Censorship and Literature: What are You Reading and What are You Writing?
Last week I wrote about the weather as it relates to storytelling.
This week if I were to describe the United States’ political landscape in terms of weather, I’d be writing about a devastating tornado. All around me I feel as if towns and communities are being swept away, leaving many without shelter. Maybe my feelings are even bigger than a tornado and what we’re experiencing is more like a hurricane, washing away wide swaths of land and institutions including libraries, schools and research centers.
The majority of people who voted in this past U.S. election said they wanted “change.” Did they want ALL these changes? I’m not certain. Things are so unreal to me right now they feel like fiction.
Politics can be the source of inspiration for many works of fiction. If we don’t like the way things are, writers can imagine an idyllic society and write about a utopia. Or they do the opposite, and as a warning to others they write about a place where things are taken to the extreme, a dystopia.
A favorite dystopian novel of mine by Margaret Atwood is Handmaid’s Tale, which was made into a streaming series by Hulu, initially released in 2017. It depicts a future United States run by an oligarchy of fundamentalist Christian men, “Commanders”. Woman are second-class citizens, relegated to childbearing and management of the household.
In the initial episodes a coup takes place within a matter of weeks. Some who do not agree with the new regime escape to Canada. Fertile women of childbearing age are enslaved and assigned the role of being handmaids to Commanders’ families who do not have children of their own. They must serve as a concubine and surrogate child bearer.
The series is so chilling and disturbing, many people are uncomfortable watching it. The last and final season (six) will air in April 2025.
Throughout recent history, books opposing the prevailing viewpoint have been banned. Books considered controversial or “too adult in content” have been removed from school libraries and The Handmaid’s Tale is no exception. The book has been removed from the school libraries in several states that include Florida, Texas and Oklahoma as well as from the school library of Madison County, Virginia, because of its references to sexuality and adult themes.
Books depicting members of the LBGT community as parents, books conveying the feelings of minority groups that have been enslaved and mistreated, have also been removed from some school libraries. The question is always the same, who gets to decide what is appropriate and what isn’t? In my ideal world, a society where kindness and openmindedness is prized, there is no need for censorship.
Visualizing a better world, perhaps a world with kindness and inclusion, is the launching point for many fantasy novels. Thomas More’s book, Utopia, first published in 1516 and written in Latin, describes an island nation where both men and women are educated and property is communal. It is a society without war, violence or competition, a sharp contrast to the world of the 16 thcentury and for that matter, the world of the 2lst century.
Envisioning an alternate version of history is another approach a writer can take to contemplate the influence of political movements. Two books that come to mind are Fatherland by Robert Harris (1994 film) and Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick ( also a streaming series on Amazon Prime 2015–2019). Both of these books explore a possible reality that might take place if Nazi Germany were to have won World War II.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Faherenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and 1984 by George Orwell, all describe societies of the “future” where a technology has enabled the privileged few to control the masses, deciding on what is acceptable behavior. The famous line “Big Brother is Watching You” is from 1984 and not only refer to a authoritarian government but also to a “telescreen” that watches citizens while also providing selected news and entertainment.
In Ray Bradbury’s novel, all books are banned. The title is taken from the temperature at which books are burned. The authoritarian society decides what everyone should know and how they should think. Books are considered dangerous.
In Brave New World, the author takes it one step further. Humans are grown in test tubes and genetically modified to be assigned tasks commensurate with their capabilities. The lower castes are never taught to read.
Education is the antidote to a dictatorship. Simply said, reading books and getting your news from a variety of sources is the best way to counteract authoritarianism. Multiple viewpoints and diversity enrich a society. A free press, not criticized by those in power who seek to control it, is an important safeguard to democracy. While the press will inevitably get things wrong sometimes, by having multiple sources of information, we are more likely to learn the truth.
Everyone is a witness. Pay attention. If you are a writer, do not let yourself be silenced.
Thank you for reading and feel free to share your comments and any questions. Don’t forget your can follow me for FREE. Just sign up, and you’ll receive an email each time I publish. If you enjoyed this post and want to support my writing, consider purchasing my little chapbook filled with short essays and poems, RECIPES FROM MY GARDEN and check out some of my other books. Thanks again.
Originally published at http://nadjamaril.com on February 20, 2025.
