The Arts Censored

Censorship is the regulation or suppression of writing or speech that is considered harmful to the common good or a threat to national security. The Arts have always been involved in the world, but there has always been someone behind the scenes that censors what is shown. Lately, people believe that more is shown than necessary. It has seemed in the past that nude portraits have been acceptable, but now if that was shown in, say, a public school people would be offended. “No one has come up with a workable definition of art that can universally separate garbage like Karen Finley 's body goo from Michelangelo 's David.”(Shapiro) Art is truly in the eye of the beholder, and these different opinions create conflict over what material is appropriate and what should be censored. Both sides have valid points: one idea being that the arts are, and always have been, be free expression, but the world has changed and now some people believe that the arts have crossed boundaries which must be re-created by censorship. Many people are for the arts being censored for certain reasons, but with it being so hard to place limits on--this causes people to not put limits on it. “The best policy, we have decided, is to allow everything into the artistic marketplace, and let history and time sort it all out.”(Shapiro) These arguments for the arts being censored by Ben Shapiro show that art itself will die if the artistic marketplace is full of “crap,” no one will want to take time to view the art.
More reasons for not allowing certain forms of art to go public is to keep the financial state for corporations in order. Music can arouse doubts for the way a corporation does business. A movie can turn an opinion against an idea causing lawsuits to form from the public, only if it was released sometime around an environmental problem which would involve that company or country. All of this can scare away investors. Some censorship, in cases like these, can avoid unfair situations.

Cited: Cooke, Dominic. "The Arts Should Not Be Censored." Censorship. Ed. Byron L. Stay. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "An Insidious Form of Censorship." Spectator (11 Oct. 2008): 49. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. "Is Censoring Art Justified?" Is Censoring Art Justified? N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2013. Shapiro, Ben. "The Arts Should Be Censored." Censorship. Ed. Byron L. Stay. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "No Bodily Fluids in the Public Square." Human Events.com. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 19 Apr. 2013.