Category: Censorship

Censorship of the Film “Blonde Venus”

Blonde Venus is a film that was directed by Josef von Sternberg and released by Paramount in 1932. The plot of the film is simple. Helen Faraday (played by Marlene Dietrich) decides to return to show business when her husband Ned (Herbert Marshall) requires money for a rare medical cure to save his life. The return of Helen to her career enables Ned to travel to Europe for his cure. However, the money for Ned’s cure comes not only from Helen’s work but also from a man named Nick Townsend (Cary Grant) who has an affair with Helen. Ned returns home and learns of the affair of his wife and Nick and demands custody of their only son. Helen refuses and flees with the boy and sometimes resorts to prostitution to make a living for her and her son. Ned hires a detective who manages to track Helen and the son down and returns the son to his father. Meanwhile, Helen’s success soars and while in Paris, she meets with Nick again who takes her back to the United States. It is while at the U.S. and visiting her son that Helen finally reconciles with her husband (Staiger 2000).

The self-censorship of this film was problematic due to a conflict between “Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich on the one hand and the production officials on the other side (Jacobs 1997). As a result of the conflict, three drafts of the film were written. The first draft was prepared by Sternberg, the second by B. P. Schulberg, the film’s producer at Paramount, and the last by Sternberg and Schulberg after their reconciliation. In the second draft, the ending of the screenplay was significantly changed whereas the third draft was similar to the original one including the final act of the film (Couvares 2006).

Lamar Trotti, the censor who was responsible for the film, viewed the first draft, prepared by Sternberg, as absolutely impractical, but failed to comment on it because the producer was already arranging to request for far-reaching adjustments (Bermstein 2000). The second draft was considered by Trotti to be better then the first draft but the censor was still very worried about the representation of the two-timing love affair as well as the studio’s account of the final scene. Censors believed Sternberg’s third draft was better than the studio’s version and gave it an approval after some minor adjustments were made (Staiger 2000).

The final act of the film is the most vital of all the scenes because the subject of the dispute elucidates the disparities between the director, producer, and censors. In Sternberg’s edition of the film, “Helen gives up a thrilling career on the stage in Paris, and also her engagement to a millionaire, Nick, so as to go back to her comparatively poor husband, Ned, and son, Johnny” (Jacobs 1988, p. 25). Modern remarks on the film usually take up the issue of the stressed quality of this putatively happy ending. Some commentaries like Ann Kaplan, for instance, assert that Ned is a chiefly ruthless and insensitive personality and express the reconciliation as hard to believe (Robertson 1985).

The studio’s version of the ending is quite different because it pairs off Helen and Nick instead of Helen and Ned. When Helen returns from Paris, Nick informs her that Ned has been involved in an affair with his housekeeper. Nick makes threats to reveal this illicit affair during the trial for the custody of Johnny. Ned leaves the boy with his mother, and Helen and Nick make plans of getting married. Even though the studio’s version is more complicated than the original screenplay, it appears to be inspired in a more persuasive manner by the characters. The studio perceived Ned’s cruelty toward his wife as insensitive and, thus, opted to reorganize the couple around the more pleasant romantic tale. Another outcome of the adjustment to the film’s final act is that Helen ends up being a successful career woman as well as the wife of a millionaire. The film is therefore made to adhere to a universal trajectory of class rise that was conventionalized and exceptionally trendy during this era (Jacobs 1997).

Censors from the film industry nevertheless oppose stridently the studio’s version of the final act. Lamar Trotti writes “It does not seem proper to have Helen’s affair justified in the minds of the audience by tearing down the character of the husband, who, up to this point, has been a decent man who was deceived by his wife” (Jacobs 1988, p. 25) Trotti complains that the version of the studio undermines Ned, a character who is representative of a moral stand or point of view. This type of interpretation is somewhat characteristic of industry censors, who regularly tried to rationalize what they believe to be unpleasant content within a script based on a moral that could be accredited with the ending. According to the rule of “compensating moral values,” censors by and large supported the ultimate retribution and anguish of “evil” characters or their rebirth (Black 1996).

The challenge inherent in the studio’s version of the ending of Blonde Venus, therefore, is that the compensatory judgment has gone out of line. One deed of infidelity is balanced by a worse act. This implies that Helen’s affair, which is inspired from the beginning of the film by a financial need, as a sacrifice to save her sick husband, is made to appear a good act as compared to her husband Ned’s illicit affair. The correspondence showed that censors from the film industry liked Sternberg’s third draft of the screenplay because, according to them, it was consistent with the rule of compensating moral values. This conclusion is made based on two letters written by a correspondent, Jason Joy (Bowman 1992).

