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Example research essay topic: Access To Information Childs Play - 1,581 words

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... gives the BBFC statutory recognition as the regulator of licensing of videos charged with monitoring material that is suitable for home viewing. Censorship bodies have written the rules about what is prohibited in films, and these have been subject to change over time, depending partly on the expressed concern of the public, but mainly on what the government and the main church of the country wants. In more recent times, such censorship bodies have surrendered to their power, particularly in the United States, where censorship has returned to the local level, and the central body only classifies films with respect to their content as suitable for various age groups. In the United Kingdom, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), as it is now called, has modified its classifications to tie in with the American model. British films are now classified U when considered suitable for the whole population, PG (Parental Guidance) when they contain scenes that may be unsuitable for young children, 12 as suitable for children over the age of 12, 15 when suitable for people over 15 years, and 18 when suitable for people over 18 years.

However, the final decision as to whether a film can be exhibited still lies with the local authority. The BBFC also classifies videocassette recordings in the same way, and in this area its classifications have more direct legal force. Under provisions of the license of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) the British Home Secretary has the power to prohibit the BBC from broadcasting any item or program at any time. Furthermore, under recent legislation, commercial television companies are subject to similar restrictions.

The discretion of the Home Secretary is extremely wide and can only be challenged on the basis that the Home Secretary is acting improperly. One example of a legal challenge to a broadcasting ban was the Brand case in 1990 when the Home Secretary exercised his judgment to ban the transmission of interviews with representatives of certain groups, including the Irish political party- Sinn Fein. The House of Lords considered a judicial review in respect of the ban, but upheld the minister's exercise of discretion. The judges did not consider the European Convention on Human Rights, which restricts violation of freedom of expression, to be relevant and found that the minister had not acted unreasonably in utilizes a ban to try to prevent publicity to terrorists. In practice, broadcasters were able to circumvent the ban by dubbing the voices of actors over the voices of the banned speakers.

By putting an age boundary on the side of a video box the BBFC hope that it will stop 15 year olds watching an 18 movie or 12 year olds trying to watch a film classified 15. I feel the age boundaries shouldnt stop the public from watching the film; it should just be a warning to the viewer that they are about to watch a film, which more than likely will contain scenes of violence and / or bad language, it is then up to them if they want to view such material. The BBFC are trying to protect us from seeing things that may disturb us, even though violence, prostitution and foul language goes on all around us everyday. If you dont like horror films and get scared, why watch them?

The age guidelines should not tell you if you are or are not allowed to watch the film, it should be your choice, and if you are considering watching an 18 film, at that age you should be old enough to make the decision by yourself. Would it disturb you? If the answer to that is yes, then maybe that film is not for you. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a brutal film involving the deaths of a group of teenagers while they are on holiday. The film was unavailable for decades as it was too disturbing for the public to view, but eventually it was shown on television on channel 4 as part of a horror weekend. This shows that the BBFC is getting more relaxed with classifying films as they realize that we the public should not be kept in the dark.

Although letting the public watch such films as Childs Play, the Exorcist and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre it has been proven that these types of films provoke violence and many murders can be blamed on the film industry. There has been a large amount of research trying to identify the effects of the media on the public, especially in relation to violence. There have been several cases of copycat murders from such films as Natural born killers and Childs Play 3. The results to this research claimed that somehow if we the audience were to watch a violent film; then we will carry out the same brutal acts. This is not totally true as people with aggressive tendencies may watch violent videos but that does not necessarily mean that everyone who watches violent videos will become vicious.

By ruling out violence in films so the public does not see it does not mean violence will go away forever. In the circumstances of a people actually governing themselves, it is obvious that there is no substitute for freedom of speech and of the press, particularly as that freedom permits an informed access to information and opinions about political matters. Even the more repressive regimes today recognize this underlying principle, in that their ruling bodies try to make certain that they themselves become and remain informed about what is really going on in their countries and abroad, however repressive they may be in not permitting their own people to learn about and openly to discuss public affairs. Whether anyone who thus rules unjustly, or otherwise improperly, can be regarded as truly understanding and hence truly controlling his situation is a question not limited to these circumstances. Lord Radcliff could speak as well about the apparent indifference of censors of all kinds to the depiction or portrayal of mindless violence and brutality, that witless rejection of civility that threatens to be the Black Death of the twentieth century. Thus, it is not usually noticed today that Mill recognized that a people has to be trained properly to make use of the considerable liberty he advocates.

If, for example, a community should recognize that television is corrupting the young, distorting the political process, and generally playing havoc with education and the public character, is it really helpless to do anything about it? Would it be censorship to abolish altogether such a baleful influence? And if abolition of television should be considered censorship, may not that suggest that censorship is not altogether bad? What, in short, is the popular character presupposed for effective self-government, and how is that character properly to be developed and maintained? Such questions reflect the fact that censorship and freedom of the press problems depend for their sensible resolution upon more general considerations of liberty, of the common good, and of the rights, virtues, and duties of citizens entrusted with self-government. Thus, Tocqueville could observe in Democracy in America (183540): It cannot be repeated too often: nothing is more fertile in marvels than the art of being free, but nothing is harder than freedoms apprenticeship.

The same is not true of despotism. Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of order. People are lulled to sleep by the temporary prosperity it engenders, and when they do wake up, they are wretched. But liberty is generally born in stormy weather, growing with difficulty amid civil discords, and only when it is already old does one see the blessings it has brought. Among the blessings of liberty may be found the philosophical pursuits that have sometimes appeared so threatening to public order. Laurence Berns has reformulated the ancient dilemma posed by the trial of Socrates, the greatest hero of freedom of thought dilemma that exposes one of the roots of the perennial censorship controversy: Is philosophy, the intransigent quest for truth (including the truth about politics and religion), inherently subversive?

Does it necessarily undermine political society and conventional morality, or, on the contrary, is a good society impossible without freedom to philosophize? To make a tree grow correctly, you must start caring from the very beginning. You must not block its nutrients, water nor sunlight, but allow it to move around a bit. Our society needs to be treated in the same fashion. There should indeed be ready access to information, but in varying degrees of freedom, determined not by censorship, but by controlled access. The government is trying to protect the population from the harsh realities of life through censorship of information, but are they really helping, or are they hindering by restricting the individuals freedom to information in a supposedly democratic nation?

Is censorship the answer for this huge pile of junk that has been collected over the years and will likely multiply more and more? The simple answer is no. However, I believe that film censorship is the necessary protection. The reality is its too late for that, and trying to censor something for the most part, will make things worse in the end. It is up to you to decide what should go in or out. Censorship will not work for sexual, violent, or generally bad things.

We just have to live to deal with it.


Free research essays on topics related to: childs play, access to information, censorship, suitable, year olds

Research essay sample on Access To Information Childs Play

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