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Shouting fire: art, religion and the right to be offended

National Theatre

In recent years, fears about the influence of sexual and violent images, a growing concern for the victims of crime and emerging movements against the insulting of religions have widened the range of acceptable restrictions on freedom of expression in the arts. These new non-legal pressures rely on a blurring of the boundaries between representation and enactment or promotion, so that to dramatise is often seen as to condone. The right of consumers not to be offended is now prioritised over the artist’s ability to foster imagination and empathy. At the same time, many advocates of free speech single out Muslims and Sikhs as threats, ignoring the greater power of Christian groups to assert their influence. The author calls for a more complex approach, combining recognition of the value of artistic freedom with an understanding of why disadvantaged communities use the language of religion to protest.

Key Words: Behzti • censorship • dramatisation • freedom of speech • offence • theatre

Race & Class, Vol. 48, No. 2, 61-76 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0306396806069523


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