SPEW!! DEBATE!!

[ohthatisbadnews.livejournal.com]

Click on the picture to join!

The monthly SPEW debate is here! Wanna know whats going on? Look under the cut!!


Imagne going to the record store, and blaring from the loud speakers is an artist like Eminem. You have your two young children with you. Should they have to listen to that kind of music, even if you think that it is immoral?
The Topic of the debate is a popular one. Should Music/Movies/Magazine/Video Games/Etc. be censored? Should the government be able to say, "No You cannot put that on your album" or "That is too vulgur for our youth to see on the big screen!"
What I Want I want you to debate over this issue. Gryffindor//Slytherin will be arguing that the government SHOULD NOT be able to censor the media. Ravenclaw//Hufflepuff will be arguing that the government SHOULD be able to censor the media.
Rules
-Only qualifing comments count! They must be signed, be at least 3 sentences, stay on topic, and stay on your assigned side.
-Keep it civil. If you don't agree with what someone says, let it slide off your back, and don't start an argument. You will not be allowed to participate in the contest for SPEW.
-Have fun! Thats what I want most of all

The Break Down
-10 points for first comment.
-5 points for each additional comment.
Deadline
-The debate will end THURSDAY, Mar. 2nd, at 8 P.M. EST!

Thank you!



DEBATE OVER! Sorry, I had to end it a little early, but I have a paper due tomorrow, and it will take me the rest of the night to finish it.

Comments

[tsukinofaerii.livejournal.com]

First off, I'm going to imediately state that I saw Rent, and absolutely adored it. If I had children, I would take them to see it for all the reasons you seem to think it's in appropriate. So my argument will have spoilers, for anyone who hasn't seen the movie.

Yes, Rent shows drug use, homosexual behavior (which you didn't mention but I'm well aware that many people do find it offensive), a "gentleman's club" and lewd behavior (La Vie Boheme). However, the drug use is shown in a negative light! The entirety of the Roger/Mimi subplot was how he had seen his former girlfriend (April) lose her life to AIDs aquired from drug use, had cleaned up his own act too late to save himself, and was scared of losing Mimi the same way. I hardly think that kind of thing promotes drug use in any way.

Rent is an excellent example of why censorship is wrong. It has many, many statements on society, drugs, self-esteem and a myriad of other things, and the way it presents these ideas would be made completely null if the content were "tamed down". If Angel hadn't died, the sickening reality of AIDs wouldn't have been so forefront of the movie. If Mimi hadn't picked up that needle, how would the ways drugs can ruin a life be apparent? Even the Cat Scratch Club has a point to be made -- Mimi's appearance there was markedly different from how she behaves normally, and her risky behavior (with drugs and the club) were a running theme, and Mimi's failing strength in getting out of her bad situation was a poignant part of the story.

Rent was about finding support and family in a culture that rejects many minorities. It was about drug abuse and the tragedy of AIDs. It was about being an individual and making the right decisions against all pressures, and maintaining that in the face of even your own weaknesses. This movie absolutely required potentially offensive themes, and the positive points it made using those themes are invaluable lessons to all people, especially young adults and teenagers. Censorship would remove those lessons, and leave a poor substitute in their place.
Moon Faery//Slytherin