Art or Obscenity?
Why is it culturally acceptable to broadcast intense violence and murder on evening television, yet a glimpse of the natural human body results in heavy fines and censorship? The debate over public decency pits puritanical modesty laws against freedom of artistic expression and body positivity. In this unit, we explore the vocabulary of censorship, shame, and societal double standards.
- Public decency (noun): Legal and social standards of modesty, dictating what is acceptable to show or do in public spaces.
- Obscenity (noun): Behaviour, art, or language that is considered extremely offensive or disgusting by accepted standards of morality.
- Puritanical (adj): Practicing or affecting strict religious or moral behaviour, especially regarding the avoidance of any sexual themes.
1. Raw Vocabulary: The Boundaries of Taste
Practice: Drag the correct term into the cultural debate!
1. The social media algorithm automatically removed the medical diagram because it falsely flagged basic human as pornography.
2. The television network was heavily after a performer accidentally swore during a live broadcast.
3. Religious conservative groups protested the gallery, claiming the art was inherently and damaging to the youth.
4. Nudist communities argue that removing the shame associated with clothing is a form of profound psychological .
5. The film was given an adult rating because it contained highly scenes of violence.
6. Laws enforcing public often target women's bodies far more aggressively than men's.
2. Idioms and Expressions
When discussing outrage, censorship, and hypocrisy, native speakers frequently use these highly expressive idioms.
- "To clutch one's pearls." To react with extreme, often exaggerated shock or moral outrage to something considered vulgar or inappropriate.
- "A double standard." A rule or moral principle that is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups (e.g., men being allowed to be shirtless, but not women).
- "To leave little to the imagination." To wear clothing that is extremely tight, sheer, or revealing.
- "To sweep it under the rug." To hide or censor something rather than dealing with it openly.
3. Reading: The Censored Canvas
Read about a controversy surrounding an art exhibition.
Last week, a local art gallery was forcibly shut down by the police. The artist, known for exploring themes of bodily liberation, had displayed several large, unedited anatomical sketches. The local mayor, possessing a highly puritanical worldview, deemed the exhibit explicit and ordered it closed under public decency laws.
It is said that the mayor was pressured by a wealthy conservative donor who immediately clutched their pearls upon seeing the exhibition. The gallery owner was reported to have been heavily fined.
Activists quickly protested, pointing out a massive double standard. It is widely known that the city routinely sponsors violent, bloody action movie premieres in the public square, yet it considers a simple drawing of human anatomy to be dangerously profane. "They would rather children see murder than a natural body," the artist told the press, highlighting the deep hypocrisy of censorship.
4. Grammar Focus: Passive Voice with Reporting Verbs
In news reporting, gossip, or debate, we often need to state an opinion or report an event without taking personal responsibility for the claim (because we aren't 100% certain). We do this using Reporting Verbs (say, believe, claim, report, consider) in the Passive Voice.
| Structure | Grammar Formula | News Broadcast Example |
|---|---|---|
| Impersonal 'It' | It + passive reporting verb + that clause | "It is believed that the artwork is offensive." (People believe that...) |
| Subject + Infinitive (Present) | Subject + passive reporting verb + to + base verb | "The artist is said to be angry." (People say the artist is angry.) |
| Subject + Infinitive (Past) | Subject + passive reporting verb + to have + V3 | "The gallery is reported to have broken the law." (People report they broke it in the past.) |
Pro Tip: Using "to have + past participle" is crucial when the reported action already finished before the reporting happened.
Exercise A: Build the Passive Report
1. Present state: People consider the censorship laws to be outdated.
The censorship laws ____________ to be outdated.
2. Past action: Journalists report that the mayor demanded the closure.
The mayor is reported ____________ the closure.
Exercise B: Complete the Expressions
Type the missing words to complete these conversational idioms.
1. When the controversial movie was released, conservative critics immediately began to clutch their .
2. Letting violent films play freely while banning artistic nudity is a massive double .
5. The Hot Seat: Debate Practice 🎙️
- Why is society largely comfortable with incredibly explicit violence in entertainment, but deeply puritanical when it comes to the human body?
- Do platforms like Instagram or Facebook enforce a double standard regarding male and female anatomy?
- Use Passive Reporting: "When the gallery was shut down, it was argued that..." (Complete the sentence).
- Use Passive Reporting (Past Infinitive): "The politicians are reported to have..." (Complete the sentence regarding their actions).
- Should governments have any right to legislate public decency and modesty, or is body liberation a fundamental human right?
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