Case study: Into the River

An award-winning book, banned

“An award-winning young adult novel has been banned in New Zealand following complaints about the book’s depiction of drug taking and sexual content.

Into the River by New Zealand author Ted Dawe has been placed under an interim ban, making organisations who knowingly supply the banned book liable to fines of up to $10,000.

The novel, about a Maori boy who faces bullying and racism, won the top prize at the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards in 2013.

Dr Don Mathieson, president of the Film and Literature Board of Review, issued the Interim Restriction Order banning the sale or distribution of Into the River. It is the first time the ban has been used in more than 20 years.

‘The correct classification of Into the River under the Act will operate as a semi-precedent, and will exert a significant influence upon other decisions portraying teenager sex and drug-taking,’ he said.”

– The Guardian, September 7^th, 2015

Multiple Perspectives

"We've empowered parents to start expressing their concerns about books more,” [Family First] leader Bob McCoskrie said. "We believe the censor is out of touch with material parents don't want their kids to be reading.”

McCoskrie supported a wider move to a film-like sticker rating system for books.

"We do it for movies so why not books? I think to be honest parents expect this to be happening.”

"These books can exert a significant influence. We just think it’s about age appropriateness."

“I believe that all stories inform; from the most obscure fantasy through to the most didactic children’s tale. Blocking access to ideas is a pointless exercise. If you don’t like the ‘messages’ a book carries buried within the narrative, then write a better one yourself. If you find a book offensive put it down. If you think a book will be offensive to others and hence should be blocked, then you must ask yourself who gives you the right to do this. I find many things offensive – particularly music – but I turn it off, I don’t call for it to be banned. […] As we blunder into the new millennium we need a literature that is prepared to roll up its sleeves, to get dirty, to be fierce but compassionate, to say the unsayable.”

Complainant

Author

Things are different in New Zealand

• MPAA/RIAA v. Office of Film & Literature Classification
• What does “classification” entail in these different places?

Things are different in New Zealand

• “Permission from a teacher or a parent does not override a restriction. If teachers want students to see a restricted film or graphic novel, they must apply to the Chief Censor for an exemption from the classification.”
• “If you discover a book in your collection is ‘banned’, you must remove it from the library collection immediately.”
• “The restrictions on films and games apply in the home as well as school, sports clubs, shops and cinemas. A parent cannot give a child permission to watch or be shown a restricted film, or to buy or play a game, or watch a game being played, if the child is younger than the age on the label.”
• “Many retail outlets and cinemas now ask for ID before young people can watch or buy age-restricted films and games. Many places will not accept a parent vouching for their child's age — they still require ID. Retailers should not sell an adult a restricted item, if they believe that adult will then give it to someone under the age shown on the label.”

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First Response

[A]n 'interim restriction order' has been placed on Into the River by the President of the Film and Literature Board of Review. The interim restriction order will remain in place until the book is classified by the Board of Review for the second time. – Sept. 8, 2015

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←-- This means that the book is banned from sale or supply in New Zealand - so libraries and bookstores are not allowed to sell or give this book

Then what?

"There is no doubt that issues such as bullying, underage drinking, drug taking, and underage sex are very real, albeit undesirable, features of contemporary urban life…They are challenges which many of our school children will face and about which they will be required to make choices.

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"We consider the dominant effect of the publication will be to promote thought, discussion and debate amongst readers about real choices and issues that they and their colleagues are likely to have to confront.”

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–Excerpt from the the Film and Literature Board’s decision, via Radio New Zealand, October 14, 2015

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The ban was lifted about a month after it started, and the books were returned to the shelves of libraries and bookstores across the country.

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Who decides what you read?

• Publishers decide what gets printed
• Librarians decide what’s in the library
• Teachers decide what’s in the classroom
• Parents decide what’s in your home

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Is this censorship?

How do “gatekeepers” make these decisions?

What choices will you make?