“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” -Ray Bradbury

CENSORSHIP: is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media organizations as determined by a censor.  Why would something be censored?  What are the dangers of censorship?

IGNORANCE OF KNOWLEDGE: Bradbury focuses on the importance of learning and how it impacts our ability to make decisions. He believes that without the ability to think about what we’re doing, we’ll be led to do wrong.

The novel was written by Ray Bradbury, a celebrated science fiction writer. It began as a short story in 1951 and evolved into a novel by The novel was written a time when the world was threatened by nuclear war, new technologies were emerging and the world was getting smaller.

It is the 24 th century. Books are considered dangerous and illegal. Nobody is allowed to own them. Most people are happy being plugged into their technology, where they do not have to think too hard. All books that are found are burned.

Now here is some irony: Fahrenheit 451 is a book about the dangers of censorship. Yet this book itself has been the object of censorship. It has been banned and/or challenged in many places across the United States. It is the practice of keeping material from being viewed by others because of objectionable or offensive material. What does it mean for a book to be banned or challenged? It means that somebody was offended by something in the book and demanded that it be removed from shelves in libraries, bookstores, etc. Not all books that are challenged in this way are banned, but some are. It depends on the community, and their policies on censorship.

The novel was inspired by real life events that impacted the author’s life: Published in 1953  World War II ended only a few years before in 1945  Nazi book burnings of the 1930s were widely published after WWII  It was the era of McCarthyism – Fear of Communism  Cold War - Threat of nuclear warfare loomed  Many Sci-Fi books and movies reflected this fear

Television became dominant medium for mass communication 1946: 7,000 TV sets existed in the U.S. 1948: 148,000 sets 1950: 4.4 million sets Television vs. books – debate over bringing television into schools because reading level of students was dropping The importance of books and the freedom to read them was a central concern of liberal-minded people during the 1950s.

Senator Joseph McCarthy McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred “card-carrying” communists had infiltrated the United States government. Incited a huge “communist scare,” which helped lead to the Korean War and the Cold War. McCarthy accused many Army officials of espionage and communist ties. He also focused on writers and filmmakers, creating a great debate on artistic freedom.

Thousands of people lost their jobs as, all across America, state legislatures and school boards mimicked McCarthy and his House on Un-American Activities Committee. Books were even pulled from library shelves, including Robin Hood, which was deemed communist-like for suggesting stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Above all, several messages became crystal clear to the average American: Don’t criticize the United States. Don’t be different. Just conform. By 1953, his accusations were at their height. His hearings were held in 1954 and were the first to be publicly broadcast (ruined his reputation and career).

Atmosphere of fear and repression left over from WWII, development (and use) of atomic bomb, communist scare, the Cold War, and McCarthy made it possible for government or any other powerful group to manipulate public opinion. “Written five years after the end of the Second World War at the advent of the Korean War, Bradbury’s book evokes an intense atmosphere of entrapment, an oppressive presence of an unavoidable doomsday, and the unmistakable apprehension of individuals living in fear of an authoritarian government.”

THE WORLD WAS GOING CRAZY…. Ray Bradbury saw the world changing quickly and dangerously so this is why he wrote Fahrenheit 451 – to warn people of what would happen if society continued down what he believed was a dangerous path…. As the 1950s and the Cold War progressed Ray Bradbury saw the government taking a great deal of power over the people and this worried him.  How could a government with too much power be dangerous?

Individual self-expression is important. Violence is self-destructive. Mindless pleasure seeking and materialism make for an empty life. Humanity should preserve and value the culture of the past.

Censorship of mass media can ultimately suppress free speech as thoroughly as any totalitarian regime Humanity has the ability to be reborn or revived. In the wrong hands, modern technology can be dangerous. Commercialism can erode spiritual values. People lose their humanity when not able to communicate and interact with each other on a personal level.

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