As was the case in which he expected challenges from external (state) censorship boards, Joy wrote a statement for studio personnel detailing the reasons why he perceived the film to be intolerable. The letters cover every detail in the screenplay that could reasonably be found offensive. This content is supported on the basis of the moral reasoning that Joy attributes to the tale in general. Helen is a devoted mother; she suffers for her two-timing extramarital affair and goes through a moral rebirth. Therefore, even though she appears to enter into prostitution, it is because of the need to earn a living for her son and herself. Moreover, she gave up custody of her son once she recognized that she cannot take care of him adequately. In the process, she gave up her own happiness for the sake of her son. In addition, even though she becomes wealthy when in Paris, she does not find happiness there and sacrifices her affluent lifestyle and goes back to her impoverished husband and son (Jacobs 1988)

The director’s choice for the final act of the screenplay thus supports the establishment of a pattern of repetition. It is generally argued that within the classical text reduces vagueness and enhances finality (Bernstein 2000). In this case, however, repetition weakens the creation of the couple and makes the ending extremely vague. This impact is as a result of the contrast between the initial and the final scenes. There is a remarkable difference between Ned’s attitude in the opening sequence in which he lives out his attraction for Helen, as it were, and the final sequence in which he appears disenchanted with his wife and must be persuaded to play his part in a story for Johnny. The contrast between these scenes is heightened through the motif of performance. The very fact that the reiteration of the story of falling in love is presented as a fairy tale for Johnny underscores, precisely, its status as fiction. Thus, although the repetition establishes a parallel between the beginning and ending, the differences between the scenes are so marked that the final reconciliation has a hollow and rather dissonant quality, and the expectation of closure is not entirely fulfilled. By comparing the different editions of the ending of Blonde Venus, something can be inferred about the intricate network of barriers which were put on representation under the studio system. Not only did industry self-regulation impose explicit, dictatorial rules, such as the rule of compensating moral values, but also, unreservedly, it served to reinforce a number of narrative conventions (Jacobs 1997). Therefore, the studio supported the formation of the romantic couple, a greatly conventionalized way of attaining narrative closure within the classical cinema. Based on this logic, censors tried to “superimpose a moral upon the moment of resolution-the couple formed must be the ‘legitimate’ one, purged of the taint of adultery through the narrative logic of punishment and redemption” (Jacobs 1988, p. 26). The use of repetition by Sternberg as well as his insistence on performance strengthens these types of closure, and by this means the rules that restricted the symbol of adultery.

Besides the film’s ending, the censor’s scrutiny of Blonde Venus also relies on a particular outset of character, his understanding of Helen’s actual feelings and inner states. The film is however somewhat tricky to deduce at this level. For instance, in Paris, Helen informs Nick of her unwillingness to go back to New York. She proclaims that she is done with men, and even talks disapprovingly about mother love. This position is changed quickly in the next scene, in which a newspaper article writes about the engagement of Helen and Nick and their journey to New York. This crack in permanence and the impersonality of the newspaper tale fails to emphasize on the Helen’s inner state just when the story centers on the issue of the heroine’s feelings. It is easy to assume that Helen returns to her family due to her longing for them, but also, that she loves Nick. Therefore, the utilization of ellipsis renders it difficult to identify Helen’s feelings towards her husband and son. This ambiguity opposes the goal of censorship by making it hard for the censors to identify an unwavering motivation for Helen’s actions (Jacobs 1988).

Referencing List

Bernstein, M 2000, Controlling Hollywood: censorship and regulation in the studio era, The Athlone Press, London.

Black, G 1996, Hollywood Censored: Morality codes, Catholics and the movies, The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge.

Bowman, B 1992, Master space: film images of Capra, Lubitsch, Stemberg, and Wyler, Greenwood Press, Westport.

Couvares, F 2006, Movie censorship and American culture, University of Massachusetts Press, Massachusetts.

Jacobs, L 1988, ‘The censorship of “Blonde Venus”: A Textual Analysis and Historical Method’, Cinema Journal, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 21-31.

Jacobs, L 1997, The wages of sin: censorship and the fallen woman film, University of California Press, California.

Robertson, J 1985, The British Board of Film Censors: film censorship in Britain, 1896-1950, Croom Helm Australia, Australia.

Staiger, J 2000, Perverse spectators: the practices of film reception, New York University Press, New York.

Censorship is often regarded as a method of suppressing free speech; for many people, it is just a tool used by totalitarian governments to control public opinion. However, censorship exists in every society, even in a democratic one, and sometimes this negative perception is not entirely justified.

This paper will explain why it might be necessary to censor advertising and how it should be done. First, it should be mentioned that modern advertising does not merely aim to inform about a product; instead, it seeks to create a desire to buy it, and for this purpose, various strategies are used; some of them are not very ethical.

One of the most notorious examples is the marketing of drugs; pharmaceutical companies have successfully convinced a significant number of people that drugs are the only violable solution to their health problems (Edlin, Golanty & Brown, 259). These advertisements force people into the belief that medication will allow them to be healthy once again, and they will not have to make any effort.

However, they seldom say that in the majority of cases, drugs can only mitigate the symptoms of a disease, but they will never eliminate its cause. Unfortunately, many people tend to rely more on commercial rather than on the recommendation of a professional practitioner. This is an example of deliberate misinformation, and it seems that the government should pay more attention to such practices.

The thing is that they can jeopardize the health or even the lives of many people. Similar things can be said about food advertisements which emphasize the deliciousness of a specific product while forgetting to warn about the potential risks like obesity or heart diseases (Wieland, Marcus, & Wabitsch, 93). It has to be admitted that we should not blame only advertising agencies for it.

