Writing has always been one of the most powerful ways to communicate a message. From speeches to lyrics to academic essays, writing has more often than not been the most accessible way to convey thoughts and feelings throughout history. But as early as cases such as John Peter Zenger in colonial America, a disturbing trend began to emerge, one where people have tried to restrict or inhibit the speech of individuals. Famous historical examples such as the book burnings in Nazi Germany or the 1925 Scopes trial in the US are paramount examples of the lengths to which people will go to silence the voices and opinions of others.
More recently, actions have been taken to fight this prohibition of literature, such as public awareness events like Banned Book Week, the Thank A Banned Author Campaign, or organizations like the Freedom To Read Foundation and the National Coalition Against Censorship. In the last year alone, I have, either by mistake or by my own volition, read at least three different pieces of literature that have been censored. In honor of these writings, I feel compelled to write a little about each of them here and explain why they were censored. Not only to shine light on a disturbing movement that continues to limit the reach of these writers’ messages, but also to allow these works to live on in some form that does not truncate their expressions.
Our first example takes us to a literary form not often afforded the same respect as its contemporaries: comics. While they are much more of a cult medium than traditional books, the one I share now served as my catalyst for writing this article. New Mutants follows the story of the eponymous younger teenage cohort of Marvel’s more popular superhero team, the X-Men. The 45th issue of New Mutants, entitled “We Were Only Foolin’,” hit store shelves in the summer of 1986, at a high point not only for Marvel’s X-Men series but for its related spinoffs.
Written by legendary comic writer Chris Claremont, the issue begins with a mood typical of New Mutants: light and breezy, with moments of absurdism and hijinks. The issue takes a turn, however, when we are introduced to a young mutant, Larry Bodine, at a local high school dance that the New Mutants are attending. After being intimidated by a group of bullies who threaten to call a mutant extermination force on him, Larry returns home alone, attempts to drink away his pain, and ultimately commits suicide.
After the New Mutants learn of Larry’s death, the young mutant Kitty Pryde delivers a eulogy for him. While delivering her speech, Kitty remarks on how, although words can lead to substantial change, they also have the power to cause great pain. In the original version of this issue, accentuating her message, Kitty lists numerous real-world slurs and insults such as the N word, “faggot”, and “slope” (the latter being a derogatory term for Asian people during the 1970s). The use of these slurs, while shocking at first, helps strengthen the emotional appeal of Kitty’s speech and serves as a powerful message to readers about the devastation and danger words can carry.
When I first read this comic and flipped to the final page, where this defining speech takes place, I noticed that the slurs were all blacked out, completely concealed except for the first letter of each word. For some of them, I had to look up an original printing of the comic to understand what they were. I mention all of this because it truly frustrated me, not only due to the extra steps required to uncover the original language, but because of how directly this censorship negated the issue’s message. When a character’s speech emphasizes these words because of the hate they carry, removing them years after the fact not only weakens the story but diminishes the message about the potential damage words can cause by intentionally abridging the text and robbing it of its creative power.
Next, we examine the case of the popular dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, written by author Ray Bradbury. While not as personal to me as the comic example, I included it because I appreciate the irony of something being censored for the very thing it warns against. Fahrenheit 451 is set in a dystopian world where books and literature are burned by firefighters. If you want to learn more about this novel and other dystopian works, I would highly recommend taking English teacher. Teresa Obenski’s Dystopian Literature class, where I first read Fahrenheit 451 and learned about some of the factors that contributed to its censorship.
Beginning in 1967, a version of the book circulated with numerous elements and passages redacted. Words such as “hell,” “damn,” and “abortion” were removed from the original text. Additionally, other descriptions were altered to make the book more “appropriate” for a high school audience, such as changing a drunk man into someone described as sick. This edition was toned down for younger readers, and these changes went unchallenged by Bradbury until 1979.
What compels me to include this example is how directly it contradicts the novel’s central message and the real-world events that inspired it. Much of Bradbury’s motivation for writing Fahrenheit 451 stemmed from book burnings in Nazi Germany, which were intended to restrict information and suppress ideas. To modify and censor a novel written in response to those very acts demonstrates a disturbing lack of comprehension of its purpose. While I understand the intention behind introducing this book to younger high school students, altering its content is not the right approach. As someone who first read the novel in a high school setting, I believe there is very little within it that justifies any removal or modification whatsoever.
Censorship is, and always will be, a sensitive topic. We have seen it repeatedly throughout history, and we will no doubt continue to see it in the years to come. If these examples have taught me anything, it is that those who censor often fail to recognize the irony of the material they choose to suppress. In the end, my hope is that artists and creatives will one day feel secure and safe in the words they choose to use in their creative work.
