Alison Bechdel Censorship

Censorship is necessary to an extent. It protects society from ideas and images that are deemed inappropriate for the public, but it also hinders them from experiencing another point of view. A certain amount of censorship is needed when raising children, because exposing them to mature themes too early is harmful to their growth and development. This belief is what prompts parents to call for the banning of certain books in schools. They feel a certain theme in the book is inappropriate and they do not want their children exposed to it. Parents who censor different forms of media such as books, movies, television shows, and music from their children to protect their innocence pass that need for censorship down to their children. This is the

He says “Bechdel is a canny writer whose specific experiences translate well to a universal audience” to show how anyone can relate to Bechdel, but does not realize this is a weak statement because Bechdel’s experiences did not translate well to the students who refused to read the book. Scudera only has the personal experience from teaching the book in class and the critics’ raves to base the statement on. Then he ends his essay with, “Bechdel is a wise teacher with much to teach all of us,” (Scudera) to convince all of the readers of Bechdel’s intelligence. He wants his admiration of Bechdel to transfer to the audience, but fails to realize that no matter how strongly he feels about the graphic novel, people strongly against this book will never agree with him. Scudera also praises Bechdel’s work when mentioning its “witty and distinctive illustrations” and it receiving “critical raves.” He is trying to build his credibility through mentioning the critics’ love of it, so that it is not only him praising Bechdel’s work. Assuming everyone will love her work seeing that it did well critically is a mistake because there are many works: books, movies, music that are highly regarded by critics but are not very popular. Then Scudera’s comment about Bechdel’s illustrations can be taken either way because drawings are a form of art and art is naturally

In his third paragraph, he discusses in detail how Bechdel’s novel is used in the Common Intellectual Experience, a freshman course at Ursinus, and remarks “it is a fine example of a liberal arts education, and [he is] happy to be a participant in it.” While it may seem like a bright idea to explain how the book is taught in a college classroom, some may view this paragraph as veering off topic because he talks too much about the school and not enough about the book. Then he mentions the school again when he says he is “proud that Ursinus chose Fun Home as a central text for [their] Common course and that [they] did not shy away from it because of its controversial history in academia.” He is bragging about how open minded and forward thinking his school is compared to other schools by allowing its students to read Bechdel’s novel. He tries to persuade his audience of his side of the argument by illustrating his school’s acceptance of different types of people to distract from his intensely biased opinions. Returning back to the controversial panel, Scudera ask his students if the “illustration is pornographic.” He reports that none of them are “offended by the image.” Maybe none of his students are offended, because a lot of them “come from small communities in Pennsylvania” and the Duke students go to a school in the Bible belt. Not all Duke students are from the South, but