Description of Incident: As soon as the painting was exhibited it excited much controversy. The Salon was forced to accept the painting because in 1848 he had won a medal and was exempt from the selection process. The thin veil covering the bather's lower buttocks seems to be an attempt by Courbet at avoiding controversy, as it looks like it was painted on after. The painting was called "dirt" and condemned as being subversive. The bather was described as a piece of meat on a butcher block and the stark contrast between the lights and the darks in the painting gave his critics reason to call the painting sooty.

Results of Incident: Many of Courbet's paintings would be censored in years to come and a few were even destroyed.

Description of Incident: A few weeks after the play opened the poet Georges de Scudery attacked the play saying that the behavior of Le Cid's lover, Chimene, was scandalous. The fact that she would still marry Le Cid despite the fact he killed her father proves that she is immoral and "unnatural." Scudery was also offended by the fact that Cornielle cited history, he felt that history and fiction should be two entirely separate things. After much debate over the play the Academie Francaise published its official opinions on the play. The Academie Francaise was founded in 1634 by Cardinal Richelieu to develop the French language and literature. It also wielded considerable political influence. The Academie's offical opinion was in accordance with Scudery's. They believed that Cornielle had depicted Chimene's love too vividly. Because Cornielle was a pensioned writer he could not turn down these recommendations and so he was forced to alter almost a sixth of the lines, and the new version was published in 1660.

Results of Incident: The new version of the play published in 1660 had much more focus on politics and less on honor. In 1648, after Cardinal Richelieu died and he had been admitted into the Academie Francaise Cornielle wrote a forward to the revised edition of "Le Cid" saying that he felt his censors had put too much stress on poetic rules.

Description of Incident: The Obscene Publications Act of 1857 gave the police of England and Wales the power to seize material they believed to be obscene and to get permission for the destruction of these materials from magistrates. "The Confessional Unmasked" utilized this law but an appeal was made by the recorder, Benjamin Hicklin on the grounds that it was not intentionally obscene, that its intentions were to unmask immorality, and that only parts of the book were obscene. The court, however, held up the order for destruction of the pamphlet. Out of this case came an important definition of obscenity made by Justice Cockburn who said "I think the test of obscenity is this, whether the tendency of the matter charged as obscenity is to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to immoral influences, and into hands a publication of this sort may fall." This definition, though unclear, was adopted not only in England but in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India. The order for destruction did not stop people from selling "The Confessional Unmasked" and in 1870 a lecturer employed by the Protestant Union, George Mackay, was prosecuted for selling the pamphlet. The Union then went on to publish "A Report Of The Trial of George Mackay" with a new issue of "The Confessional Unmasked" included. These were seized and destroyed in 1871 by police.

Results of Incident: It is not known whether the pamphlet continued to circulate after their seizure in 1871, but the court decision that originally ordered the pamphlet's destruction came to be known as the "Hicklin Rule" and had lasting importance.

Description of Incident: In June of 1974 Ireland's Board of Censors banned "The Joy of Sex" for twelve years on grounds of indecency and obscenity. The ban was renewed in 1987 and although the Censorship Board is not required to explain why it has censored a work, the chairman of the board revealed that it was out of concern for adolescents that the book was banned. After the renewal of the ban there was widespread protest and a broader discussion about the Censorship of Publications Act was raised. The Booksellers' Association asked that writers, publishers, and booksellers be allowed to sit on the Board and that the Board inform authors and publishers that their works were being investigated. The Irish Writers' Association asked that censorship be exercised through the courts so that authors and publishers would have the right to a public hearing.

Results of Incident: The public protest that surrounded the renewal of the ban led the publishers of "The Joy of Sex," Mitchell Beazley International, to lodge an appeal with the censorship board. The book was unbanned in 1989 but no moves have been made to reform the Ireland's censorship laws.

