I learned a lot more than I thought I would in the course.  I really enjoyed learning about the effects of the industry and the censorship.  Discussions of controversial issues like censorship are what really make a class like this interesting.

The one section of the class I did not particularly enjoy was learning how to be an entrepreneur.  I felt this section of the class was dragged out and could have been summed up in one to two lectures at most; three was over-kill in my opinion.

All and all, I really enjoyed this class and am extremely glad I was able to take it before it was no longer offered.

Intellectual property has been a hot topic lately.  All of the images on this website have been paid for with tax dollars so they are free to the public.  However, recently these images have become subject to attempts of removing the free public access and limiting them to commercial use.  However, this is still in debate.

The interesting thing to this is that there is a time-line collection of Coca-Cola advertisements.  Dating back from when coke first came about, to recent times with the digital coke bears.  With coke being a major copy write advocate, it was unique to see their images free for public use.  After all, the Coca-Cola Company patented the design of their bottle as well as the Coca-Cola logo itself.  I understand that the difference between a patent and a copy write, however, coke came off as a company that would want no part in free access to their material of any kind.

The library of congress website itself is pretty cool.  There are a lot of free, semi-high resolution images available to use at your disposal.  Check it out sometime.

The article discusses the prior attempt during the Clinton Administration which would include everything from close up shots of clothed genitals to extreme hardcore material.  This line is too vague to define.  An example would be someone shopping online for underwear would have to be allowed access to look at styles and fit.  To manage every single website would be impossible.

Child pornography is a major issue when internet pornography is discussed.  Chat rooms are a cesspool of sexual predators and potential dangers for children.  Would these chat rooms have to be censored as well?  There is no answer to this statement.  It is impossible to stop illegal actions.  Reducing the problem is definitely a possibility; however education is the only solution.

To teach children the dangers of the internet would be the only long term solution and resolution for this problem.  There is currently plenty of software such as parental controls and image blockers to deter harmful images but every piece of software has its flaw.  Teaching children that there are bad people online and that there are images which can be confusing and detrimental to mental health would alleviate the problem.

Source:

http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6063554.html

Ms. Lynn’s blog focuses on little events that happen day to day that revolve around a pornographic theme.  In this post she explains how cell phones are becoming the next wave of pornographic tools.  Also, she provides a link to an already existing Bluetooth vibrator, which is awesome.  This blog doesn’t really talk too much about opinion on matters regarding porn and its long term effects on society, rather day to day impacts the porn industry has on our lives.

This blog opens up mainstream audiences to the fact that porn is a major part of our lives.

How do you feel your actions as a director have impacted society’s view on homosexuals?  What actions do you plan to take in the future to further your messages and persuasion of society?

Laura Parskey, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Division, stated that if a 25% tax was imposed on pornographic purchases from the internet it would provide a return of $3 billion dollars.  She then purposed that this money be spent on software and resources to combat child pornography.  Immediately following her statement, a representative from the FBI admitted that there is significant funding to support the FBI in pursuing their cleansing of obscene and dangerous material such as child pornography.

If this proposal were to go into effect, the money should be spent on teaching children what they see as opposed to attempt to censor what they WILL EVENTAULY SEE!  My point being that once the new filters are evaded, children will still be exposed to the material.  By teaching children what they are seeing and to understand what is truly on the internet, it would be more effective than trying to hide what’s out there.  Teach children at an early age what potential dangers are out there and how to deal with it when they come across it.  By teaching them how to deal with inappropriate situations and to remove themselves from those situations, children will understand what they are seeing and the dangers associated with them.  Take a look at the D.A.R.E. program for example, by teaching children what harms are associated with drugs, they become aware of why not to partake in the use of illegal substances.  If this same model were to be applied to sexual material, children will be better off to know the truth.

George Carlin is a liberal and has no trouble speaking his mind.  I’m reminded of a time he was on fox news’ show The O’riley Factor.  On this particular episode, the topic of discussion was the war on terrorism.  For anyone who doesn’t know, Fox News is a highly conservative news organization so to have a liberal on the show surely led to controversy.  Point and case, George Carlin is the text book definition of why freedom of speech is important.

Indecency is something that is not quite obscene, however it is close.  George Carlin is a prime example of how this boundary is pushed.  He is similar to the porn industry in the sense that he is often in trouble with the law for speaking his mind and expressing his own opinion.

Miller law defines how obscenity is different from community to community (in reality state to state).  When someone in a far off state purchases an item from a different state, the seller must be aware of the laws of that state on obscenity.  This is ridiculous, companies should not be held responsible for the actions people take with their material.

In the case of Montgomery County, Alabama, it becomes evident that some laws are insane.  The little town, with only a handful of subscribers, found that the hardcore pornographic movies that were distributed by Home Dish Network were obscene only in that county.  This then led to the shutting down of the company.  It is terrible that an entire company could get shut down because a few people misuse its abilities.

This is similar to that of the definition of what would be considered “pornographic.”  Porn is only porn when the person viewing it thinks of it as such.  There is no clear definition on the differences between sexual and pornographic; only definition being that one knows porn when they see it.

Obscene to me would be any content that offends me.  But I can censor myself to permit said content from affecting me to a level that is detrimental to my mental health.  That is the beauty of free speech; people have the right to offend me!  People refer to the act of giving a person the middle finger is an obscene gesture.  People are afraid to offend anyone and that’s not right.  Free speech allows people to do offensive things, and that’s why censorship is more unethical than the content being censored.

What positive purpose does censorship hold in unethical scenarios?  The answer to this question is in no way an easy one to answer, however, censorship is needed under some circumstances.  When applied to the level of child pornography, censorship is needed to uphold a certain moral standard among society.  By taking a true absolutist view on the first amendment, one would have to allow child pornography.  This however, is highly wrong.  Child pornography is an immoral content which needs to be controlled.  Free Speech in general should not and cannot be allowed to be voided, in that sense when one is old enough to understand what they are viewing and mature enough to handle the human response of desire.  This maturity of society cannot be censored.

Before censorship is applied to certain media contents, there needs to be a clearly defined line on where it stops.  Certain harmful things should not be allowed to happen, such as anything illegal (rape, child molestation, etc.)  However, once someone is 18 or older, they should be allowed to educate themselves on information available, including different forms of pornography.