The government regulation of all artistic expression-from cinema to women performing to the press-keeps citizens unaware of developments in their world, deprives them of beautiful things that could be interpreted as "offensive to Islam," and in general, decreases the potential for beauty and pleasure in society.
In the U.S., for example, any government limitation of artistic expression is not only illegal, but shunned by the citizens. The vast majority of Americans want to know what is out there, even if some of it might offend their personal taste. Films that openly criticize the government, like Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, as well as films that simply might not appeal to all genres of individuals, are not only allowed to be disseminated but are widely discussed and even encouraged in our society.
Art has traditionally been not only a reflection of society but can serve as an impetus for change and modernization. Prior to and during the French Revolution, many artists were jailed or exiled for their work protesting the conditions of peasant workers in that society. One notable example of this was the work of Gustave Courbet, who painted massive (12 feet by 20 feet and more) murals depicting what life was like in the countryside, where many citizens had never ventured and were unaware of the conditions. His work The Stonebreakers, destroyed in World War II, showed in stark detail the condition of peasant workers in the countryside. It was "emblematic expression of the ideals of the 1848 Revolution," which served to change these conditions. (Kemp 307) During that same era, Picasso's Guernica grew to have a significant ant-war meaning (Kemp 415)
Unlimited freedom of expression allows the most viable ideas in a society to flourish, instead of limiting the ideas that are expressed only to those condoned...
Freedom of Speech History of Case Gitlow v. New York Gitlow v.New York was a decision that was made by the supreme court of the United States on June 8, 1925 which ruled that the fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States extended the reach of limitations of the federal government authority that that had been set in the First amendment. The specific provisions were protection of freedom of speech
Freedom of Speech In 1776, the United States Constitution was signed to protect the freedoms of every American and to solidify the rights that so many were currently fighting for. It was the government that implemented ways for everyone to have equal rights to express what ever they deemed appropriate without the fear of there being repercussions for their actions. That is no longer the case. The government now, instead of
Which is the better course of action, Lawrence might ask himself. Should we censor the Westboro Baptist Church and forbid them their right to free speech, or should we allow them to express their wacky, and perhaps injurious views, and fight back with words of compassion, caring, and support. Just because we would like to make a knee-jerk, reactionary law and censor them does not make it the right
Authors Donald Lively and Russell Weaver describe Hustler Magazine as Falwell's "antagonist (p. 79)," no doubt representing for Falwell abuses of our Constitutional freedoms. "In 1983, Hustler Magazine decided to parody Falwell using a Campari Liqueur advertisement. The actual Campari ads portrayed interviews with various celebrities about their 'first times.' Although the advertisement actually focused on the first time that the celebrities had sampled Campari, the ads portrayed the double
History has shown that freedom is not inherently a part of society, rather it is something fought hard for and won. When countries fight for freedom, when people rise for liberty, they do so because they feel they must. Whether it is a strict government, a deranged dictator, or a highly religious society, people have seen their freedoms limited to varying degrees. The United States has been built upon the
He was arrested because the town had a law where one could not stand in a public street and scream at others in insulting manner. While it is tempting to understand why Walter Chaplinsky was arrested and most people can understand the annoyance his speech must have caused, it was a law that should have been repealed. Freedom of speech is such a fundamental right ingrained for more than 250 years that
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