I’ve been thinking a lot about issues of censorship lately.
* the Birmingham Repertory Theatre closed the play ‘Bezhti’ after mass protests by the Sikh community. The play, written by a Sikh woman, featured a scene of rape in a Gurdwara (essentially a temple space), which was the basis of the protests – it wasn’t the depiction of rape, or criticism of Sikh culture, or presentation of Sikh elders as deeply flawed individuals, it was the use of this sacred space that had people up in arms. (At least, if you believe the protesters were being genuine, and I for one do.)
* the BBC screened ‘Jerry Springer: The Opera’ which commits the crimes of foul language and disrespectful depiction of Adam, Eve, Jesus and God. (Jesus: “I suppose I am a bit gay.”) Massive, organised public outcry from an apparently small Christian lobby (over the television broadcast, note; they have no problem with the ongoing west end run).
* Prince Harry snapped wearing a Nazi outfit at a fancy-dress party, to immense international condemnation
* Anime “Puni Puni Poemi” is banned in New Zealand for its depiction of rape of children, even though it was intended as a barbed and condemnatory satire of exactly that the kind of unsavory content
* a local blogger is sacked from his job at a bookstore for making negative comments about it in his blog, even though the bookstore chain has previously traded on its support for the principle of free speech.
* a Dutch film-maker was killed, apparently in retaliation for his role in making and promoting a film enacting criticism of misogyny in Islam by an (ex?-)Islamic woman
There are other incidents, but those are ones that come to mind right now. In their particulars, they are all quite different and raise different questions, but they all point towards the confusions bound up with the idea of censorship.
I’m not even close to a coherent, resolved opinion on any of these issues. They strike me as a particularly difficult area of ethics and morality that will always be with us, because there will always be a ground where the worthy principles of freedom of expression and protection of the vulnerable come into conflict.
But here are some more thoughts.
Continue reading Gay Jesus, Sikh Rape, Nazi Prince, Childrape Satire and Bastardstones