Censorship is what I’m talking about. Should everyone of us release his / her personal “Presumed Guilty” compilation like Tiziana of Misanthropy Records did? Compilation in the shape of anything one would like to fashion to. Anyway, here comes MY PERSONAL “Presumed Guilty”.
First of all, let’s figure out what is “censorship”? My dictionary tells me, it’s a “system of State supervision over press and mass information media. Came into existence at the 15th century in Europe and at the beginning of 18th century in Russia. In terms of control forms, was subdivided into preliminary and punitive. Since the year of 1804, was controlled by censorial charters and temporary regulations. (Was) divided into common (internal and external) and departmental (ecclesiastical, military, theatrical, etc.) censorship”. Well, first of all, why “was”? It still exists… being rather prosperous, don’t you think so?
Ok,
in the beginning I feel I have to tell those of you who do not know – the
country of mine, Russia, endured really hard times with censorship reigning
all over this State (and, formerly, Empire). Wanna some facts? Let us recall
so-called “Censorial reform” which took place in 19th century, being based
upon “Temporary press regulations” (1865). The most sweetest thing regarding
this charter consisted in the fact of denying preliminary censorship, replacing
it with… yeah, sure – the punitive one. Furthermore, in case you’ve broken
any censorial regulations, you had to carry judicial responsibility. Enough
for you? Maybe yes, maybe not, I don’t care. Let us leave such a distant
past keep on rotting…
Time passed and the communistic regime took place. OH YES, IT WAS TRULY A PARADISE FOR ANY KIND OF CENSORSHIP! What trials?! Fuck them – you was either killed (lucky you) or imprisoned (poor you). No court, no trial. The older people of Russia should remember those sweet times of NKVD… It was some kind of communistic inquisition, first eliminating it’s real or imaginary enemies, in order to, further on, erase it’s true or sham supporters. Kind of a chaos. All of us were praising first Lenin, then Stalin, being afraid of them inside our feeble souls. Nation was spiritually enslaved, so to say.
And the time was passing by… and passing by… and this bloody nightmare seemed to come to an end. Gorbachev, “perestroika” and all that crap. The end of “cold war”, negotiations between USSR / Russia and Western countries, such as USA and others.
So, what did we gain by that period? First few, than many held the arms-reduction talks… Finally, Russia could be represented with more or less democratic leader. Remember those three-round talks with Reigan? Then time has come for Tatcher and Strauss… But in the same time USA seemed (and seem to) adhere to the “New world order” idea… And still it strikes as no one needs really powerful Russia, neither economically, nor culturally.
But it looks like we’re talking about politics too much. Let’s move to the main subject of this article, the censorship. So, Russia have reached democracy at last? I guess not. Democracy = hypocrisy; and it goes for Russia as well as for almost all the Western countries. You see, no one wills to behold pure democracy, since NO ONE WILL REALLY GAIN BY IT. That’s the reason.
Just look at United States who claim their main idea of State organization is based on the principles of democracy. And what do we really see? The most puritan country with censorial organs taking over everything / everyone they possibly can (and cannot)! So, let me assert that censorship still exists in a truly disgusting form, even though it’s undoubtedly less harmful as it happened to be in Middle Ages. Of course, first of all, it goes for such subjects as music and art (whatever the word “art” means: be it modern paintings or pornography).
Simply recall how many concerts and gigs were cancelled due to the pressure put by State or regional authorities? Be it Europe or North America… Of course, you might say we’re living in a better world than those, of Asia or Africa… Sure, but who cares? We’re not Africans, aren’t we? So why should we care about them, since I believe no one of them doesn’t even think of what we have going on here?! It is “here and now”, not “there and then”, you see.
First of all, what’s the sense in sticking these “parental advisory” labels to metal CD’s or tapes? Yeah, I know, in order to prevent some young man from buying this (well, he will never buy it even if he wants to – due to the fact no one will sell this stuff to a certain person younger than it’s allowed). But why? Do you seriously think that, once he read DEICIDE or CANNIBAL CORPSE lyrics, he will go and shoot or rape someone? Well, he might do so – but that means he’s of unsound mind, while music doesn’t have
anything
to do with that. Those who blame metal (or whatever…) simply have to find
a scapegoat. Yeah, why do they have to find the true reason, the reason
which could lie inside of them and their relations, their attitude to the
children of their own? No one needs that. My child has blown his head off?
Ok, let’s look what he was listening to? Ah, is it a band called SENTENCED
with their “Suicider”? Or he has raped and killed a christian girl? So
let us blame it on regular DEMONIC CHRISTRAPER… Your son estranges from
you as well as the whole family, there’s no end to quarrels – ok, let’s
better crush his CD collection instead of talking with him and trying out
to find a solution. He gets drunk, he gets high each single day? Why making
us guilty? It’s all that loathsome music! Let me ask: where’re your proofs,
my precious sirs? Seems like you don’t have any. Only unsubstantiated accusations,
based on bare emotions and inability to change anything… Why did people
commit their lives with suicide back in 18th, 19th centuries? The beginning
of the previous, 20th one? Classical music? Beethoven, Grieg? Glenn Miller??!
Nonsense. I believe, it depends on human mind - and only on human mind.
By the way, what’s most surprising, metal bands are not the only ones who’re being accused by diverse (mostly, christian) movements in various crap. It makes me laugh when they call “bubblegum pop teens” (N’SYNC, Britney Spears and so on) satanic (!) or whatever… Seems like there’s no end for human marasmus.
Those who control censorship crave for getting almost utter control over us, over our minds. For telling us what we should do and what we shouldn’t, what we have to listen to and what we don’t have to, what we must eat and read and watch, who we must have sex with, when we should defecate and when we shouldn’t… Perhaps, it sounds absurd, however novels like “1984” easily may come true. Sooner or later. I hope the world buries itself before it will take place.
Furthermore, what about paintings and photography? The same shit happens…
The same as with TV. So you claim all the movies (and whatever...) containing even a smaller dose of violence should be broadcasted only at the nightime and such. Right? Ok, but what about removing news-blocks then? There’s real blood in there, not some red-colored water.
Are you aware that your child will get an aesthetic shock watching horror films on occasion? Get yourselves a “TV filter” or whatever it’s called… I don’t have one (why should I?), however I guess it’s similar to that, placed in your Internet-browser.
Perhaps, shooting children in porno movies is bad. Perhaps, either selling or spreading pornographic pictures (especially the ones featuring kids) is bad as well. But so what? Is it a reason for prohibiting all this stuff? Even if ONE SINGLE PERSON gets pleasure watching suchlike movies or masturbating upon these pics,
let
him do so! Forbidding anything is the easiest and most stupid way. You
don’t have to be of a great IQ in order to say: “prohibit this and that”.
But what about finding a solution which could satisfy everyone (well, I
guess it’s impossible to satisfy everyone… let’s say “at least, the majority”)?
It’s a hard task, indeed. But aren’t we living in democratic society…?
I’m really glad that while now no one managed to limit access to the World
Wide Web – I mean, really limit, since Chinese know-alls contrived to partly
limit it anyway. And that’s a bad sign for me. Definitely, a bad sign.
At the moment, Internet is the only source of information (almost) lacking
brand of censorship (well, actually, the responsibility of establishing
WWW site’s regulations or whatever, lies on the webmaster and no one else,
with an exception for the site’s maintainer) – and I sincerely hope everything
will stay the same.