Creative artists should always be given the freedom to express

their own ideas (in words, pictures, music or film) in whichever

way they wish. There should be no government restrictions on
what they do. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Although it may seem logical (reasonable) to let creative artists to
convey their ideas with total liberty, it can sometimes have negative
consequences to the functioning of the society. Therefore, it is
sensible for governments to limit their creative freedom to a certain
extent, so that art would be used for the welfare of the society.
To start with, although artists are generally considered exemplary
individuals who aim at the progress of humanity, some could have
vested interests in creating frictions in the society. Art could be used
as a tool to create such tensions among different groups of people,
especially in a multicultural environment. For example, there have
been many instances where film makers in India have included socially
sensitive materials, which could hurt the religious or communal
sentiments of certain groups. The censorship authority in India has
been able to edit the contents of such movies to avoid social frictions.
This would certainly mean that censorship is very essential in guiding
creative artists to be socially responsible, while expressing their ideas.
Again, sometimes poets, writers or painters express their ideas but
they could be detrimental to the existing moral or ethical standards of
a particular society. Ideal instances would be books and movies that
show excess sexual content or glorify illicit relationships like incest or
extra marital affairs. While the artists believe that they should have
the freedom to express their perspectives of life, their ideas could
mislead the society especially the young. Governmental restrictions in
such cases, many believe, is necessary for maintaining the accepted
moral practices in a society.
However, according to some, censoring the freedom of artists could
lead to suppression of basic human rights. They content that society
has the maturity to judge the positive and negative aspects of any
work of art. They also believe that many of the accepted moral and

ethical standards are not conclusive and should be evolved. Creative

artists are instruments of such changes by exposing the society to
various ideas. If an artists work creates frictions among people,
government should use its authority to discipline the society rather
than placing the blame on artists. Moreover, corrupt and despotic
rulers could use censorship to silence their critics.
In conclusion, restricting artistic liberties is a very complex issue which
should be handled from a practical point of view. In principle, freedom
of artists should be respected, but if it leads to negative impacts in the
society government should restrict artists.