GMAT Essays : GMAT AWA / AWM Issue
Points FOR Essay Topic 1

Issue Topic 1. The degree of censorship for improper content and language in radio and television programs varies in different countries.

Discuss the extent to which the government and other bodies should be allowed to censor public media.

Points FOR (in favour of) topic:

FOR Point 1.1. Government-enforced media censorship ensures that the public are not exposed to offensive language, content or behavior through television or radio programs.

FOR Point 1.2. Often times, governments censor movies / news that they feel might instigate social unrest.

Example 1.2. A program or movie that might hurt the religious sentiments of a certain community are often censored by government censor boards. Content that could be construed as anti-semitic or racist is also frequently subject to censorship. In such cases, censorship might actually save lives.

FOR Point 1.3. Media programs often portray extreme violence as an acceptable part of life. Consequently, people do not think twice before resorting to violence in their daily life. Censorship of gory movies and television serials might actually reduce the level of violence that people are willing to tolerate.

FOR Point 1.4. Governments also use censorship to prevent the screening of illegal content and monitor adult content.

FOR Point 1.5. Does censorship really work ? Consider the following argument : If no one was ever corrupted by a movie, then you must also believe that no one was ever improved by a movie. What this means is that art is morally trivial and education is morally irrelevant. So, the idea that art has no influence on an individual's life or character is flawed.

FOR Point 1.6. Having little or no censorship is asking the government to be completely indifferent to the way its citizens publicly entertain themselves. Also, censorship has prevailed in some form or the other throughout the history of the world. Hardly any damage has been done to literature or art over the ages as a consequence of this censorship.