Purple+5

//"Censorship is the tool of those who have the need to hide actualities from themselves and others. Their fear is only their inability to face what is real. Somewhere in their upbringing they were shielded against the total facts of ou__r__ experience. They were only taught to look one way when many ways exist//." **- Charles Bukowski**

**Our Names**:
Rachael, Danielle, Jesse, Robbie

**Thesis Statement**:
__Censorship in government, schools, and media is used to control the minds and opinions of individuals, which ultimately denies individuals their rights of freedom of speech, religion, and press.__

**PSA:**
media type="custom" key="76342"

**PSA Script**:
Flash in picture of [| American Flag] //Narrator//: Liberties lost are difficult to restore and censorship in government, schools and media undermines liberties that Americans have fought for. Fade in picture [| Surveillance Camera] Fade in picture of Nazi pointing his finger Fade in picture of [|Bush] //Narrator//: "As urban hunger and homelessness increases in America, the Bush administration is planning to eliminate a U.S. survey widely used to improve federal and state programs for low-income and retired Americans." Fade in picture of [| Communist China] //Narrator//: The FBI shut down 20 antiwar websites as an unprecedented act of Internet censorship and police power. Censorship as a way of controlling the minds and opinions of the citizenry ultimately leads to authoritarianism, and that kind of power cannot be placed in the hands of the government. Fade in picture of [| "Peace Now" Walk] Fade in picture of [| Protecting the Homeland – signing Patriot Act] //Narrator//: Twenty-five out of 41 governments studied, block, or filter internet content. Fade in picture of [| Anna Nicole Smith Media Coverage] //Narrator//: Major media today are tending to favor news stories on sex scandals, celebrity events, and crime, leaving less or little room for analytical news on important social issues. Fade in picture of [| Bill of Rights], [| Fight Censorship Poster], [| Monkeys] //Narrator//: Censorship continues to take away civil rights and prevent the public from creating individual morals and values. Censorship in government, schools and media is used to control the minds and opinions of individuals, which ultimately denies individuals their rights of freedom of speech, religion, and press. Fade in picture of [|Guy with mouth tied shut] //Narrator//: Knowledge is essential to democracy. Fight against censorship to ensure your rights as a citizen of the United States. Fade in picture of [|American Flag movie] //Narrator//: Go to www.fightagainstcensorship.org too see what you can do in order to protect your rights as an American citizen.

**Producers' Note**:
The main goal of our PSA was to prove our thesis on censorship and its affects on the people and their individual rights. We planned out examples by using pictures as evidence to support our thesis. The government plays an important role in the minds and opinions of its citizens. By having too much censorship denies the citizens their individual rights such as freedom of religion, speech and of the press. Censorship continues to take away civil rights and prevent the public from creating individual morals and values. [|Censorship in government], schools and media is used to control the minds and opinions of individuals, which ultimately denies individuals their rights of freedom of speech, religion, and press. We decided to focus our PSA on censorship in the government, within schools and in the press. By providing examples in our PSA we would be able to prove our thesis that censorship does not directly aid the people. We opened with our PSA with a flying American Flag (still shot) because the flag represents unity, freedom, democracy, and individual liberties. We felt the flag would create a connection to the viewers and draw their attention to our announcement. By having a flag as the opening shot will cause the viewer to question what the flag really stands for (by the end of the PSA) and how censorship plays a key role in society. The Nazi yelling was chosen because it contradicts every liberty and freedom America has fought for. America is taking advantage of the Democracy and is making the government seem more as a large dictator which controls what we say, believe, and see. Getting a close up with George Bush’s face was important to our group and our PSA because it is getting close and personal to the man who is running our country. It is putting the people in touch with the government and their leader. He as well stands for all the same things that our flag stands for, yet he is creating Acts and laws that are taking away basic civil rights. The picture of Anna Nicole Smith on Fox News was used to prove that the country and the Americans are more involved in the lives of the celebrities, and care more about other people than we do our own rights. Americans are almost too comfortable with the rights that are given and don’t use them to our advantage when the government is taking them away. Keeping information from the people (right under our noses) is a violation of our basic freedoms and privileges. Information from the government is the only way to have an efficient democracy and with censorship, freedoms are not only violated but completely disregarded. Google, an American site, was “turned” and manipulated so it appears to be spelt out by communism. This is ironic because once again democracy is loosing its meaning and could become communist. When the [|government is censoring] its people from the truths about a war, or preventing them from being able to believe what they want, and say what they want, it is giving the government a power they have over the people. This power is also taking away civil rights and disallows the citizens to create their own morals and values. Peace Marches and peaceful assemblies are given as a right to the American people. Showing this picture is an example of citizens taking advantage and actively using their rights so they are able to protest the government, and voice their opinion. By taking public opinions away from the American people denies them their rights from the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. The rights of freedom of speech, press and religion are not only taken away but they are ignored and rejected in order to benefit the government. By censoring America from hearing of peace marches or demonstrations harms the citizens yet benefits the government. The signing of the Patriot Act by Bush protects the country from terrorist threats, but also is a great example of the government censoring and taking over Americans lives. It gives the police the right to search a business or household without consent to the owner if they feel there is a threat to the country. The 4th Amendment denies that action by saying the people have the right to be searched only if there is a warrant involved. The Patriot Act takes away the liberties and freedoms given to the people in the Bill of Rights. This shot lead into our next shot of The Bill of Rights. We chose to have a shot of the Bill of Rights because these 10 amendments listed tell the Americans what rights they have and what the government and people can and cannot do. Yet as the time goes on we see that the Bill of Rights is nothing more than history, which was written 300 years ago. This is because the government is constantly finding ways around the rights to deny the citizens theirs. By censoring and preventing the individuals to create their own beliefs it takes away specific rights from the Bill of Rights and mocks the very principles for which it stands for – freedoms, rights, and liberties. With the fight censorship poster our group wanted to direct the focus on actions that the public needs to take in order to ...