For their part, people should re-evaluate their eating habits and probably change them. Still, advertising significantly shapes our attitude toward food, and sometimes this influence is not always beneficial.

Another issue which should not be overlooked by the official authorities is the growing use of erotic images in an advertisement (Hill, 270). These images often are frequently viewed as role models by many adolescents who are very inclined to imitate the things that they see on television.

Under some circumstances, advertising contributes to the over-sexualization of many girls, and at this point, governmental officials appear to be indifferent about it. Again, we have to stress the idea that advertising should not be considered as the sole culprit. Oversexualization can also be accounted for by the influence of television, the Internet, and popular culture, in general.

Overall, these examples show that advertising as an agent of socialization strongly affects our worldview. The critical task of governmental officials is to make the advertising more transparent or more honest to the customers, for instance, if we are speaking about such issue as promotion of food. Furthermore, if a particular commercial deliberately misrepresents facts, it should be removed entirely. This argument is particularly relevant to the marketing of pharmaceutical products.

There is no point in denying the fact that advertising makes a crucial contribution to the growth and development of the modern economy. Very often it is done at the expense of consumers, and the government should not overlook such practices. More importantly, the advertisement must not be turned into an instrument of manipulation that allows shaping people’s behavior and value system without their consent.

Works Cited

Edlin G. Golanty Eric, & Brown K. Essentials for health and wellness. NY: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Print.

Hill. Daniel. Advertising to the American woman, 1900-1999. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2002. Print.

Kiess Wieland, Marcus Claude, & Wabitsch M. Obesity in childhood and adolescence. NY: Karger Publishers. 2004. Print.

Being raised and born in Russia, I was greatly influenced by the cultural variety surrounded me. Since my childhood was keen on everything connected with China, including culture, social life, and politics. Therefore, now I am engaged in the information management unit that aims for profound research and development in the sphere of intercultural relations. The mission of IMU also involves the creation and development of educational organizations that would permit people who originated from different cultures to develop and acquire knowledge and skills. The IMU is the part of the American Field Service, a voluntary organization working for pieces thus eliminating intolerance, injustice, and inequity (www.afs.org). In future, I am planning to devote my life to the study of Chinese traditions and culture in order to protect these people from unjust behavior on the part of developing countries. My internship in AFS is the great possibility to come to my goals to fruition.

The proposed topic for my research paper will be devoted to the study of the intellectual property in China, problems connected with the internet. I have chosen this issue for consideration, as it is connected with political, social, and economical biases imposed at the international level. The raised conflict shows the negligent attitude to Chinese people is one of the greatest producers. Therefore, the topic directly relates to the International study, as the problem of cyberspace is considered at the international level as well. In particular, the main problem lies in the absence of laws that would guarantee the sufficient data protection.

A closer consideration of this topic shows that intellectual property online does not suggest some distinct territorial division so that it is always hard to advocate the rights of the author. Considering China’s conflict over the internet censorship and intellectual property protection, there exist few solid reasons for blaming China for cyber-attacks. The conflict also involves some social and economic prejudices provoked by the United States so that the intellectual property conflict should be also based on the internet filtering in nations where the country of the third world is subjected to the outright discrimination.

To prove the importance of the China’s intention to set the internet censorship, it is necessary to mention about rapid expansion of online technologies has made the internet one of the effective means of communication supervised by the government (Tekwani et al.132). Nowadays the Internet in China plays a significant role in the coverage of the existed conflicts. In that regard, the Great Firewall imposed by the Chinese government on the Internet considerably hampers the introduction of the internet autonomy for the Chinese users (Karatzogianni 90). In addition, internet filtering is the main obstacle to the information welfare in China.

Therefore, it is first necessary to investigate the problems of speech filtration online by different countries and China in particular. Hence, it is proposed to assess the role of the internet for China, as the crucial issue for becoming an economically developed and politically stable nation. Then, an accent should be made on the consideration of the governmental policy over the internet and the measures taken for the establishment of the internet censorship.

To refute the blames against China put forward by the dominated countries, it is necessary to consider the legal issues about the reasonableness of offenses. The consideration of law in terms of intellectual property, one should take into account the territorial ambiguity, the internet completely frustrates this concept (Geller 134). According to the law on the intellectual property, the users are prohibited to access the secret databases and to steal the information. However, there is a distinct difference between stealing and shortening the information flow (Schell 130). Arising from the above, China’s intention to shorten the information attack is culturally predetermined so that their right to protecting traditions and culture is fully justified. The declaration of freedom of speech and democracy contradicts the China’s interests and self-expression thus provoking the governmental concerns over the legitimacy of this penetration. Such an attitude to China policy also reveals the negligence and disrespect on the part of other nations and deprives the Chinese people of the right to equality irrespective of race and nationality. The particular case is worth considering due to the problems provoked by racial, cultural, and religious biases where the internet is the main generator of them.