Description of Incident: When the first part of "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure" was published in November 1749 in England, government action was immediate. The secretary of state for the Home Department, the duke of Newcastle, issued a warrant for the arrest of the author, the printer, and the publisher. They were all found guilty in court and the novel was withdrawn from circulation. In 1750 Cleland censored his own work and released "Memoirs of Fanny Hill," a significantly shortened and more tame version of the original. This edition, too, was censored. The bishop of London sent a letter to the duke of Newcastle demanding that the book be censored. That day Cleland, his printer, and his publisher were again arrested. The prosecution lasted until the end of 1750 but the novel remained in circulation. The American edition, first published in 1789, was successfully prosecuted for obscenity by the state of Massachusetts in 1821. In 1963 the American publisher Putnam released the original novel and was immediately prosecuted. The case went to the New York Supreme Court, where the novel was cleared, and then on to the United States Supreme Court, where it was also cleared. In England the British publisher Mayflower released its own edition shortly after and was also prosecuted. Mayflower lost the case and released a censored edition. Soon afterward, however, they were able to release the uncensored edition again. In 1965 a film version of the novel was rejected by the British Board of Film Censors, but then released in 1968 with an "x" rating.

Results of Incident: The original text has since been published in 1985 by Oxford University Press and by Penguin. The novel has finally gained respectability.

Description of Incident: deleted profile on myspace

Results of Incident: loose 500 friends.. loose page ... loose 5000 visites in 12days

Description of Incident: The piece was first exhibited in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where it sparked much debate. It was then supposed to travel to the Seattle Art Museum and the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York. Both museums dropped "The Dinner Party" suddenly. The museums said this was because of a lack of space and lack of funds. Chicago believes they caved into public pressure over the plates that depicted female genitalia. It was shown in museums in Texas, Boston, and Brooklyn in 1980 but after a showing in Australia in 1988 the piece went back into storage. In 1990 a trustee from the University of the District of Columbia asked that Chicago donate "The Dinner Party to a multi-cultural art gallery. She agreed but soon after she handed over the work several congressmen intervened calling the work "weird, sexual art" (Amelia Jones, 1996) There was an amendment introduced to delete 1.6 million dollars from the University's budget. The House passed the amendment but the Senate restored the money. The controversy had caused a student strike to remove the work and so Chicago took back the work.

Results of Incident: "The Dinner Party" remains without a permanent home.

Description of Incident: The film was banned when it came out due to its critique of the Cultural Revolution and the Communist Party.

Results of Incident: It was shown only once in China in its original version in Shanghai where an audience of 4000 crammed in to a 2000 seat theater to watch the movie. After it won the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival it was released in China with the Cultural Revolution scene removed.

Description of Incident: In 1915 Chaplin first had his work censored in the British colonies for the way they portrayed policemen, where they were thought to be subversive. In 1923 Chaplin's film studio, United Artists, urged him to cancel the movie. In 1940 the movie premiere in New York but was banned in Chicago because of the city's large German population. In 1941 Senator Nye of North Dakota cited The Great Dictator among the films called for in resolution to look into pro-war propaganda in films. In Britain the British Board of Film Censors tried to get production for the movie stopped in an effort to appease Hitler and maintain British-German relations. When the movie premiered in England in 1940 England was at war with Germany and the movie was used as propaganda. In 1942 Chaplin had been urging for the opening of a second front against Germany, which was then part of the left-wing and Communist Party agenda. This prompted J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, to open up a file on Chaplin which in the end ran over 1,900 pages. In 1952 he was investigated by Senator McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee, which led to Chaplin exiling himself for 20 years. During this time his films were censored in the United States.

Results of Incident: In 1972 Chaplin returned to the United States to receive an Oscar. The Great Dictator has been selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry. The film was played in Germany after the war and in Spain after the fall of Franco in 1976.

