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Censorship: How Today’s Literature Disillusions Ignorance for Knowledge
In light of Freedom to Read Week 2024
By: Joanne Liang
Four years ago, multiple schools across York Region removed the novel To Kill A Mockingbird from the curriculum and off of school shelves. The book, which spoke on relevant topics today like racism and hatred and struck the hearts of many of its high school readers, was removed for featuring the N-word. The N-word, in a book that tackled civil rights movements and prejudice against African Americans.
Today, it’s not money that makes the world go around; it’s knowledge.
Society runs based on the flow of information. This is evident through how it influences political parties, businesses, and media coverage. It also impacts us in our daily lives, whether we like it or not, from our personal beliefs to the cultural practices within our communities and so much more. But that leads to the next big controversial issue and the main topic of this article: information control. Historically, information control in the public domain has had dangerous implications for society. These practices of withholding and even destroying knowledge are inherently engraved with feelings of contempt toward beliefs deemed “unfit” for society. Woah! That’s literally 1984!
But the past never stays buried. If this realization isn’t any more alarming, the real wake-up call is the fact that these kinds of acts are still happening today, in a world that ironically prides itself on freedom of expression. It’s done through a much subtler, but just as sinister method called censorship.
What is censorship? Censorship is the forceful action of suppressing specific information from the public. This is done when said information is perceived as harmful, sensitive, or “offensive”, and it’s most often done by large controlling bodies of power literally removing these works from the shelves of the public domain.
As of 2023, there are 1,557 different banned titles in the United States and hundreds of frequently challenged books at the Canadian border. Alongside To Kill a Mockingbird, some of the most thought-provoking novels of our time, like the Handmaid’s Tale which speaks out on the objectification of women, are being removed from library shelves for reasons like “depicting violent and profane imagery”.
Where is the logic in this? In censoring works which display the ugliest parts of humanity, future generations are unable to realise the mistakes made by our ancestors. Ignorance is not progress, it is a willing hindrance.
But I digress. Undeniably, it is important to take measures and regulate materials with negative content that may influence their audiences, especially on students and the still-developing youth. But that leaves one final question to debate: where do we draw the line over what we should and shouldn’t micromanage in the public domain?
This year’s Freedom to Read Week took place February 18-24, marking its 40th year anniversary of defending the writing and publishing rights of Canadian authors. You can continue to show your support for the cause by participating in events organised by the Freedom to Read committee, spreading awareness about censorship, and getting involved on social media.
More information is available at: https://www.freedomtoread.ca/freedom-to-read-week/
The Origin of Lunar New Year Traditions
By: Joanne Liang
Gōng xǐ fā cái! Lunar New Year is just about coming to an end, wrapping up the 2024 year of the Dragon. The holiday, with almost 3,500 years of history, is rich with cultural traditions and elements. For many of us immigrant families, we’ve grown up with putting tangerines all over the house and lighting incense. That said, how many of these traditions do you actually know the origin behind?
Putting Tangerines In the House
Tangerines and oranges, aside from their spectacular taste, are associated with the popular superstition that having them around will bring happiness and abundance. This is because, in Mandarin, the word for orange sounds incredibly similar to the word for wealth. Have you ever seen your relatives give each other mandarins during the Lunar New Year? Quite literally, they’re giving each other “wealth”!
Red Lanterns
Without a doubt, red is an iconic colour which has been embellished into the history of Lunar New Year. The colour is associated with prosperity and luck, and the gold adornments to these decorations are symbolic of fortune and wealth. It’s no wonder why red packets are the colour they are!
If you’ve ever been on the main streets of China, or any popular destination during Lunar New Year for that matter, you might’ve encountered the stunning view of red lanterns hanging above you.
These lanterns are commonly associated with good fortune. They might be hung over streets and stalls as tourist attractions, and they’re also popularly used at doorsteps to “ward off bad luck”. Even more, they symbolise letting go of your past selves and moving on. All in all, their association for all things auspicious makes it no wonder why they’re so iconic!
Lighting Incense
The practice of burning incense, which began some 2,000 years ago in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, actually holds some religious significance on top of the usual auspicious superstitions. Buddhism and Taoism had it incorporated for commemorating special occasions like funerals and ceremonies, the act of doing so now associated with numerous cultural customs. Today, it’s a form of paying respects to your elders, warding bad spirits away, and even sending prayers to gods.
Here are some other Lunar New Year traditions which you might not know about but are super interesting all the same:
NO sweeping or dusting during Lunar New Year’s day! Chinese belief has it that your house collects good luck and fortune for the year during Lunar New Year’s day, and cleaning the house during this period is akin to cleaning it away!
Staying in your house on the third day of the New Year. This day is known as Scarlet Dog Day; despite the misleading name, it has nothing to do with scarlet or dogs. Legend has it that the God of Anger would roam around on this day, and people would stay indoors to avoid picking a fight.
Welcome to the year of 2024! After a one-month break from finals season, our team is back and ready to roll.
Thanks for the wait! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and stay tuned for our next installment!
Joanne, Rachel and Grace
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