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Censorship is a word with many meanings. In a broadcast sense the word censor, according to the Pocket Oxford Dictionary (seventh edition 1984), means an official with power to suppress whole or parts of books, plays, films, letters, news, etc on the grounds of obscenity, or threat to security. Suppress and obscenity are the key words in that definition. Censorship occurs when we watch television or a movie, listen to the radio or buy music, or even read a book or magazine. Censorship also occurs in places such as public beaches because one can only remove so much clothing without being considered indecent.
There are regulations for what the public can and cant see or hear. So who decides what the public can and cant see? Who ultimately decides what is obscene and what should therefore be suppressed? Arent we as a society capable of making that decision for ourselves, and, if we are parents, for our children? Apparently not, and perhaps for good reason too, because what is not obscene to one person may be objectionable to another.
Furthermore, much of the censorship in our society is mainly geared towards children. Age is used as the criteria for rating systems regulating what is proper for children to see at certain stages of their lives. Censorship is one way to regulate what children in a society should and shouldnt experience at a young age. It serves to reinforce the morals a society hopes to instill in its children. But censorship is not solely aimed at children. Censorship is also a way of regulating ourselves, which might also be determined by the community in which we choose to live.
From movies to television, from radio to CDs, from good old-fashioned reading books to the Internet, censorship will always play a role in todays society. Movie censorship is regulated by a rating system determined by age groups. Three main issues are scaled to decide how movies are rated: violence, sexual content, and adult language. These issues can be considered obscene in society today. The movie rating system according to the Motion Picture Association of America is broken down into five main categories. The lowest of the movie ratings is Rated-G, which stands for General Audiences and indicates all ages can be admitted.
The next of the ratings is Rated-PG, which stands for Parental Guidance Suggested. Rated-PG movies might have material that may not be suitable for younger children but for the most part is acceptable for elementary-school students to see. Rated PG- 13 movies means that parents are strongly cautioned that there may be material inappropriate for children under the age of 13. The Rated-R movie is Restricted to people under 17 years of age without the company of a parent or adult guardian. Lastly, which was once called Rated-X is now known as NC- 17, which means no one 17 years of age and under is admitted at all. 1 These ratings are obvious and familiar to almost anyone who has ever been to a movie theater. What is interesting is that television has now taken on a rating system very similar to that of the movie industry.
The old way to censor television shows was to show the programs for adults late at night. That safety mechanism isnt necessarily the case anymore. Furthermore, with so many channels today, how does one know the content of what he or she is watching? As movies have had ratings for many years, television shows now have ratings explaining to the viewer what they are watching. Television ratings are closely related to movie ratings.
Television ratings are broken up into two different categories, the General and Children categories. In the General Category TV-G stands for General Audience and suggests that those programs are suitable for all audiences. Then there is TV-PG, which stands for Parental Guidance Suggested. TV-PG programs may contain material that some parents might find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age. The TV- 14 rating cautions parents strongly against letting children under 14 watch those programs unattended.
TV- 14 is also the highest rating suitable for public television. However many cable channels show programs with the rating TV-MA which stands for Mature Audiences only and is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17 years of age. The Children Category ratings are TV-Y and TV-Y 7. TV-Y is for children of all ages but is mainly for children under the age of seven.
TV-Y 7 is directed towards children of age 7 and above who have acquired some developmental skills needed to distinguish between what is make believe and reality. 2 These ratings are shown on the top right hand side of the television screen in a little box during the television program. By knowing these ratings, a viewer can better know the content of the show he or she is watching. An enduring popular question towards the issue of child censorship is does violence on television movies affect children? Studies show that not regulating what children see at young ages could affect them as they grow older. The American Psychological Association lists three effects on children from watching violence on television and movies. (1) Children may become less sensitive to pain and suffering of others. (2) Children may be more fearful of the world around them. (3) Lastly, children may be more likely to behave in aggressive or in harmful ways towards others. 3 While most Rated-R movies are inappropriate for younger viewers, parents may not have objections to their children seeing Rated-R films. However, this ambiguity puts federal regulators in a difficult position of determining which movies are appropriate for young audiences to see.
Watching too much violence on television or on the movies can desensitize children and can exploit their feelings of envy, competitiveness, and anger that can ultimately affect how a child grows and develops. That is why it is important for children to be educated before and after watching violence on a screen and to be protected from viewing violence. 4 Regardless of the ratings and knowing there is violence on television how would a parent know what their child is watching during their absence? One answer is the answer is the V-chip. Think of the V-chip as a security guard watching over the programs that are going into a television set. When violence or sexually explicit programming comes on, the V-chip intervenes and blocks the transmission according to the programs rating. The V-chip instantly blocks programs according to how the television is preset simply by choosing the comfort level of content from TV-Y to TV-MA.
From the start of the millenium the V chip is now standard on all television sets sold in the United States. 5 Perhaps a better censorship method than the V-chip is for parents to watch the shows their children want to see with them. There are many great advantages to doing this. A parent can actually see what his or her child is watching and interested in. Furthermore, it will be easier to make a more informed decision to determine whether the shows the children like are appropriate for them. Also, if a child doesnt understand a mature situation in a program, then the parent can help them better understand what is going on and then clarify if the situation is right or wrong. The more involved a parent is with his or her children, the better the parent can censor the children from things they shouldnt be seeing at their age.
Another important place where children need supervision and protection is the Internet. As of right now the Internet is not censored because it is internationally connected. This lack of censorship already has created problems. For example, the Internet is now a major way for certain hate groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, to relay their hate messages to a larger audience. Furthermore, since its inception the Internet has been home to the pornography industry, which is a very big business. Would most people consider these types of web sites immoral and objectionable?
Perhaps most would, but obviously others have a different opinion, because the porn industry wouldnt be the size it is today without a market. However, regulations should be made so that it isnt so easy for children to find or wander on those kinds of web sites. Schools that have the Internet in their libraries have a blocking system a lot like the V-chip. It blocks out any kind of search of sexually explicit...
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Research essay sample on Violence On Television Years Of Age