The above shows that topic has much in store to ponder on. First, it is necessary to consider the underpinnings leading to the internet conflict, including implicit and explicit intentions of the accusatory. Second, a careful consideration should be paid to the China’s interest and purposes of establishing the internet censorship from cultural, social, and economic aspects. Such analysis will foster a better understanding of China’s intentions. Thirdly, it is obligatory to deeply analyze the legal issues both supporting and criticizing the intentions of both parties. The final accord of the research consists in justifying the right of Chinese people to preserve their cultural and national identity.

Works Cited

Geller, Paul Edward. International Intellectual Property, Conflicts of Laws, and Internet Remedies. Journal of Intellectual Property Rights. 10, (2005): 133-140

Karatzogiani, Athina. Cyber-conflict and global politics. US: Taylor and Francis, 2008.

Schell, Bernadette Hlubik. The Internet and society: a reference book. US: ABC-CLIO.

Tekwani, Shyam, Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, Nanyang Technological University, Wee Kim School of Communication and Information. Media and Conflict reporting in Asia. Singapore: AMIC, 2008.

Introduction

Creativity in the film sector is paramount because consumers constantly seek for palatable yet entertaining content. Convergence of the media through global outreaches increases consumer demand for foreign films in Egypt, and other parts of the world. However, other parts of the world cannot match the media censorship put in place by the Egyptian film industry. The intention of the media laws and other statutes censoring the film industry is to protect the sanctity of religion, sex, and the overly conservative culture of the Egyptian people (Goldschmidt, 2013). It forces filmmakers to exercise high levels of creativity in order to entertain the society and to prevent consumers from opting for foreign films. Copyright laws put in place make it difficult for uncensored films to reach audiences through social media and other vulnerable platforms. The theory under scrutiny concerns the way censorship in the Egyptian film industry enhances the creativity of filmmakers (Swanwick, 2012). Filmmaking is an art of creativity that begins from the mind. It reflects on what happens in the society, and is a powerful tool of change and information dissemination across generations and cultures. The Egyptian government fears that excessive freedom of the film industry could encourage creativity in a different way while encouraging the violation of cultural principles.

Origins of creativity

Creativity is an ancient concept whose inventor equally exercised creativity. In the film industry, people define creativity with the ability to come up with an original script, setting, and concepts that people can easily relate to in a particular environment (Elwakil, 2014).. In the film industry, creativity displays prominence in the production of a play and song writing among other elements that assume least dominant positions. Creativity existed since antiquity, but philosophers link the term to Latin. Arguably, ancient Latin philosophers referred to something new as “creo” to mean create. People can have a naturally creative mind through biological processes. Contrarily, people can learn creativity through schools of art, observation, or nurture (Shafik, 2007). Ability to acquire natural creativity skills genetically presents more advantages to filmmakers in comparison to acquisition of similar skills through education. Philosophers also link creativity to India, Greece, and China who viewed creativity as an element of innovation and not invention. In essence, creativity was a concept borrowed from an existing aspect and improved to appeal to the society (Byrge & Hanson, 2009).

Model of creative processes

Graham Walls developed a model of creativity in the 1920s to explain how the human mind processes information in five different stages. During creativity, humans engage the entire brain in different impulse processes. Walls described the first stage as the preparation mode in which the mind explores different avenues of problem solving (Schochat, 1983). Incubation is the second stage that Walls characterized with internalization of the identified issue. Creativity is a branch of critical thinking, but the only difference is that a person strives to discover something new. In critical thinking, the intention is to solve an existing puzzle. Filmmakers have the ability to review other works of art or come up with a completely new concept. In Egypt, the main areas of interest include religion, politics, and sex since people have little to discuss when it comes to entertainment (Mehrez, 2010). Another area of interest could be science and technology that experience limited censorship. From a filmmaker’s perspective, everything that happens in the society has an explanation that is yet to come or exists. Focusing on the Egyptian population, about 91% are Muslims owing to the Arabic background.

Religion and power

When the Muslim brotherhood took very power after overthrowing the government, extreme media censorship occurred. The intention was to deter filmmakers and other players in the industry from understanding the intentions of the incumbent government. Arguably, separation of power occurred in the 1920s in Egypt to stop religion from interfering with politics. Imitation as an element of Walls’ theory provided an explanation to the filmmakers when the Muslim brotherhood could not govern Egypt (Shafik, 2007). Illumination is the fourth state of the creative mind, which explains how a filmmaker translates abstract information into music, scripts, or other productions. When the brain processes information from the subconscious state to the awareness state, it undergoes enlighten, which is the main purpose of investigation (Boehmer, 2005).

Changing the context of filmmaking to attract a wider audience

A filmmaker in Egypt would want the society to understand why concealment is a policy of dressing, and the significance of reducing sexual content in programming. The Muslim religion remains very strict on the dress code especially for women. When filmmakers create movies, they intend to pass a message that the society will verify in the last stage of the theory. Filmmakers create content for human consumption, and it means that the society has to choose what to watch or listen to, but the government exercises excessive content when the media deals with sex, politics, and religion (Franklin, 2001). A major concern is to leave films for human deconstruction and exposing the country to a possible civil unrest.