The Hear No Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil monkeys was chosen to represent government censoring in all aspects of the media and schools. The monkeys are the citizens and the hands are the power the government has. The government is choosing to use its power to filter the information, which comes out into the public. The monkey with his hands over his ears is the government preventing the people from hearing the truth. The hands over the eyes is the government censoring what the people see from a day to day basis whether is the news on TV, or in the newspaper, or even the internet. The hands over the mouth indicate everything that one wants to say is being filtered through the government and changed into a meaning different than what is being said. The censoring has left America helpless and the Bill of Rights useless because it is restricting our freedoms. A man with an American flag covering his mouth was chosen to represent the quietness of the American citizens and the censorship from the government. In denying individuals their basic rights to speak and have a voice goes against the American beliefs and ideals for a perfect society. The American flag is now nothing more than a piece of red, white, and blue cloth. The flag is censoring America’s words and filtering the content that the government presents to its citizens. By violating the 1st amendment of Freedom of Speech creates a contradictory environment for the people of America.

**Works Cited**:
‡ http://www.ncac.org/action_issues/Government_Secrecy.cfm ‡[|http://www.ncac.org/media/20020916~USA~Now_They_Check_the_Books_You_Read.cfm] ‡ http://www.ncac.org/education/schools/#censorship%29//
 * Carr, Sylvia. "Net Censorship on the Rise." Business Week. 18 May 2007. Technology. 28 May 2007
 * "Censorship in School." American Library Association. 2007. 28 May 2007.
 * "China's Internet Censorship." CBS News. 3 Dec. 2002. Sci-Tech. 28 May 2007 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/03/tech/main531567.shtml
 * __Fox news Blondes_0001__. 27 May 2007 <[|http://www.newshounds.us/FOX%20News%20blondes_0001.jpg>.]
 * __George_Bush_Biography__. 27 May 2007 <[|http://www.myclassiclyrics.com/artist_biographies/George_Bush_Biography.jpg>.]
 * __Google__. 27 May 2007 <[|http://pointfiveblog.com/wp/wp-content/200601/google.jpg>.]
 * __March__. 27 May 2007 <[|http://www.s150.msu.edu/1960-1969/march.jpg>.]
 * __Protecting the Homeland__. __Bushmar9patriotactweb9jj__. 27 May 2007 <[|http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/2746/bushmar9patriotactweb9jj.jpg>.]
 * __Surveillance-cameras-400__. 27 May 2007 <[|http://www.surveillanceequipment.us/surveillance-cameras-400.jpg>.]
 * "Television and Radio." National Coalition Against Censorship. 28 May 2007.