Artists have so much influence over the people around them or even across an ocean or two. An artist and their work can change someone’s perspective, opinions, and even personality.
So, when an artist produces a piece, expresses an opinion, or speaks to the media, they [the artist] must censor themselves if they want their influence on society a positive one.
As a writer, I know the responsibility is colossal. The weight can be overbearing because all you want to do is express yourself freely–which is entirely okay. It’s a matter of how you do it, however. For example, a comedic writer’s purpose is to make their audience laugh. Well today, vulgar comedy has gained popularity. Although vulgar comedy is in at the moment, this does not mean that the writer should conform to society’s standards. In my opinion, the author should instead make his/her own type of humor. This will turn comedic audiences instead to less vulgar humor and in turn, changing their personality. This is an example of good influence. Not to say vulgarity is always bad, but sometimes it goes too far and can be quite scarring or even inspiring to malicious intentions.
However, I am not saying that artists should always censor their work or even that they have to censor ANY of their work. It’s all up to how you want to influence the world around you, because art is powerful. It’s all up to the artist.
I agree that if you want to convey a specific emotion through your art, you should omit certain details that do not abide by that certain vibe the artist is trying to give off, but censorship does not always necessarily make that impact a positive one. It might make people feel that way, yes, but I feel that does not 100% of the time make that positive. Censorship means changing the way your write, and then, it’s not yours anymore.
I disagree. Changing the way you write doesn’t make your work not yours. For example, I write with a factual tone even during personal works. So, in order to match what I’m saying to how I say it I change how I write. Personally, I self-censor my writing constantly because I want my point to be clear and not misinterpreted, however; I believe there is a time and place for completely uncensored work. This said, my works are usually censored. This doesn’t change my writing. It is key in my writing.
I think that the fact you censor your own writing is very responsible and key to your own writing style. That being said, I don’t always agree with censoring just because the content is hurtful or possibly harmful. We have to own up to our writing and have the ability to be responsible for ourselves and the impact we have on others, but other people also need to have a sense of self and understand that not all writing is necessarily clean or “good”.
Sometimes writing is vulgar and hard to even read, but we read it anyways to see social stigmas from our life come into view and realize both sides of every story. Good argument, Well written blog!
I personally don’t agree with censorship, because I am all for freedom of expression in whichever way the artist sees fit. But I believe your reasoning is well… reasonable. Like Katherine said, it’s a very responsible thing to do. You are very considerate of other’s view points and I like that you can find positivity with censorship.