Most people have some thing or some idea that they think is too dangerous or offensive to be made widely available to the public. Wielding the Red Pen, showing September 29 through January 13 in the McGregor Room of Alderman Library at the University of Virginia. Wielding the Red Pen explores this complex question. The exhibition addresses censorship of children s and adult literature, film, art, music, science, correspondence to and from soldiers during wartime, and more. It presents some of the justifications for censoring as well as reactions of those censored.
Censorship can take many forms and mediums.
Books, films, music, artwork, and even ideas and speech can be banned, suppressed, altered, bleeped, blackened, cut, and burned, said Baumann. A writer or artist may be imprisoned, fined, fired, or silenced. To witness the various forms of censorship, v isitors to the exhibition can read censored works, listen to censored music, and watch censored film clips. Whitman lost his job with the U.S. Government when his supervisor found the annotated book among his possessions. The book was deemed obscene and too sensual due to its frank portrayal of sexuality with obvious homoerotic overtones.