Aminatta Forna, a writer, journalist & broadcaster, spoke in a Channel 4 broadcast about censorship, saying that as a writer she recognises the importance of freedom of expression but argues that with freedom comes responsibility:
"If my right threatens the freedom of others then it can't be an absolute right and since 1976 British laws have recognised that argument in terms of racial hatred. Allowing some groups to use their freedom to stir racial hatred removes the freedom of minorities to live without persecution".
Forna uses Australian film Romper Stomper (1992) to illustrate the point that extreme racism and violence is being normalised and endorsed in cinemas. She makes three main points to argue that censorship is necessary:
- The public associate themselves with different characters and may be influenced to put themselves in that situation.
- Some films may start to break down the barriers us as humans put up, for example there may be a film about a woman being raped however the woman starts to enjoy even though before they watched the film the audience would think it wrong for her to do so.
- The power of words and images featured in some films may affect the audience and have the potential to stir racial hatred etc.
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