Creative personality

The creative personality and the freedom of expression

People have different types of expression, but art is a platform used by most filmmakers to tell their stories in different ways. The social media remains the less gagged form of expression in the country even though it was under government control in 2011. Freedom for artistic expression in Egypt has limitations including non-coverage of atheism, portraying Islam negatively, and supporting homosexuality. The legislature provides little hope for creative personalities in Egypt while constitutional right of expression of 1971 and 2012 provides room for people to exercise such freedoms. A creative personality in Egypt has limitations after the Egyptian government ratified clauses of Article 15 of the ICESC (International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights). Article 19 of the ICCP (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) faced a similar fate. When a filmmaker tells a story, he or she approaches the issue under discussion personally because he or she can easily relate to it.

Excellent research skills and the ability to evade excessive publicity within Egypt

Controlling the mind of a filmmaker by overly protecting aspects of religion, sex, and politics gives creative minds the ability to connect with the world from a different angle. Before telling a story, a filmmaker has to ensure that he or she does not lose the intended message, but he or she observes the regulations set by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) (Runco, 2007). Filmmakers that ignore the provisions of AFTE face the risk of torture and asylum when the government realizes that the content of documentation violate the regulations that protect storytelling on sex, politics, and religion. A constitutional declaration of 1953 and 1954 reviewed in 1995 posited that audiovisual works that overly exposed the principles of the Abrahamic religions would face legal action (Ramey & Pugh, 2007).

Alternative avenues of reaching out to the audience especially through electronic media

A creative personality must think of other ways of ensuring that the rest of the world understands what happens in Egypt in order to find a long-term solution to the problem. Over the past one decade, filmmakers strived to produce entertaining and informative stories based on religion (Elwakil, 2014). Most of them faced transgression charges since religion takes prominence in the country. As such, the mind of a filmmaker in Egypt mostly involves collection of stories and telling it to the rest of the world incognito. Most of them opt for the less regulated social media while some seek permission from the censorship authority to tell their stories (Mehrez, 2010).

Methods of creativity evaluation

Article 430 of the Egyptian constitution of 1995 establishes that the government can censor audiovisual material that transgresses the law. It includes selling material to external sources that might develop films outside Egypt. Creativity evaluation is diverse beginning with an assessment of the creative personality, his or her ideologies, and the factors that motivate development of a story. The ministry of culture uses the regulations of the penal code to determine the type of content that should reach the target audience. The ministry received the power from the prime minister’s decree article 162 of 1992 (Goldschmidt, 2013). While the ministry creates room for renting material, distribution, and sale of films, the filmmakers have no freedom of expression. Through the penal code, the ministry investigates cases of libel or defamation through films in order to press charges. Article 35 of the Egyptian constitution of 1976 initiated censorship of the film industry through theatres, cinemas, TV, music, and scripts. The intention is to create a society that conforms to the conservative Islamic teachings, as the censorship membership board established in the country. Sharia Law opposes films that expose sexual content, protests, and mosques (Boehmer, 2005). When Ahmad Abdulla, an Egyptian filmmaker underwent trial for filming the movie “Accommodation” at the Sayyeda Nafeesa Mosque, the rest of Egypt knew the ministry of Religious Endowment would introduce a strict penalty on the victim. Sometimes, the filmmakers have to acquire permits from the censorship authority in order to enjoy the short-lived privileges of shooting films in restricted areas (Khouri, 2010).

Conclusion

The Egyptian filmmaker has to take each opportunity presented to tell his or her story. Besides creativity in production, the filmmaker has to seek alternative ad safe means of storytelling. The challenges and limitations existing to curtail the freedom of speech in Egypt might be the rebirth of a new breed of filmmakers in Egypt. Together with AFTA, the FREEMUSE (World Forum on Music and Censorship) of Copenhagen will assist the filmmakers to continue producing analogies and movie series even in the face of the worst media censorship globally.

References

Boehmer, E. (2005). Colonial & postcolonial literature (2^nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University.

Byrge, C. & Hanson, S. (2009). The creative platform: A new paradigm for teaching creativity. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 18(1), 33–50.

Elwakil, M. (2014, June 6). Filmmakers, performers and musicians in Egypt tread a fine line. Web.

Franklin, D. (2001). The professor as censor: Creative limitation and film production pedagogy. Journal of Film and Video, 53(1), 25-39.

Goldschmidt, A. (2013). Historical Dictionary of Egypt. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.

Khouri, M. (2010). Arab national project in Youssef Chahine’s cinema. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.

Mehrez, S. (2010). Egypt’s culture wars: Politics and practice. Cairo: American University. in Cairo Press.

Ramey, L. T., & Pugh, T. (2007). Race, class, and gender in “medieval” cinema. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Runco, M. A. (2007). Creativity: Theories and themes: research, development, and practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press.

Schochat, E. (1983). Egypt: Cinema and Revolution. Critical Arts, 2(4), 22-32.

Shafik, V. (2007). Arab cinema: History and cultural identity. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.

Swanwick, K. (2012). Music education: Major themes in education. New York: Routledge.

The history of any artistic field involves many hardships and wins. The film industry has undergone major transformations since its establishment, notably censorship. While film studios were once regulated by the government, which implied creating motion pictures that would suit the ideas of the nation’s leaders, self-censorship was an informed choice of film creators. The films that were created a century ago were then subject to rigorous examination and codes that specified what was acceptable to show and what was banned. In this sense, the lack of freedom of expression and constant control of the film creations is what differs the 20th-century film studios from contemporary movie creators.

