This past week, I learned that the drama program I had given my heart to in high school was under fire by concerned parents for performances deemed 'inappropriate.' The concerns were predictably religious, and their main argument was that the content of past shows had been inappropriate for children, and that going forward the theater program should be restricted to G rated content only.
Fellow theater kids are now thinking, "Okay, so that means there are no shows left." That was my first reaction too, and then I realized the greater implications of this proposed gag order. Censorship of art, not only theater, is a repetitive theme in the world's history, and especially in America's.
Usually people in support of controlling art content base their argument on the idea that children cannot handle facing certain content. Misunderstood religious concepts often get thrown in as well to make the censorship seem justified. Even as a Christian myself, I can't get behind this way of thought. Followers of Jesus are called to be a light within the world, not a holier-than-thou light above the rest of the world.
Beyond this, I firmly believe censorship is completely out of place in 21st century America. It was out of place at America's beginning as well, when the country was built upon a foundation of freedom and liberty. However, censorship has continued throughout history and is clearly continuing today. I truly believe that censorship is not only wrong, but detrimental to the development of society. Theater exposed me to contrasting opinions I may not have been aware of otherwise. Acting offered me a literal stage upon which to discover what I truly believe.
Faith without challenge is not faith at all, but simply following someone else's word blindly.
The more we learn about the world, even the dark parts, the more we learn about ourselves and the place we have in it. Art is a reflection of humanity: its beauty, its darkness, and its potential. As long as humans have existed, art has been a way for us to create beauty and find meaning. Art has historically embraced diversity, celebrated controversy, and asked the questions humanity wrestles with. An argument can be made that art should do this and that artists have a responsibility to create work which does each of these things. As a reflection of the human experience, art cannot be safe and universally inoffensive. Life is not safe, life contains things that not everyone likes, life is altogether unpredictable and constantly changing. This is not a bad thing, in fact, it is a beautiful one, and art celebrates this beauty.
In the end, the proposition to restrict theater to G-ratings was thrown out, and I look forward to seeing their production in a few months. In response to the proposed censorship, there was an outpouring of support by students and parents who believed, as I do, that high school students should be allowed to portray what high school students nearing adulthood are able to handle and understand. I consider the approval of the show a win for artistic freedom, and a loss for censorship. I know I will continue to support all artists' right to portray the world as they see it.
