The definition of censor (as taken from the website www.thefreedictionary.com)
1. a person authorized to examine publications, theatrical presentations, films, letters, etc., in order to suppress in whole or part those considered obscene, politically unacceptable, etc.
2. any person who controls or suppresses the behaviour of others, usually on moral grounds
3. (Historical Terms) (in republican Rome) either of two senior magistrates elected to keep the list of citizens up to date, control aspects of public finance, and supervise public morals
4. (Psychoanalysis) Psychoanal the postulated factor responsible for regulating the translation of ideas and desires from the unconscious to the conscious mind See also superego
1. to ban or cut portions of (a publication, film, letter, etc.)
2. to act as a censor of (behaviour, etc.)
SOMETIMES by censoring something you can make it funnier. This video went viral when it was censored. There is nothing wrong with the video that it needed censored at all but by placing beeps in just the right places it made it seem like it should be censored. Our mind fills in the words we are used to hearing where the beeps are at. They took something innocent and made it dirty with the beeps. IT is so wrong but really funny.
People often don’t want their work censored. They don’t want to see pieces of their “babies”, their hard work just cut away. I view things differently. I think creative editing or censoring can bring a lot to the table. I think someone looking at my work unbiased can see ways to improve it. To take what I have started make it into something even better.
My opinions as a writer are – if you want to buy my work I will change it for you any way you want me too. I will make it funnier, sadder, more intelligent and/or more stupid if you ask me to. I will do anything you want to my work because at that point it becomes yours. If you are just thinking about buying I will save a copy of my original. I will still make all the changes you want and if you don’t buy – oh well. I love writing so much I had fun playing with my characters for you. Thank you for the opportunity to almost work with you. That is more editing than censoring though – even though they are similar there are distinct differences even though to some they may feel the same.
Back to censoring now…think of how many books that have been censored or banned that instantly made them rise in popularity. Some authors also will deliberately pay people to give them bad reviews and make them “controversial” because that made them popular as well. I would never personally do that but you have heard of some I am sure. From a library website on banned and challenged books 46 of them were listed as being in the top 100 books of the past century. The website is the American Library Association and the list of banned books is here:
That to me does not sound like that bad of odds. Censor me and make me famous. I guess I have a kind of strange way of looking at things.
The media censors things all the time. They especially like to put certain slants on stories to make the public lean one way or another with their opinions. Especially when it is during a war – we see a lot of the bad things going on over in Iraq but we never see the good stories. We see so much negativity in the news it is really hard to watch sometimes. They could try to slant things to a more positive angle sometimes. For instance instead of “Gunman killed 40 people and was arrested late last night” how about “Hooray, insane psychopath was arrested before he could kill anyone else.” Ha ha ha – I know that wouldn’t necessarily work for the news BUT you know what I mean.They let so much trash through on television today people are becoming immune to it. Sometimes just hinting at stuff can be funnier and more rewarding than letting it all hang out there. I think the same could hold true in some writing too. Don’t get me wrong sometimes the trash can be pretty darn funny too. I love the raunchy humor and sex jokes just as much as the next person. I am just curious - what are your opinions on being censored or on censoring yourselves even? Would you watch the news more often if it put a lighter-hearted slant on things or used sarcasm and humor to report kind of like the onion?