As indicated in the book written by Langford, the studio structure at its pinnacle may be viewed in one rather unconventional perspective as a perfectly calibrated regulating mechanism. Hollywood was relatively minimally regulated towards the end of the Second World War in this definition of the word, which normally refers to government-mandated limits on corporate operations (Langford, 2010). Still, while the motion picture in this period was a kind of amusement, it was not First Amendment-secured and was subject to varying degrees of censorship (Lev, 2010). A number of widely defined internal and external types of control played a crucial part in maintaining the complex and effective processes of the studio system that impeded the full expression of one’s creative potential for many creators.

The desire to escape external control, which was a very real possibility at this time, encouraged self-regulation. Since 1934, the tight enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code has forbidden explicit sexual content, violence, and even the use of terms like “hell,” “damn,” “S.O.B.,” and “broad” (when referred to women), and “louse” (Lev, 2010, p.56). The Production Code Administration implemented the intensively conservative ethical code established in the Code to the narration, conversation, asserted and inferred behaviors, and visual effects of every shot at every step from the purchase of assets through to post-production, but especially during the scriptwriting phase (Langford, 2010). In this sense, self-censorship implied full compliance with social norms and ethics, and the existing code dictated what was acceptable.

However, the Code’s antiquated views on sexuality and social interactions may have been offensive to some in the Hollywood artistic community. They were antiquated even by the norms of the 1930s, let alone the significantly altered American society arising from World War II (Langford, 2010). Regardless of this, the Code managed to succeed for more than a decade in ensuring the smooth distribution of movies to audiences with little chance of intervention from the government or local governments.

As for my perspective on American film history and its modern condition, I believe that the contemporary movie industry tends to be more open and inclusive in terms of sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender, age, and language. The history of motion pictures indicates the ossified and conservative preferences of society. In my opinion, a lot of genuine emotions and true depictions of events and the lives of people were blurred by sugarcoated and creative screenwriting. While it can be understandable since many studious aimed to mitigate the involvement of the government, such pictures lacked inclusion and authenticity at some points. Nowadays, film studios target acute issues that are present in society and avoid censorship, seeking freedom of expression and communicating their ideas to a worldwide audience.

References

Langford, B. (2010). Post-classical Hollywood: Film industry, style and ideology since 1945. Edinburgh University Press.

Lev, P. (2013). Twentieth Century-Fox : The Zanuck-Skouras years, 1935-1965. University of Texas Press.

Abstract

Censorship of films in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a major ethical dilemma as reflected in the case study analysis because the practice contravenes the freedom of media. Censorship of films with obscene contents is ethically and morally right because this choice is significant for the majority of the population. It is also morally ethical to censor films to satisfy the greater population.

This is because it “does good” to the larger society as it prevents movie viewers and cinema-goers from viewing films that have violence, strong language, and sexual content. Moreover, it ensures that the cultural values of the society are upheld.

Introduction

Although most societies in the world are democracies, nevertheless they still practice media censorship. According to Reinhard (2007), censorship is defined as “the official government suppression of any public expression that a governing authority believes to threaten either its power or the accepted social and moral order” (p. 164).

This means that the government uses the available forces to hide any information deemed obscene or threatening the accepted moral and social order. In this context, the report paper evaluates the censorship of films in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The analysis of the paper will be carried in light of ethical principles and theories.

The Situation or Issue

Heavy film censorship is a major practice in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Before movies and films are made available in local theatres, the government censors most of the content and frequently cuts out obscene parts such as kissing and sexual scenes. Additionally, comments deemed to be blasphemous and propane is cut from the original film before its debut in the local theatres.

Films such as “Escape Plan,” and “The Real Top Gun: Blue Angels and Thunderbirds” were censored before they were released for public viewing (Associated Press, 2012). The “Escape Plan” was banned in the UAE because one of the characters in the move was cursing in Arabic (Associated Press, 2012). The National Media Council (NMC) regulatory body officials stated that the “Sex and the City 2” was censored because “the theme of the film does not fit with our cultural values” (Kantaria, 2010).

This is an indication that film censorship in the UAE is carried out to suppress any information that is deemed obscene or that dents the moral fabric of society. For these reasons, the issue of film censorship versus free speech and freedom of expression emerges as they conflict with the freedom of the media.

Analysis

Deontological theory and utilitarianism theory are the major ones used to analyze issues related to ethics and ethical issues. Deontological theory “focuses on the action and the intention behind it, and claims that some actions are inherently wrong, and cannot be justified” (Pennsylvania State University, 2013, p.1). This means that people have the choice to distinguish between what is morally good and what is not. On the other hand, the utilitarianism theory is based on goodness and what satisfies most people in society.

Based on the deontological theory, it is the duty of the National Media Council (NMC) regulatory body officials in the UAE to censor films and media content that is not aligned to the moral fiber of the Muslim community. Additionally, they are required to censor any content that conflicts with the culture of the people.

