Is censorship a good thing? You might be thinking of course not! What about in television? According to the article “The Case for Censorship” by Joshua Alston, it is. The article explores this topic with the variety show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which featured controversial segments on CBS. The network and Smother brothers clashed with each other because of this and often "the network [trimmed], and sometimes [cut], segments it disagreed with" (Alston). It also brings in the book written by David Bianculli, "Dangerously Funny", its main point being that the network's censorship over the show limited its creativity and "led to the show's demise" (Alston). The author makes it clear that he disagrees with Bianculli when he states that "censorship is more of a creative asset to television than it is a curse" (Alston). His three main claims are clear: censorship in television is good, complete and total freedom isn't possible …show more content…
Alston's claim that censorship in television is an asset may initially sound bad because Americans value the freedom of speech, but in some cases, like this one, I think it is okay. Not only does this prevent unsavory things from televising on screen for anyone, including kids, to see, but it also doesn't fully prevent entertainment from flourishing in the industry. The Saturday Night Live segment, "D--k in a Box", provided an example of this. Because the show provided a censored and uncensored version of the segment, people were able to compare the two and evaluate whether or not the censorship had a big impact on the entertainment the show was able to provide viewers. This clearly shows that inappropriate or unsavory imagery, language, or actions like sex and violence, that would normally be censored, usually add nothing, or very little, to the overall products aired on