I am not a big fan of censorship in most forms.
The need exists to keep young, impressionable minds away from the filthier examples of man’s dialect, but I think the major censorship juggernauts take their jobs a bit too far.
The Motion Picture Association of America — or MPAA — is a prime example.
Sure, when I was a young kid, the organization served a purpose.
Keeping parents informed when a child should not watch a movie is about the only thing the group does halfway decently.
When I turned 17 and could legally purchase an R-rated movie on my own, the MPAA no longer served any purpose for me.
I know enough about motion pictures and cinematic elements to make my own opinions about what I think I can handle.
And I am not the squeamish type.
The Federal Communications Commission is much worse. They believe that their job is to keep little kiddies from watching smut and vulgarity on television.
This is completely false. I think that this job is for parents and parents alone.
Know what your kids watch, deem for yourself what is inappropriate for YOUR children, and turn on the government-required V-chip to block what your kids should not watch.
End of story.
I hate the FCC for editing the shows I like to watch, especially late at night.
I frequent Comedy Central and Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, and I can handle anything they throw at me.
The FCC would say that they censor things so kids cannot watch. I say they censor things they do not like, and overstep their bounds on a daily basis.
Let parents be responsible and take a little initiative about what they deem appropriate.
That way, the government would stop feeling the need to put annoying sound effects over certain words in my favorite shows.
Once a person reaches the age of 17 or so, these problems begin to go away.
The person is old enough to start making some decisions about what content they see, and the teenager is old enough to legally buy R-rated movies and M-rated games in every state anyway.