Aug 13 2008
Censorship and Cinema
The relationship shared by censor boards and cinema is as old as the cat and mouse metaphor. The hostility that cinema feels against censor boards is a direct result of the hampering of creative liberty and freedom of expression at the hands of censor boards. However, after the replacement of the Hay’s code in 1966 by a much genial MPAA rating systems, things began to look in favor of movie makers but not everything is settled yet, it has been nothing but an amiable relation on flimsy ground of breeding conflict.
Art throughout history has had to revolt against some form of force or the other. Cinema, specifically due to its widespread influence and significance is targeted more often than any other medium of artistic expression. People easily get influenced by movies due to their less complicated nature and overt manifestations. The clarity of medium and the pervasiveness of movies is another point that justifies the importance of censorship in cinema. Generally the restrictions that filmmakers have to face are related to sex, violence, religious and communal content. The censor board has to make sure that there is nothing in a movie that can hurt the sensibilities of any section of community. However, in their exercise they should also understand the creative license which every artist is entitled too. Rather than imposing bans irrationally on movies and destroying their story-lines . It would be much better, if censor-boards also took the responsibility of educating the audience and infusing a more tolerant and patient outlook in them. It is high time that the public takes some responsibility and becomes mature in its perception of a film. This way the filmmakers, censor-boards and the public will benefit. After all, it does not always have to be cat and mouse, does it?
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