MIM Notes 188 June 15 1999

CENSORS TO KEEP AMERIKAN YOUTH IN GLASS BUBBLE

Over a month after the Columbine High School shooting, people are 
still pointing fingers at the entertainment industry as the source 
of all evil in the u.s. A National Public Radio profile on 
industrial bands featured music that ranged from nihilist to 
anarchist and anti-fascist implying that the driving beat and 
anti-religious messages might be causing violence among young 
listeners.

The WB network canceled two episodes of its popular show Buffy the 
Vampire Slayer because they depicted violence in a high school. 
Internet blocking programs have seen a sharp increase in attention 
and public support. And even at the highest levels of government, 
legislation is being proposed to enforce tighter restrictions on 
the culture Amerikan youth can access.

Some argue against this censorship of culture by saying that youth 
opening fire in schools have something fundamentally wrong with 
them from the start. However, MIM recognizes the strong influence 
of culture and society on youth. Similarly, we do not see that 
humans have inherent traits, but that they are molded by their 
surroundings. That's why we do advocate abolishing reactionary 
cultural as we build a socialist society without Amerika's current 
predatory and violent relations.

But we do not advocate giving imperialist and patriarchal 
governments greater control to censor pieces of culture that it 
finds offensive or dangerous. Such expanded control means greater 
censorship limits access to information which counters bourgeois 
media bombardment. The u.$. government may tweak levels of 
violence in mainstream movies and TV but it will use this power to 
repress communist, anarchist and other anti-imperialist and anti-
militarist views.

If we want to look at the cultural causes of violence among white 
suburban youth (which is what grabs media attention) we should 
examine the televising of the bombings of Iraq and Yugoslavia. 
Here is a graphic display of violent military attacks on unarmed 
people being hyped daily in the news. Buffy the Vampire Slayer 
portrays students fighting evil to reduce violence perpetuated 
against humanity; meanwhile, the u.s. military is televised in 
full glory promoting violence and killings against the majority of 
the world's people.

Those who claim that some youth will not be able to distinguish 
between Buffy using violence against evil and the use of violence 
in a high school just for the sake of killing people are insulting 
the youth of today and giving too much credit to one TV show. The 
pervasive capitalist culture of killing and exploitation for 
profit has a strong influence on us all from birth. Until 
capitalism has been eliminated we can not hope to win the battle 
against this culture.

Recognizing that under capitalism it is possible to create 
alternative culture that will influence people and help with the 
anti-imperialist struggle, we do encourage people to use their 
skills to this end. If you are a musician, write revolutionary 
music, if you are an artist, create revolutionary art, if you are 
a writer, write revolutionary books and poetry, we encourage 
everyone to contribute by reviewing both revolutionary and 
reactionary culture for MIM's publications.