FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

and

Censorship

In the Performing Arts

By:  MS. Rosado

Dance Teacher at H.S. for Violin and Dance

mrosado@hsforviolinanddance.org

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

You have worked long hours in the dance studio, alongside your dance company, creating a new dance work.   You are a performance artist based in New York City, and tonight you will debut your choreographic work in the state of Arkansas.  As you arrive at the public theater for your debut, you notice that there are hundreds of people assembled in a massive demonstration against this performance.  You ignore the protesters, and as you attempt to enter the theater, management dismisses you.  You are informed that your dance company’s performance has been cancelled.  Stunned, you ask why this sudden decision was made.  As the crowd cheers on the management, you are informed that this particular performance has been banned because of nudity and because the town of Mena, Arkansas regards it as obscene.  But you remember that our First Amendment, the ‘Freedom of Speech’ amendment, has expanded to include non-verbal expression such as dance movements.  Have you, as an artist, experienced a violation of your First Amendment rights?

You ask yourself, shouldn’t every choreographer have freedom of expression anywhere in America?  Do I have rights as a performance artist and do laws protect us?  If so, why did the theater management prohibit me from presenting my choreography?  Is a dance movement performed in the nude considered obscene?  What states prohibit the presentation of works, which include nudity?  Was omission of my dance work in a public theater a violation of my First Amendment? As a choreographer, you will be researching the problem of censorship and creating a Policy that will ensure freedom of expression in Performing arts.

 

 

TASK:

Your task is to research the topic of Freedom of Speech in Performance Art in America.    Working in groups of five, you will prepare a visual presentation (using large poster board) explaining the findings of your research.  You will present those findings in a ten-minute oral presentation.

 

 

PROCESS:

You will be responsible for recruiting other students (five in each group) who support your views against censorship.  You will then create a committee and select one of the topics listed below where censorship has been evident:

  • Art
  • Dance
  • Theater
  • Literature
  • Music
  • Media; Television, Radio or Films

You will review existing policies and research solutions that will avoid further censorship of the artist’s work.  In order to complete this WebQuest, you must follow the Public Policy Analyst steps found at the TIPS web site.

A.                 Define the social problem of Freedom of Expression in America.

B.                Gather evidence that supports your analysis that censorship does exist in Performing Arts.

C.                What are the contributing factors for violating the artists’ Freedom of Expression?

D.                Using Internet resources, evaluate existing public policies regarding Censorship.

E.                 Review the causes for censorship and develop solutions to the problem.

F.                 Finally, select the best solutions and implement these.

In addition, your group will write a letter addressed to both The United States Legislative Office and Congress asking that the government enact your policy.  All students should collectively sign the letter.

 

 

RESOURCES:

You may visit the following websites that will help you research the topic of Censorship:

Topic:                                                Website:

NEA page on Freedom of Expression            http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/freedom1.html  

Legal Information Institute                                 http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/first_amendment.html

Inf. USA – Selected Laws                                  http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/laws/majorlaw.htm

Television Censorship Article                           http://www.jdchandler.com/tvcensor.htm

First Amendment                                                 http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=14528

Yahoo Directory on Censorship

http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Issues_and_Causes/Civil_Rights/Censorship/

Magazine                                                               http://www.libertarianrock.com/topics/censorship/dancing_win_va.html

History of Art Censorship                                   http://tx.essortment.com/artcensorship_rwsf.htm

National Coalition on Censorship                   http://www.ncac.org/projects/art_now/main.html

Censorship in Media                                          http://www.wam.umd.edu/~gjbush/media.html

National Coalition on Censorship                   http://www.ncac.org/issues/regentsletter.html

Banned Books                                                     http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/banned-books.html

Music Censorship                                               http://ericnuzum.com/banned/

Federal Communications Commission        http://www.fcc.gov/parents/content.html

Free Expression Policy Project                         http://www.fepproject.org/commentaries/wordsonfire.html

 

 

EVALUATION:

You will be evaluated based on the following rubric:

Points

4

3

2

1

Overall Total 10 points

Development & Organization

Excellent, High quality development and organization, thorough clarification

Very good development,

Organization and clarification

Somewhat good organization, needs some work on organization and development

Poor, unprepared, un-organized and not clear

 

Oral Presentation

All Students participated; exceptional, clear, thorough and intelligent oral presentation

All Students participated; Good, clear presentation

Students were somewhat clear; quality of presentation needs effort and careful preparation

Students were not clear: noticeable poor careless quality of presentation.

 

Visual Presentation

Exceptional presentation of visual resources and materials. 

Good visual presentation.

Somewhat good visual presentation. Needs improvement

Poor visual presentation. Visually unprepared

 

Research

Evident, extended and

comprehensive research. Followed a line of investigation from at least 4 online sources and other resources.

Good research.  Followed a line of investigation from at least 3 online sources and other resources

Somewhat good information from at 2 online sources. Very limited research.

Poor.  Needs to research further

Information from at least 1 online source. No other resources evident.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York State Standards For The Arts addressed in this Webquest (3):
  • (num.2) Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources
  • (num.3) Responding To and Analyzing Works of Art
  • (num.4) Understanding Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of The Arts

 

 

CONCLUSION:

 

By engaging in and completing this WebQuest, you will have gained a better understanding of Censorship and its effect in the Performing Arts.     The completion of this research paper will also provide you with tools for in-depth research using the Internet.  You will learn how to work cooperatively with other students, and you will become skilled at presenting your research projects using various methods.  And with the help of the Public Policy Analyst, you will be able to do further research on this topic and develop new public policies that help address the important issue on censorship.