In our nation's history, many books have been banned for a variety of reasons. Banned books similar to the Canibal Cop documentary have sparked a debate about thought crimes. One of the most famous banned books is George Orwell's 1984.The book has been repeatedly banned for it's sexual and political content. Additionally, the book was challenged in court by, Jackson County, Florida, for being pro-communism.
But what made this book so bad? Well, it is set in a dystopian 1984 where the world is run by three huge governments. The government called "big brother" watches your every move. The main character realizes the government is bad and wants to rebel. He is afraid however of the thought police which looks for people who think bad things about the government. This is ironic because the book was later banned as a thought crime so to speak. The novel also contains some sexual content and most agree today that there is nothing wrong with novel and it should not have been banned.
Another book that has been banned is Harry Potter. Catholic schools in Nashville banned it for depictions of witchcraft and wizardry. According to one pastor, the spells in the book are real and reading them could conjure evil spirits. This, however, did not stop the soaring sails of the novels in 2015.
In the end, banning each book only increased its popularity. Similarly, when someone on the internet may take down an embarrassing video it only gets saved and shared even more. If we want to sensor a book but banning it only increases its demand what is a better solution?
https://study.com/academy/lesson/george-orwells-1984-summary-characters-themes-analysis.html
https://www.dorrancepublishing.com/censored-story-five-banned-books/
http://www.bannedlibrary.com/podcast/2016/12/28/nineteen-eighty-four-1984-by-george-orwell
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/09/03/catholic-school-bans-harry-potterbut-according-to-free-speech-advocates-its-nothing-new/#6cbda31b7250
I think it's really interesting how banning a book can only increase the public awareness about it. This might be related to the pride that Americans have for their first amendment right, so attention towards censorship is always on high. I also thought it was interesting how some parallels can be made between 1984 and the Turner Diaries—both encouraged taking action against a society that's viewed as being highly oppressive, and yet, Orwell's novel has been banned and the Turner Diaries haven't. Even though our first amendment right claims to protect speech as long as it's not dangerous to society, it seems more intent on upholding societal constructs and religious beliefs.
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