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Views 1126 | High Intermediate 6

Censorship

Kat and Matthew look at how various countries censor content on TV.

Script
Vocab
Quiz



Kat	Matt

Matthew: Hey Kat, I understand you grew up in Europe, you lived in the States and now you're in Japan. Being all over the place, you've got to have seen the differences in censorships in movies and in songs. What's your take on that?

Kat: Well I've definitely experienced that and I find it really interesting especially when I lived in the States. I had a bit of a culture shock there. In TV shows and in movies, curse words are beep-beeped out and you're never going to see a woman's naked breasts or anything. You're never going to see naked people during daytime television which actually kind of surprised me because on German television that's not a problem. Even curse words are OK. When I came to Japan, I was surprised that there was also a lot of censorship.

Matthew: In what ways are there censorship in Japan because I think TV shows in Japan they don't censor very much of anything other than nudity.

Kat: That is true. I think the main part that is different to Europe is the censorship of nudity. In Germany for example if nudity is a part of the story, if for example a soccer team is having a conversation in the shower, you will see naked guys because it is a normal part of the story.

Matthew: But don't you think they could just have had the courtesy to aim a little higher with the cameras or do you think there is absolutely nothing wrong with it?

Kat: In Germany we kind of grew up thinking there's nothing wrong with that. Nobody would blink an eye on seeing something like that on TV. In America, do you think people would be extremely offended?

Matthew: There's too many religious parties in the States that would go off on it and people want to protect their children if TV started to allow uncensored programs or programs that were intentionally using sexual or vulgar language. But there are exceptions to the rule such as HBO or there are some premium channels that you pay for extra every month but when you purchase those channels you know what you're getting, it's not a part of a standard package that you get. So you don't have to worry about your children watching the shows or anything.

Kat: I think in Germany parents are very aware of what their children are watching and parents would not let their children roam free when it comes to TV. Parents control what their children watch so I think it would not be such a big problem.
Matthew: Hey Kat, I understand you grew up in Europe, you lived in the States and now you're in Japan. Being all over the place, you've got to have seen the differences in censorships in movies and in songs. What's your take on that?

Matthew: In what ways are there censorship in Japan because I think TV shows in Japan they don't censor very much of anything other than nudity.

Matthew: But don't you think they could just have had the courtesy to aim a little higher with the cameras or do you think there is absolutely nothing wrong with it?

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

one's take

What's your take on that?

When someone asks "What's your take on that?" They want to know your opinion. Notice the following:

What's your take on the new teacher?
I like to get your take on it.

uncensored

TV started to allow uncensored programs

Something that is uncensored has not been edited or changed in any way. Notice the following:

Uncensored TV programs run mostly on cable networks.
Uncensored media is difficult to find in some countries.

blink an eye

Nobody would blink an eye on seeing something like that on TV.

When we say 'Nobody would blink and eye', that means nobody would care. Notice the following:

These days, few people would blink and eye on hearing naughty words in movies.
In some countries, no one would blink an eye at on screen nudity. In other countries, it's forbidden.

go off on

There's too many religious parties in the States that would go off on it.

To go off on something of somebody means to get angry. Notice the following:

He went off on his noisy students.
My parents went off when I got this tattoo.

exceptions to the rule

But there are exceptions to the rule such as HBO.

The phrase 'exception to the rule' is most often used informally to talk about something that is different than we normally see. Notice the following: