Censorship In America

America, the land of hopes and dreams. The 1st amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law abridging the freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a right that every individual should have but censorship opposes that right. Censorship is the suppression of speech which may be considered harmful. With the amount of people in this world, everything anyone says is likely to be considered harmful to someone in the world. On this basis of censorship, no one would be allowed to say anything at all. Censorship suppresses people’s ability to speak freely and have their opinion heard.

 

This image demonstrates the absence of freedom of speech within America. The free speech zone sign is trapped inside a glass container. This glass container symbolizes censorship. The glass submerges the sound inside and prevents individuals from speaking freely and being heard by everyone. Hence, censoring their words. The glass is sealed to the wood with no holes in it. This shows that there is no way for the words to escape the chamber and be heard. The glass appears very smooth representing no weaknesses and showing that there is no way around censorship. The relationship between the sign and the glass is significant in this photo. The sign is very small in comparison to the glass demonstrating the censorship empowering individuals rights.

This work of street art highlights the effects censorship has on freedom of speech. The words “Free Speech” are written the largest because most Americans believe that they have the freedom to say whatever they want. It’s written with bright red spray paint to inflict a positive outlook at first glance. “Conditions Apply” in contrast is written small in the corner demonstrating that majority of people don't realize the conditions that come along with freedom of speech. They don't realize that censorship restricts individuals from speaking freely. “Conditions Apply” is written in black to show that the stipulations in place are negatively inflicting the citizens. Street art is never permanent, it is only temporary. This highlights that people's words are not heard by everyone in America and that their words are only temporary and have little impact on the future of America.

This poster from WWII shows the impact the government has on what people are allowed to say. This is a poster made by homeland security. They didn’t want American citizens to know what was really going on in the war because they were afraid no one would volunteer to fight if they heard the truth. This shows that censorship has been affecting citizen’s freedom of speech for several decades. The red white and blue background suggests that the poster has a positive message because the government is proud to put the nation's colours on it. In reality, this poster has a negative message as it denies individuals their right to speak freely. The censorship taking place revokes citizens from knowing what’s really happening to their friends and family in the war. "You write what you're told" puts limitations on American culture and their literature. It symbolizes the absence of knowledge that American's have about the world.

This artwork done by Tellaine illustrates that America is not a land of the free due to the involvement of censorship. The woman is trapped inside the mouth because she cannot speak freely. The bars puncturing the lips symbolize the harm censorship is causing to people's ability to speak.  The black around the bars shows the darkness behind censorship as it takes over people's freedom. The lock hanging from the lip shows that the censorship is locked in place and will forever harm individual's opinions. The women is sending away a paper bird symbolizing her attempt to surpass the censorship and be heard by everyone. Paper is thin and weak demonstrating that this pursuit of freedom will end with the censorship standing tall imprisoning American citizens from their right to speak their mind.

To conclude, the right to voice your own opinion is a right that is denied by the placement of censorship within America. Censorship is limiting people's ability to learn about whats happening in the world negatively affecting their views on situations in their every day lives.

Works Cited

“Free Speech.” Deviant Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 June 2015. <http://www.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-of-speech-78564188https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BVCNqoVCIAAweA3.jpg>.

“Free Speech.” Media Cache. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 June 2015. <https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/2f/b1/88/2fb1887083b76efabe8ffdca408f21c6.jpg>.

“Free Speech.” Silence Do Good. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2015.

“Free Speech Zone.” Media Washtimes. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 June 2015. <http://twt-media.washtimes.com/media/image/2012/03/15/b3-free-speech-zone-gg.jpg>.