However, as depicted in the deontological theory, conflict arises if actions do not support the welfare of other people in society. Nonetheless, the censorship of films with blasphemous and propane comments and obscene contents is ethical and morally right because this is what is considered as ethical by film regulatory officials in the UAE.

Act utilitarianism focuses on the realization of maximum good from an action. However, individual rights seem to be violated under utilitarianism theory for the benefit of the greater population (Rainbow, 2002). For example, censorship is used to remove content that could be harmful to the morality of minors and children.

This is intended to safeguard the welfare of the greater society. Therefore, under the theory, oppressing the minority to benefit the majority is acceptable and ethical. In the rights ethical theory, society determines what is right and good, and it chooses what it wants to uphold (Rainbow, 2002). Concerning censorship in the UAE, the NMC has stated that films are censored if they fail to fit into the cultural values of the society.

The principle of beneficence, which is closely related to utilitarian ethical theory, stipulates that the priority to any ethical dilemma is to “do good” (Rainbow, 2002). It proposes that actions carried should be geared towards doing good to benefit the majority of the people in the society. Therefore, film censorship “does good” to society as it prevents the audience from viewing films and movies with violence, strong language, and sexuality.

In this context, the principle of beneficence, coupled with the utilitarian ethical theory supports censorship of films in the UAE. Kantaria (2010) has opined that cinema goers have become used to film censorship in the UAE. However, editing of films makes them lose the plot and, as such, individual rights are infringed at the expense of others.

Decision Arrived

The decision of the government of the UAE to censor films is ethically and morally acceptable as it protects the cultural values of the Muslim society. From a utilitarian point of view, the media regulatory body has moral rights to undertake film censorship, since utilitarianism is based on the ideal belief in the decency of any act and what satisfies most people in the society.

It also gives the greatest advantage for the majority of the population (Borcoman, 2012). In this context, film censorship is carried in the UAE to hold back any content that is perceived as obscene or that dents the moral fabric of the society. Moreover, it ensures that blasphemous and propane comments and obscene contents are removed to satisfy the needs of the majority. Drawing from the rights ethical theory, the action by the government could be considered as reasonable because the ruling class approves it (Borcoman, 2012).

Although this kind of decision is contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as it undermines freedom of expression and freedom of the media, it is fair to censor films which have obscene content. Moreover, the UAE ethical systems are based on a culture that detests irreligious and propane comments and obscene contents as they do not fall under the teaching of Islam. The influence of Islamic persuasion detests the viewing of films with kissing and sexual scenes as well as offensive comments.

Conclusion

The ethical issue that rises is the censorship of films by the government in the UAE. From the report, censorship of films in the UAE is an ethical practice, which is morally justified. This is because it upholds to the cultural values of society. Additionally, the deontological theory requires the National Media Council (NMC) regulatory body to censor films and media content that does not align with the moral fiber of the community or which conflicts with the culture of the people.

Also, the UAE film censorship “does good” to the larger society as it prevents movie viewers from watching films that have violence, strong language, and sexuality content. From a personal perspective, it is morally ethical to censor films to satisfy the majority of the population.

Reference List

Associated Press. (2012). Dubai censors Stallone, Schwarzenegger movie ‘Escape Plan. Washington Times. Web.

Borcoman, D. (2012). Descriptions of ethical theories and principles. Web.

Kantaria, A. (2010). “Sex and The City 2” – set in Abu Dhabi but banned in the UAE. Web.

Pennsylvania State University. (2013). Ethical theories. Web.

Rainbow, C. (2002). Descriptions of ethical theories and principles. Web.

Reinhard, C. (2007). The Ethics of Censorship: Should Governments Cover Our Children’s Eyes? Web.

Introduction

The term censorship is used to refer to the proscription of an idea or image that is deemed by the government or any authority to be unduly controversial, obscene or indecent. From antiquity, governments have both censored and supported works of art. The United States government hesitantly created the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in 1965 to provide material support for deserving artists. Initially the government did not want to support individuals or groups of individuals because it feared that the works of art they created might end up being construed as national art and it only allowed NEA to be formed after being pressured by activists.

The need to cease underwriting vulgar art became apparent in 1988 after an artist named Andres Serrano who was funded by the government through NEA made a picture named “piss Christ” which depicted a crucifix in a container full of his urine. A year later, an artist called Robert Mapplethorpe who was funded by the same body compounded the situation when he made images portraying sadomasochism, nude children, flowers and homosexuality. This prompted the senate to call for government action against vulgar art. However, the due process guaranteed by the fifth amendment of the constitution of the United States has suppressed most efforts put forward by NEA towards outlawing obscenity and instilling decency in art.

This is probably because the intentions of the artists work may easily be misinterpreted by people calling for actions. If the government or other institutions such as universities among others allowed art work to be censored based on people’s feelings towards assumed moral or religious authority, discrimination against people based on their gender, race or sexual orientation, fear of taboos or controversial issues etc then no work of art would ever be created. Apparently the United States is a cosmopolitan country and different individuals will have different views upon an artists work and this makes it difficult to censor art work based on people’s attitudes. It is therefore incumbent upon the artist to draw boundaries between freedom of expression and social responsibility when developing work of art meant for the public.

