rights Commissions Acts.

Prior to this case I found a video that I linked below for you guys to watch. Did you know that our governments could be watching exactly what we say or do on the internet? Our internet has a lot of vulgar material, such as vulgar language; hate propaganda; pornography and so forth. I found the video below interesting because it talks about what the Governments been up to behind our freedom of speech on the internet and what Canadians think about it. Obviously nobody wants their privacy on the internet to be invaded or watched upon, not that they are hiding anything. The Conservative party including our Prime Minister Stephen Harper, have not exactly passed their bills yet but are planning to secure our internets by having surveillance using technologies installed within ISPs networks. There are also other interesting things said in regards to the censorship of internet laws, in the video.

 

What are your opinions after watching this video? Do you feel the Government should pass such laws to protect society by watching them like Big Brother or no?

 I definitely believe they should not be telling us that they are spying on us because then we feel uncomfortable and cannot joke around on the internet. Meaning all our freedom of speech is considered to be criminal offenses. If the police wants to watch us then do it secretly to help save the crimes, bullying and threatens that are happening in our country.

REFERENCE

Levant, Ezra . "Update: Canada’s Section 13 censorship law and the Marc Lemire case." . N.p., 03 2012. Web. <http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2012/10/update-canadas-section-13-censorship-law-and-the-marc-lemire-case-2502780.html>.

 

 

 

Challenging the banned books in school libraries

Libraries in Canada have been going through a stage called challenged books. This means “… understanding the complaint against a book, gathering reviews, and locating additional information specific to the complaint or the book (pg.1)”. In other words, they are trying to censor books that use “objectionable language, sexuality, and violence” because it is not appropriate material for young children or even adults to be reading, especially on our library shelves.

The languages being used in books by authors are usually referred as vulgarity (such as swear words). This is definitely not good for kids to read because parents are constantly stopping their children to stop swearing out in public. The concern of vulgar language leads to censorship, but authors use such foul languages in books because it shows the realism of characters in the world. Sometimes people cannot control their swear words and do not have a chance of “sugar coating them”. For example, “we want our young people to imagine a scene, understand a character, and enjoy a plot; we cannot expect them to believe that a contemporary character would say "rats" instead of "shit!"

 Censorship also plays a huge role when it comes down to talking about sexuality in books and violent scenes. Books can be censored because they might talk about abortion, bisexuals, lesbians and even stories with sexual desires. Sometimes “young people have thoughts, questions, and feelings about sex (pg.2)”. They are growing up and need answers but the information is being censored. Do you think books based on sexuality should be banned for teenagers though? In my opinion, no because they go through phases and might want to be more knowledgeable about it by reading the issues in the books. Those issues and concerns in the books can help them out in reality. “Characters in books are humiliated, get physically attacked, and sometimes are killed. Adults are corrupt, peers are cruel, and parents abuse (pg.3)”.  Is it really bad if young kids read books that contain such violence in them, especially in today’s society? Not really, kids play video games with so much violence in them and have learned about the wars being taken place in our world that contain so much violence.

The author writes things to convey a certain message but without the three aspects (sexuality, objective language, violence) there is no plot or story with details. I personally, find the stage of challenging books based on the three aspects is a good thing for the safety of younger children, but I do not find it necessary. It depends on how much a person can take and how open minded or comfortable they are to certain topics. Some parents might not mind their children reading such material on violence, sexuality or objectionable language at such a young age because it happens in reality and it is better to let them learn now then later in life. But some parents do mind and that leads to censorship, which is because younger kids intend to experience things they might have read in a book. For example, if someone swears in a book, they might use that term at school. Books can also consist racism that lead to being banned. I think it depends on how deep a book talks about the topics that lead to censorship.  There is no need to challenge books and censor them because it can simply be found on the internet somehow by younger children, especially in today’s society.

 Do you find it necessary to censor books that contain vulgar language, sexuality and violence into our Canadian libraries?

 

REFERENCE

 

Bringelson, Carin. "On Intellectual Freedom." School Libraries In Canada (17108535) 24.4 (2005): 57-59. Canadian Reference Centre. Web. 09 Oct. 2012

 

What are Canada’s censorship laws? Are they adequate or not?

Censorship has been a controversial issue for many years in a lot of countries, including Canada. But what is censorship and how does it affect us?  It is a type of law, in which the government protects society from seeing such disturbed material on the internet or in a book. 

In Canada, under section 2 of the Charters of Rights and Freedom, we have the “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication (Tedesco 1)”. We also have the “freedom of conscience and religion”, this means anyone is allowed to express their feelings by posting up videos on YouTube, publishing a book, or teaching a certain topic in Canada.

But with all this freedom we sometimes cross our limits and end up infringing or violating someone else’s rights, which is not acceptable. Sometimes the words people use are very harsh and offensive, which leads to media censorship. For example, posting a racist video up on YouTube or using foul words can lead to censorship.

By blocking and banning access to such material, we are not allowed to see the full details of a certain story or topic because our governments have been censoring material such as books, films, and other sources linked to media.

Have you ever noticed that your school libraries have been censoring certain websites so that you cannot access them? Such as Facebook, Twitter, Msn, MySpace and all the social sites we like to use every day. It definitely made many of us angry because we do not have any access or freedom to use them. By censoring material on the internet, it is believed to help kids better focus in school rather than jumping to social sites during school hours and distracting themselves. By banning or censoring a book, it is seen that the book is going beyond our rights and freedom of speech.

         What do you think about the issue of censoring our media, especially in schools? Do you find it to be a good thing or bad by banning and censoring such material as the internet and books?

 

 

REFERENCE:

All about laws: Exploring the Canadian Legal System. sixth. canada: Print.

TEDESCO, STEPHEN. "School Censorship And The Null Curriculum." Our Schools / Our Selves 18.4 (2009): 55-62. Canadian Reference Centre. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.