Censorship

Recently in the news, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) fined Johnny Sauter, one of their drivers, $10,000 as well as charging him 25 points for “inappropriate” comments made after a BUSCH race in Las Vegas. The words said were at the conclusion of a race in which the driver had been putting his life on the line at over 200 mph. Fueled with adrenaline, the words spokenwere not words ordinarily used by Sauter, however, NASCAR legislated just the same (McCormick). This case is the most recent of many that censorship has become a major battleground. Since first the shootings of April 1999 in Columbine Colorado, and most recently, the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime show in which singer Justin Timberlake exposed the breast of fellow singer Janet Jackson, the governmenthas made it its priority to influence the entertainment industry to put into place new rules, such as the one in NASCAR, to regulate “inappropriate” material, therefore increasing censorship. On top of this, the industry itself has begun to attempt a type of self-censorship. Although censorship has been around for ages, what is it and why does it exist? Censorship in today’s era is a higher powerattempting to prevent disturbing or painful sights, sounds, or any other information form from reaching the public in order to keep a feeling of well moral being. However, the main question in today’s times is whether or not censorship is necessary in today’s world, and if the government should be able to force censorship on the entertainment industry.
Though the case involving the NASCARdriver is the most recent ridiculous form of censorship, it has taken place throughout the history of entertainment itself. However, in the past ten years, after censorship laws had begun to loosen, the media and the government has once again begun to pull tighter on the censorship blindfold, covering society’s eyes. After the shootings in Colorado, many wrongfully took up arms against theentertainment industry, convincing society that the blame for the teen’s actions should fall on the violence they viewed in movies and on TV. Therefore, following the shootings, the House of Representatives held a hearing to help determine any new bills that should be put into place to restrict the entertainment industry. As written by Virginia Postrel in an article for Reason magazine, “The agenda wasto make popular art into the equivalent of cigarettes: a demon drug sold by greedy liars to corrupt our youth. ‘Joe Camel has, sadly, not gone away,’ said Sen. Joseph Lieberman (R-Conn.), the committee’s most eager attacker. ‘He’s gone into the entertainment business’” (Postrel).
After the hearings, the House put down two bills that would have restricted the rights of the entertainment industry.However, the Clinton administration had a different view of the matter. As the magazine article reads, “It acted unilaterally to appease the soccer-mom gods.” The Clinton administration then ordered the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether or not violent movies and video games effect American youth. By putting these investigations into effect, the Clinton administrationinfluenced victims to attack the entertainment industry with suits in hopes that their response would be the censorship of their own material. (Postrel)
Now, since the controversial halftime show during Super Bowl XXXVII, the entertainment industry has reopened its eyes towards its material, this time looking more toward its sexual content. After the incident, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)was sent in to investigate to find out whether or not the broadcast violated federal indecency laws. However, unlike the case involving Columbine, the majority of the American population was not behind this investigation. As shown by an online poll done for the Associated Press by Ipsos-Public Affairs, published on CBSNEWS.com, nearly 80 percent of respondents said it was a waste of money to...