Countries that ban films and arrest filmmakers are sending a message that their government is horrible and that the people don’t like it. And I’m talking about a Tea Party level of dislike.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
Yes, the United States has more civilized and sophisticated means of censorship, which largely operates under the color of law instead of directly as a matter of law.
Eh, these days I tend to see it more as social censorship. Though of course the media industry loves to use IP as a hammer.
The economic manipulation of media distribution is hardly “social” censorship. Although it is not driven by the “government”, it certainly is driven by the political-economic regime.
The shooting of documentaries can result in arrest, or in coverage of demonstrations in police brutality.
And social censorship itself can result in unemployment, beating, and even assassination.
The tracks do not trace back to a single point of authority because unlike an authoritarian theocracy, an oligarchic republic has no single point of authority (just a consensus of interests).
Inverted totalitarianism: oligarchs own and operate the corporations that defacto write the legislation and file the lawsuits.