Freedom of Expression

Although freedom of expression is guaranteed by the fifth amendment of the constitution of the United States, artists must understand that freedom of expression has both explicit and implied limits. The first amendment of the US constitution fosters a mutually supportive relationship between artists and the society. The society gains a lot from free and diverse artistic expressions which address contemporary and past issues by challenging people to rethink their assumptions. The article titled “Censorship versus Freedom of Expression in the Arts” by Chiang and Posner expresses concerns that the government may illegitimately censor art to avoid corruption of morals and avoid subversion of politics.

Suppressing verbal and non verbal expression, i.e. speech/writing and works of art respectively, undermine free communication which is fundamental to the preservation of a creative culture and a free society. Indeed, art should be censored because it can and does cause offense. This is exemplified best by the work of art by Francis Goya titled “naked Maja”. Apparently, the artist wanted to show disdain to those who associated female nude with evil. However, the artist was summoned by the Spanish inquisition in 1815 to reveal who had authorized him to make the painting which was obviously offensive. Goya self censored his work to protect himself from losing the job of a court painter by clothing the female who now became the “clothed Maja”. Recently, in 1991, a group of female teachers in Penn State managed to persuade the authorities to bring down a repainting of “Naked Maja” which made it difficult for them to teach because it was considered to be a form of sexual harassment (Chiang and Posner, 2006, 1).

That notwithstanding, the works of art including dance, theater, literature, painting, music, cartoon, caricature and sculpture continue to be the main instruments of expressing the level of a peoples freedom. They improve people’s lives by providing solutions to various problems facing humanity. Art does challenge people to consider new ideas, envision new possibilities and embrace feelings that can foster social growth. Suppressing ideas as it happens in most societies under the guise of censorship may hinder freedom and encourage conformity which is unhealthy for social growth and evolution.

The source argues that, to preserve freedom of expression in arts, an individual should be left alone to decide for himself or herself on what kind of art work to accept or reject and that such a person should not be allowed to suppress the works of art that he or she does not approve. Consider the case of the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard who caricatured the image of Mohammed. The cartoonist was almost assassinated by an Islamic fundamentalist in his home in Denmark on January 2010. In rebuttal to the argument offered by the article that all censorship is contrary to democratic principles, artist must realize that images send strong messages and that recklessness can lead to irreversible harm being done to the society or the artist in particular as not all states in the world are democratic.

Although freedom of expression should be protected at all costs, it would be ludicrous to portray absurd images that would obviously spark strife between different factions. Most artists misinterpret freedom of expression by giving whim to every imagination not considering that they live in a world inhabited by real people with real differences and not imaginary creatures like the tooth fairies. Passing on a message should not always involve taking any all symbols out of context considering that the initial intention may be misinterpreted thereby sending the wrong message which could cause undue fear and anxiety that is not beneficial for the progress of society. Apparently, artists should demonstrate maturity and avoid portraying childish fantasies that can be a cause of serious social concern.

Social Responsibility

The article social responsibility and art written by Camillo Mac Bica PhD explains that artists ought to become socially responsible in order to avoid the abuse, exploitation and oppression of individuals or groups of persons. There is no doubt that the picture of the “naked Maja” above does encourage the exploitation of women in our contemporary society which is obsessed with nudity. A society that condones snuff films such as “The Family: The story of Charles Manson’s dune baggy attack” battalion which depicts the actual murder of the victims and child pornography movies is at the verge of losing freedoms that is so much after safeguarding in the name of freedom of self expression (Bica, 2005, 1). Such movies made by actual murderers desensitize people thereby encouraging pedophiles and murderers to give room to their base instincts. This can eventually undermine morals which are the fabric of society.

The difficulty in defining what is socially abusive, oppressive or exploitative does not mean that artists have the right to give way to any of their whims as the example above which is only representative of the tip of an iceberg indicates clearly how reckless actions can harm a society that claims to be civilized. Hence, artists should strive to engage the civil society in debates concerning standards of evaluation and build a consensus. Thus, artists should uphold the right for people to be treated with respect and should therefore refrain from artistic endeavors that are likely to cause oppression by treating people as means instead of ends.

Conclusion

Drawing a line between what is socially acceptable and what is not is difficult and certain social values may hinder the development of work of art. Some forms of art do not portray their meaning directly and members of the public are certain to interpret them as pornography where nudity is involved. For instance, collages made by David Wojnarowicz depicting erotic and deathly images were barred from public view although the intention of the artist was to reflect his experiences of unusual hardship when he was a boy. Such experiences according to the artist were never portrayed anywhere else in art from members of the mainstream heterosexual, white, Christian, male dominated society. The government should not censure such works without proper selection criteria. The artist was not involved in the murders or the sexual activities but only wanted the society to shift focus and solve the problems in question. In censoring artistic work, the government and other authorities must be able to distinguish between doing from portraying.

Works Cited

Bica M., Camillo. “Social responsibility and art.” Visual Arts Press, 2005. Web.

Chiang, Tun-Jen and Posner, Richard A. “Censorship versus freedom of expression in the arts.” Elsevier, 2006. Web.