Censorship

Art censorship is back in the news, but this time it's no crazed museum visitor punching a painting, it's Facebook deactivating profiles for featuring Gustave Courbet's 1886 painting The Origin of the World. This isn't the first time the controversial painting that features a NSFW up-close vagina has faced censorship roadblocks. In the last couple decades books using the work of art on their covers have been taken off shelves and out of window displays.

But when it comes to Facebook, the debate centers on whether or not it's the site's duty or right to ban people from putting up a famous work of art on their personal profiles that could be seen by people of all ages on the wall of a museum (in this case, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris). What do you think? Should these paintings abide by Facebook's rule that users can't "post content that is hateful, threatening, or pornographic, or that incites violence, or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence," or should they be exempt?

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Should Facebook Censor Famous Art?

Yes

No

One of my favorite scenes in Old School occurs when Vince Vaughn's character turns to his son and says, "Max can you earmuff it for me?" and then proceeds to use language you wouldn't ever want a tot to hear. The same philosophy is being used in a new revised version of Mark Twain's classic Huckleberry Finn. The 1885 tale was packed with racial stereotypes and slurs that in recent years caused many of the nation's school systems to drop the book from their curriculums. In an attempt to introduce a new generation to the tome, a Twain scholar has revised the text, converting the n-word to slave and receiving the wrath of literary fans and historians around the world.

If your school system were to add the text to their curriculum, would you seek out the original version for your kids?

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Would You Seek Out an Uncensored Version of a Classic Book?

Yes – Kids need to know what life was really like – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

No – My kids don't need to be exposed to those words.

Public outcry ensued when the Manhattan Declaration, a Christian statement opposing gay marriage, recently became an iPhone app, so Steve Jobs made the decision to shut it down. The manifesto states that marriage is "a conjugal union of man and woman, ordained by God from the creation, and historically understood by believers and nonbelievers alike, to be the most basic institution in society." The app asked users to add their signatures to this declaration.

While it's expected that your stance on gay marriage will influence your feelings about Jobs's decision, and about the app being approved in the first place, there are other factors to consider, like whether or not the app was offensive enough to warrant being axed. Apple gets a lot of flak for its heavy-handed censorship; is this just another example of its attack on freedom of speech? What do you think?

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Good Call or Uncalled For? Apple Pulls App For Opposing Gay Marriage

Good call

Uncalled for

The planned cover art for Kanye West's new album My Beautiful Twisted Fantasy matches the title. Unfortunately, the image described by Kanye as "me chilling on the couch with my phoenix" has been "banned in the USA!!"

Kanye's tweets on the topic admit that it's not official censorship, but commercial considerations keeping the frightening cover off shelves. He wishes today's sensibilities could mirror the 1970s, when "albums had actual nudity." But while retailers like Walmart worry Americans won't buy music packaged with such nudity, you bet Kanye knows that a controversy will help boost sales. So it's unclear whether Kanye's controversial cover is in conflict with commercialism, or in perfect harmony with the whole game.

Regardless of whether Kanye's cover represents true artistic expression, do you think Americans could be more open to non-mainstream art?

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Should We Embrace Art That Makes Us Uncomfortable?

Yes — American society is too prude.

No — There should be decency standards.

Cameron reads tabloids to Lily in a soft tone on Modern Family. Babies rock out to Katy Perry's "California Gurls" and songs with profane lyrics. If a tot is too young to talk, does the content of the texts read to them or the music played in their presence matter? What's your opinion?Photos copyright 2010 ABC Inc.

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Modern Family: Do You Censor What Your Baby Hears?

Yes — Parents should censor what their tots hear.

No — It's more important for babies to be exposed to music and books.