Description of Incident: General George Marshall, who developed the idea for the Why We Fight series, had told Capra that when he couldn't get a policy statement from the White House or Congress to make his own best guess and to hope that Washington agreed. In the first five movies, which were very popular, Marshall was right. In The Battle of China however, Capra oversimplifies the situation and makes it seem as if China is a united country which it certainly was not. Capra also glorifies China's strategy of retreating from Japan's invasion and buying time however many in China did not think this was a good strategy. Because of these inaccuracies it was recalled. Major General Osbourne wrote to Marshall asking the movie to be recalled. The production of foreign versions of the movie were halted and in 1945 the English version of the movie was withdrawn from circulation. All prints of the movie were then called in. In 1946 a showing of the movie at the Museum of Modern Art was canceled by the army and the film restricted because of its controversial subject matter.

Results of Incident: The film has since been reinstated and the entire Why We Fight series has been made available for public viewing.

Description of Incident: Soon after capoeria was developed in the 1770s police records show that slaves practicing capoeira were arrested for disorderly conduct. When the Portuguese royal court moved to Brazil in 1808 the first commander of the royal gaurd, Nunes Vidigal, was skilled in capoeira. Because of the Portuguese fear of slave uprisings Vidigal and his successors spent most of their career trying to wipe out capoeira. In 1888 slavery was abolished but the ban on capoeria continued. In 1889 when the monarchy fell and Brazil was a new republic the president added ten articles to the national penal code specifically addressing crimes related to capoeira. Despite all this the practice got increasingly popular and academies began to operate. In 1937 President Getulio Vargas lifted the ban and recognized the new form of capoeira, which focused more on the dance elements, as a national folkloric art.

Results of Incident: Capoeira's popularity continued to spread and its forms continued to evolve. It has become popular in Europe and North America, especially in California, where there are many capoeira academies.

Works by two other theologians were censored by Calvin. One of them is "Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God" in which Albert Pighius speaks out against Calvin's doctrine of predestination. The other theoligian is Michael Servetus who rejected the ideas of the Holy Trinity and of infant baptism.

Description of Incident: Although Calvin's work won him recognition in Geneva,where he was the pastor of a parish, in France his works were regarded as heretical. In 1534 the "Affair of the Placards" in France, which targeted reformers, led to one of Calvin's brothers being burned at the stake. After this he went into self-exile, but his works remained censored in France. In 1542 the French parlement (high court) banned his book as being heretical and in 1543 it was banned by the theology faculty of the Sorbonne. Calvin himself also censored, and believed very much in the importance of censorship. He is famous for saying "We muzzle dogs. Should we leave free men to open their mouths as they please?" When he was in Geneva he had the Petit Council, Geneva's ruling body, decree that no one could speak out against Calvin's book or against the doctrine of predestination. In 1553 he had Michael Servetus, a theologian that disagreed with some of his views, arrested and then burned alive at the stake.

Results of Incident: In France, the authorities were not able to prevent the book from being printed, and it was still widely circulated.

Description of Incident: "After a parent who supports the teaching of creationism and opposes sex education complained about the film, the Federal Way School Board on Tuesday placed what it labeled a moratorium on showing the film. The movie consists largely of a computer presentation by former Vice President Al Gore recounting scientists' findings.

Al Gore's documentary about global warming may not be shown unless the teacher also presents an "opposing view."

"Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore. He's not a schoolteacher," said Frosty Hardison, a parent of seven [Comment: Why do these types breed so heavily?] who also said that he believes the Earth is 14,000 years old. "The information that's being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is. ... The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD."

Results of Incident: The movie may not be shown unless the teacher presents an "opposing view."

Description of Incident: We hang the video in youtube, a lot of people saw the piece, some politicals (socialist) used the video as an army to attack the council governers (comunist). Autors were accused of public crime Profanation, by the government

Results of Incident: still on judgaments

Description of Incident: We hang the video in youtube, a lot of people saw the piece, some politicals (socialist) used the video as an army to attack the council governers (comunist). Autors were accused of public crime Profanation, by the government

Results of Incident: still on judgaments