<doc.id=0227.a3>
<title> For your eyes only-A discussion on censorship by <name> </title>
In this essay I will be discussing censorship for adults in Sweden. I'm fully aware of the fact that this quite a broad and complex matter and therefore I will limit the discussion to the censorship that is being used in television programmes, video films and movies at the cinema. I will try to explain what this censorship consists of, how it is being implemented, what can be gained from it and finally I will try to point out a few important aspects of the subject.

In order to focus further on the limited area that is being discussed here, I would like to give a brief explanation of how censorship works. In Sweden, all the different media of the type mentioned above is reviewed by a sub-division of the state committee called "Radionämnden". This sub-division consists of a group of five lay assessors that go through all movies and such, determine what age limit they should be categorized into (>11 years and >15 years) and cut out inappropriate sequences from these movies, even from the ones with the highest age limit.

In other words, movies rated adult shown in the cinema or other state media channels like television or state owned video distribution are being censored and it is this censorship I would like to discuss. It is important to point out that video films imported and distributed by the private market do not undergo this process, they get a label with a recommendation of suitable age for viewers instead.

Now that we have focused on adult censorship, I would like to point out what reasons I believe lie behind this censorship. Probably, the reasons are the same as for censorship in movies for children. It has been decided that certain sequences of, for example violence, are inappropriate or unhealthy for children to view. This is most definitely true and it is understandable that movies are cut and divided into different categories of age limits. But when it comes to adult movies, can the same reason be applied? Will it prevent adults from committing violent or sex-related crimes?

I do not intend to answer this question, but I will point out that it is a highly debatable one and that it raises several other important questions on the subject. For example, is it morally right for a group of five people to decide what is suitable or not to see for a whole nation of adults? I believe that it is not, however well-meaning the intentions of this group may be, and I also believe that it is somewhat of a declaration of incapacity against the Swedish people. I would also like to point out that the positive effects of this censorship (if there are any) are very hard to estimate - can anyone say with certainty that fewer violent crimes are being committed because of it?

Censorship is also often associated with undemocratic countries and I would like to raise the question if it is suitable in a country that claims to be a beacon of democracy in the world. Another interesting aspect of the highly questionable matter of censorship is the integrity of the artists that create the movies. If movies are seen upon as works of art, is it right to cut pieces out from them? What would people's reaction be if pieces of paintings containing violence in museums were cut out?

Now I would believe it is important to point out that Swedish censorship isn't hacking its way through movies, cutting out everything violent. But still, there is a highly debatable moral issue here, an issue that I believe hasn't been discussed very much at all recently. I wonder why it is so- perhaps people simply aren't aware of the fact that the original form of the films they see at the cinema is for a few persons eyes only.
</doc>