Censorship and Why I Consider it Evil

The term "Evil" is not a label I seriously use often.  It's an incredibly strong word, and it has many different undertones.  However, I believe it to be appropriate for this topic.

Censorship.  I loathe it.  I hate censoring myself, and I don't expect other people to do it in front of me.  I don't condone extreme, harmful, and bad behavior, but masking it only gives more power to the act because society is thus prevented from addressing it.

I'm going to give examples in the following areas: Video Games, Music, and TV/Cinema.  I will explain why I think the particular incidents of censorship are bad, while concluding with how to deal with the problems inherent in the art.

Ah, my beloved "Vidja" Games.  I'm a gamer, not a dedicated one, and certainly not really good at them, but I love them and play them often.  Video games are a much sought target of Parents, Family Values Activists, and others for censorship and restrictive legislation.  Why? Because they are popular and interactive.  It's one thing to watch a fictional murder, yet quite different to fictionally commit said murder by interacting with a fictional character in order to throw fictional bullets at another fictional character.  Yet, violence is rarely censored in Video Games (save for ManHunt 2 where the previously allowed murder techniques where represented by some acid trip nonsense).  Now sex, sex is almost universally censored in all media these days.  Take, for instance, Grand Theft Auto.  Sleeping with prostitutes, once allowed in Vice City, was taken out of subsequent instalments.  As a PvP Online comic strip once expressed, it doesn't make much sense to allow a player to run over infinite amounts of pedestrians without much consequence (cops are easy to outrun), but then to prevent the player from engaging in the world's oldest business.  Seriously, in Vice City all you saw was the car rocking, but you can cut appendages off with accompanying blood squirts all day long.  Why is sex worse than violence?  The presence of sex AND violence is already indicated on the box.  If a parent or child is stupid enough to disregard that, then they shouldn't be allowed to purchase their own groceries.  Honestly, if you're that thick then you probably get the milk and alcohol aisles at Vons mixed up.  Here's an idea, the age restrictions remain in place, parent's take responsibility for their kids, and my video games are left alone.  The game is called Grand Theft Auto, not Pony Commander III: Fellowship of the Sheep (or is that, Fellowsheep?).  If you see a game like RapeLay, don't sell it to kids, and parents, exercise some common sense.

I don't even play GTA any longer as I got bored with the gameplay.  Yet, if Rayne from the BloodRayne series had giant black bars all over her each time she spun on a lamp post in her unique stripper style murder methods, I'd be just as incensed.  That fictional character got a centerfold in PlayBoy, yet no one complained!  Why?  Because for some reason it's easier or less hated when kids their hands on porn than video games.

Music is more important to me than video games, and sometimes even food.  Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Hearing a song that has been edited for time or content infuriates me for multiple reasons.  Firstly, it completely ruins the flow of a song.  I feel sorry for any rap fans who listen to regular radio, it must be a nightmare.  Why doesn't music played over the radio carry the same warnings as those sold in stores?  How difficult is it to say, "This station features music that contains elements of ho's, guns, drugs, sex, hatred, etc.  It may not be suitable for everyone."  Run that every commercial break.  Problem solved, jerks.

Secondly, it ruins the artistic expression.  If I released a song (and I intend to one day), that contained something about sex, violence, or even just an intense and dark emotion, and someone censored it, I would be deeply insulted.  I personally don't throw certain words and elements into my poetry or songs without express intention, they are part of the story and expression, and to take it out is to change the song.  Songs are open to interpretation, NOT to presentation.  If someone wants to cover a song and change it, that's entirely different.

TV/Cinema I've paired together even though both are handled slightly different.  Cinema is often left alone because one has to purchase a ticket/dvd individually.  There's more personal control available to the viewer.  TV is potentially on for the public at all times, thus certain demographics are kept in mind.  This I have less of a problem with because I agree that children shouldn't be exposed to certain things without a parent present.

HOWEVER, why does Comedy Central, a channel devoted to adult-oriented humor, run censored movies? Parents, tell your kids what Comedy Central is, and leave the movies and shows alone!  Oh, what do I care? Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and the internet in general is killing TV anyway, I don't even watch it any more.

On a serious note, there are so many channels, TV interface should let someone format what they want to watch and when.  Let there exist a censored version of the shows that someone can opt into, don't let it be the norm.

As I have stated, censorship harms the artistic integrity of popular media, and parents need to take responsibility for their kids.  Yes, you can't protect your kids 100% of the time.  Hell, I learned 99% of my curse words from school when I was growing up.

When you take sex out of a romance scene, it doesn't mean your kid won't ask about sex.  If the word "shit" is muted in a song, it just makes people wonder what was actually and said, and most likely they will look it up later, thus being exposed to it anyway.  When you take adult elements out of an adult game, you are ruining the experience for those of us who are entitled to it.  Little Jimmy shouldn't be playing these games, so don't punish me if he does.

What do you all think we should do about censorship?

Thanks for reading.