I found articles first by going to the UNCW library catalog and doing an advanced search for ”censor*” in the UNCW periodicals. This result came up with a single scholarly journal which turned out to be very helpful and relevant to my subject, but I did not see any results I could use for a popular article. Next I tried searching the Opposing Viewpoints database for magazines on censorship. Here I was immediately drawn to articles from magazines around the world which proved to be very helpful for my particular topic.
- Popular:
Quirk, Matthew. “The Web Police: Internet censorship is prevalent
not just in China, but throughout the world. Can the Web be
tamed?” The Atlantic 4 May 2006: 50-51.
Author/Audience: Quirk has written many articles for The Atlantic and has proved himself to be dedicated to his work through his in depth research. The common audience for this particular article is the common subscriber to The Atlantic magazine. The magazine is geared toward those interested in political science and foreign affairs.
Summary: The article is about web censorship in other parts of the world with a focus on China. It includes many examples of censored material.
Critical Comment:I feel this article was written to persuade the reader to not automatically think of China when they hear the word ‘censorship’. It felt like Quirk wanted to inform the general public about something that wasn’t only happening in a communist country, but in other parts of the world as well. It is impressive how much research went into this article.
Relevance:When referring to other countries around the world Quirk mentioned a lot about the government playing a large role in Internet censorship. For example, searches for the words democracy and freedom are blocked and most websites are composed of business and government propaganda.
Bonfante, Jordan. “What ever became of NC-17? (feature film ‘No
Children, 17 or older’ rating).” Time 139.4 (1992): 64.
Author/Audience: Bonfante has contributed to a wide range of reputable magazines. The intended audience is primarily the common subscriber to Time magazine with an interest in movie ratings.
Summary: This article is about movie ratings and how many scenes are more acceptable for a younger audience that would not have been as acceptable a few years ago.
Critical Comment: This is a biased article that is seemingly against extreme violence and sex in movies intended for a younger audience. Even though he includes many different opinions he still leans toward one side.
Relevance:I think this article is a very accurate portrayal of Americans’ outlook on censorship. It shows that this particular author is very concerned with maintaining innocence in younger members of our society. There is no mention of government coming in to hide an idea, just that there are movie companies trying to push boundaries to fit a standard of a certain rating.
- Scholarly:
Malik, Maleiha. “Speech Control.” Index on Censorship 36.4 (Oct.
2007): 18-21.
Author/Audience: Malik is an accomplished writer who knows a lot about the topics she writes about; censorship of Muslim culture in Europe. Any subscriber to this journal who is interested in the censorship of speech of Muslim culture would be the audience of this article.
Summary: This article is mainly about how Muslims have been censored in a large variety of ways in many parts of the world and it does not stop in Europe.
Critical Comment: This article is against censorship. Malik describes many ways Muslims are censored and why they should not be.
Relevance: This article was written to persuade people internationally to really think about the oppression of a particular culture.
Zagol, Ethio. “The Hazards Of Dissent.” Index on Censorship 36.4
(Oct. 2007): 59-63.
Author/Audience: The author of this article is not named Ethio Zagol, this name is actually a type of pen name used by multiple people. Because there is so much danger involved with writing independently, most people in Ethiopia write anonymously.
Summary: It is about censorship in Ethiopian media. When a blogger speaks out against the government they are often imprisoned and tortured.
Critical Comment: The author is understandably biased against this type of censorship not only because they are a writer but because they will be facing their own freedom if they are caught. He/She says it is against human rights. It is told from a very personal viewpoint which makes it more effective.
Relevance: Censorship in other countries are much different from our own. They fear for their lives while people in the US wouldn’t think twice about speaking out against the government.
