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THE BLOG AT THE CROSSROADS
Manga Book Banned… Again
Posted: January 24, 2011
Dear Mr. Gravett,
I come from Malta, where currently a great stink on the subject of censorship is going on… you might tell me the topic does not effect you (and you’d be right, mostly), until a list of books sectioned at the University of Malta‘s library (as in put in a “naughty cabinet” and one requires permission to access them) has been revealed. Your book Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics is in the list, alongside the likes of the Marquis de Sade and texts on pornography. Just thought you’d find it interesting to know.
Keep up the good work,
Marco Attard
My thanks to Marco for the above email and for drawing my attention to this sad development in Malta. He also provides links to the reporting of this incident at Malta Today - the main articles here and here, and the full list of banned books in question.
Some of you may recall a similar example of censorship in 2006 when my Manga book was removed from the shelves of the public libraries in San Bernardino County, California - as detailed by the National Coalition Against Censorship. It is very sad to see history repeating itself. However, while these specific examples of censorship are troubling, I think we should not forget that a great many public libraries, particularly here in the UK, are embracing graphic novels, comics and manga in all their forms and using them as a means of encouraging reading across all ages groups. As Neil Gaiman said in support back in 2006, “I think that removing reference books from libraries is a very silly thing to do.”
I do hope commonsense prevails over in Malta and it is heartening to see that readers of Malta Today are already lodging their protests with well reasoned arguments on that site, as in the following example:
This censorship is ridiculous, especially at a higher learning institution like the university. Just for comparison one should see if University of Cambridge, or Oxford take similar approaches. From what are we trying to protect people? Their own body? What is so wrong with the human body to hide it from oneself!!! If one studies the real situation there are things that should better be censored but are taken for granted. E.g. extreme violence in films, killings and executions, wars and all the evil man invented to harm others!!! Just as a example take this government who gave its members of parliament a euro 600 rise per week whilst the middle class and lower class can barely make ends meet, BWSC contract. These are the real disgraces that should be censored!!! But no in Malta we are filled with pious religious fakes and fanatics who cannot see anything except their own self imposed limitations. These people try to decide what is good for others but in their own hearts and minds they are greatly confused and sad. It seems in Malta people are still living in the past middle ages! It also seems that under the current Gonzi government many forms of censorship are being enforced blindly down people’s throats. It was not so bad under the previous prime minister!
joezghir
Read The Blog At The Crossroads here.
