--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem is that censors create the…" description: "\"The problem is that censors create the concept of obscenity. By supposedly trying to protect us they form an absurd concept of what is obscene.\" — Cath..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/catherine-breillat-42844_absurd_the-problem-is-that-censors-create-the-c_2831269.png" --- # The problem is that censors create the concept of… ![“The problem is that censors create the concept of obscenity. By supposedly trying to protect us they form an absurd concept of what is obscene.” quote by Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/catherine-breillat-42844_absurd_the-problem-is-that-censors-create-the-c_2831269.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/catherine-breillat-42844_absurd_the-problem-is-that-censors-create-the-c_2831269.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/catherine-breillat-42844_absurd_the-problem-is-that-censors-create-the-c_2831269.png) > “The problem is that censors create the concept of obscenity. By supposedly trying to protect us they form an absurd concept of what is obscene.” [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Censors define obscenity arbitrarily, creating a paradox where protection becomes oppression. **In simple terms:** Censors create absurd obscenity rules. Key Takeaway Question and challenge imposed moral standards. Themes censorship freedom of expression morality Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - media regulation - artistic creation - online platforms - legal policy Key Concepts social control ethical relativism Questions to Reflect On - When is censorship justified? - Who decides what is obscene? A Different Perspective Censorship can also protect vulnerable groups. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Censors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censors/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Obscenity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscenity/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [“The concept of “obscenity” is tested when we dare to look at something that we desire to see but have forbidden ourselves to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-oshima/the-concept-of-obscenity-is-tested-when-we-dare-to-look-at-something/) [Nagisa Oshima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagisa-oshima/) > [The concept of 'obscenity' is tested when one dares to look at something that he has an unbearable desire to see but has forbidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-oshima/the-concept-of-obscenity-is-tested-when-one-dares-to-look-at/) [Nagisa Oshima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagisa-oshima/) > [Out in Hollywood, where the streets are paved with Goldwyn, the word "sophisticate" means, very simply, "obscene." A sophisticatedstory is a dirty story. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/out-in-hollywood-where-the-streets-are-paved-with-goldwyn-the-word/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Everyone likes the obscene; that is real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/everyone-likes-the-obscene-that-is-real-life/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [... though not invariably the worst choice, war is always an obscene horror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/though-not-invariably-the-worst-choice-war-is-always-an-obscene-horror/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Sex and obscenity are not synonymous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/sex-and-obscenity-are-not-synonymous/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) > [Nothing can describe the withering horror of this. You feel lost, sick at heart before such unmasked hatred, not so much because it threatens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-howard-griffin/nothing-can-describe-the-withering-horror-of-this-you-feel-lost-sick/) [John Howard Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-howard-griffin/) > [Obscenity is a moral concept in the verbal arsenal of the Establishment, which abuses the term by applying it, not to expressions of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/obscenity-is-a-moral-concept-in-the-verbal-arsenal-of-the-2/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [The most important truths always appear first as blasphemies or obscenities. That's why every great innovator is persecuted. And the sacraments look obscene, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-most-important-truths-always-appear-first-as-blasphemies-or/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The obscenities of this country are not girls like you. It is the poverty which is obscene, and the criminal irresponsibility of the leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/the-obscenities-of-this-country-are-not-girls-like-you-it-is-the/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [“​It is Obscene to keep Printing Newspapers in the Digital Era”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vineet-raj-kapoor/it-is-obscene-to-keep-printing-newspapers-in-the-digital-era/) [Vineet Raj Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vineet-raj-kapoor/) > [“Only in intimacy with obscenity can one know what is obscene.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-c-booth/only-in-intimacy-with-obscenity-can-one-know-what-is-obscene/) [Wayne C. Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-c-booth/) > [Sex and obscenity are not synonymous. Obscene material is material which deals with sex in a manner appealing to prurient interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sex-and-obscenity-are-not-synonymous-obscene-material-is-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whether my acting was obscene, or whether it was distasteful, well, Judge Rehnquist, who just recently passed away couldn't define pornography. His comment on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reems/whether-my-acting-was-obscene-or-whether-it-was-distasteful-well/) [Harry Reems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reems/) > [“Everybody says sex is obscene. The only true obscenity is war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/everybody-says-sex-is-obscene-the-only-true-obscenity-is-war/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## More by Catherine Breillat > [Only conformists are ever adored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/only-conformists-are-ever-adored/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [“the basic theme is the dichotomy of womanhood. the woman cut in two. every society creates laws to exercise power over women and exclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/the-basic-theme-is-the-dichotomy-of-womanhood-the-woman-cut-in-two/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [I am eternally, devastatingly romantic, and I thought people would see it because 'romantic' doesn't mean 'sugary.' It's dark and tormented — the furor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/i-am-eternally-devastatingly-romantic-and-i-thought-people-would-see/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [There is no masculine psychology in my cinema. There is only the resentments and desires of women. A man should not attempt to recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/there-is-no-masculine-psychology-in-my-cinema-there-is-only-the/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [If I stop making films, I will die. I can tell myself that one day I will stop living. But I cannot bear the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/if-i-stop-making-films-i-will-die-i-can-tell-myself-that-one-day-i/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [If you want to preserve your virginity, it's about not wanting to belong to the human species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/if-you-want-to-preserve-your-virginity-it-s-about-not-wanting-to/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [“If I haven’t found out who I am until the end of my life…because I am afraid/ashamed of it, then I would have just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/if-i-haven-t-found-out-who-i-am-until-the-end-of-my-life-because-i-am/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [Be what we make, and not who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/be-what-we-make-and-not-who-we-are/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [I know why I make films -cinema is a mode of expression that allows you to express all the nuances of a thing while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/i-know-why-i-make-films-cinema-is-a-mode-of-expression-that-allows/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) [Explore all 10 Catherine Breillat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. 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For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. 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But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem is that censors create the concept of obscenity. 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