Since Myanmar’s military junta lost its stranglehold on the government in 2012, political cartoonists old and new have relished their newfound freedom to criticize the powers that be. Following the country’s first democratic elections of the new era late last…
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Time is Running Out to Report 2015 Book Challenges or Bans!
Librarians and educators, have you dealt with any book challenges or bans in your workplace this year? Now’s the time to help the American Library Association and the Office for Intellectual Freedom collect this vital information to compile their annual…
Farghadani Acquitted on “Illegitimate Relations” Charge
Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani, currently serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence for caricaturing members of parliament as animals, has been spared even more prison time as she was recently acquitted of “non-adultery illegitimate relations.” That charge was brought after she…
Cartoonists Use Social Media to Show Solidarity with Censored Saudi Cartoonist
When Saudi cartoonist Abdullah Jaber seemingly disappeared for ten days, many feared the worst. Had he been abducted? Was he harmed for a cartoon critical of his government? When Jaber reemerged on Twitter, his message was simple — and disturbing — he…
Snow White Book Banned in Qatar for “Indecent” Illustrations
Qatar’s Supreme Education Council recently ordered a private school to remove a picture-book adaptation of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs from its library collection due to illustrations that one parent said were “inappropriate” and “indecent.” The principal at…
China Bans Its Own History
Even China’s own history isn’t safe from censorship. A collection of essays entitled The Realm of History by late historian Gao Hua, which offers a historical and cultural analysis of mainland China’s contemporary history and the Communist Party, has been…
Five Years Later, Cartoonists Have Faith in Arab Spring
This month marks five years since the regional wave of uprisings known as the Arab Spring began in Tunisia. Both before and after the regime changes in that country, Egypt, and Libya, as well as ongoing civil wars in Syria…
NH Students Recreate Banned Book Covers
Monadnock Regional High School art teacher Emily Bialek didn’t just want her Swanzey, New Hampshire, students to create art. She wanted them to use art to help foster learning about larger topics that extended beyond the canvas. Her idea: have…
LEGO Changes Bulk Order Policy After Ai Weiwei Protest
Months after news broke that LEGO Group refused to fulfill a bulk order for Ai Weiwei’s current exhibit at Australia’s National Gallery of Victoria, the company reversed course this week and announced that it no longer vets customers’ intentions for…
No Chimichanga: Deadpool Movie Banned in China
Due to violence, nudity, and graphic language, one of the most anticipated comic book movie adaptations of the year, Deadpool, has been officially banned from China. According to The Hollywood Reporter, China has quickly become the world’s second largest theatrical…