Censorship in Britannia and the Numbers?

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

Do we know if there is or isn't censorship in the homeland or in the taken over Numbers?

I was wondering because of a fanfic I was writing. I was going to use a song from Wicked the musical in a certain scene, and it occurred to me it either might not exist, or possible be banned.

Comments

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

Very true. Plus they'd stomp on anything anti-authority.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

I don't think we're really given definite evidence, but from context it seems very obvious that there would be a lot of censorship in the Areas as mentioned - forcing them to act like Britannians, and probably also in the mainland (Though it'd likely be less so, there).

(Just out of curiosity, what was the context for using the song? I am reminded of my crack theory about the similarities in the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba and Suzaku and Lelouch.)

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

I think a SuzaLulu AMV to "For Good" was what started it. Stupid ridiculously appropriate lyrics.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

There seem to be more parallels the more you look at it.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

In terms of narrative arc, she's definitely Suzaku. (Initial dislike of the lead, then becoming friends, fighting on opposite sides, and dramatic fall-out to be enemies, making up just before the end and ultimately left in the greatest position of authority. Also blatant homoerotic subtext.)

Though yes, she starts out very different in terms of character.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Euphie is Fiyero!

Except instead of Elphaba taking him romantically from Glinda, Lelouch takes Euphie's life and reputation (And everything Suzaku had invested in those).

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Obviously, I have too much time on my hands.

(My apologies to shanejayell for taking their discussion about Britannian censorship and making it all about why Wicked = Code Geass)

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

Hey, this is pretty cool.

:)

Do you want to do a thread on it too?

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

*lol*

http://community.livejournal.com/code_geass/1635323.html

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

Oooh. Link? :)

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

The original one I saw has been deleted. I think this version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8bVyTMgpKs) is by the same person, but I liked it better with the original cast version of the song.

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

A character starts sriously thinking of rebelling and references Defying gravity. *lol* Nothing major.

[megalomaniageek.livejournal.com]

I imagine there's probably some censorship in Britannia. We know there's certainly a lot of propaganda. And I agree with those who have said that it's probably worse in the Areas than in the homeland.
As for that particular song, I get the impression that the Wizard of Oz is probably too specific of a thing to exist in their world; therefore no Wicked book probably exists, and so no Wicked musical probably exists. But it's your fic, you can have it exist if you want.
As for whether it would be censored, I think it depends on how strong you expect the censorship to be. If every work that even hits at anti-establishment and/or anti-racism is banned, Wicked would be (depending on how you interpret the original Wizard of Oz, it may have been banned as well, which circles back to "then Wicked wouldn't exist" but hey, again, your story, you decide). But if the censorship is more selective and only targets works that seem seriously subversive, I think Wicked would be written off as a silly trifle.

[shanejayell.livejournal.com]

And you have to wonder if the Wizard of Oz was even written in Code Geass. Did the Great Depression that spawned Wizard happen in canon?

[megalomaniageek.livejournal.com]

No idea. Most of the events of the Geass universe history that have been told to the audience concern the English monarchy and a few inexplicable meetings/scuffles between Britannia and Feudal Japan. How the American revolution failed was briefly mentioned (Ben Franklin sold out the country for a royal title, IIRC). We also can see from C.C.'s flashbacks that the Great War appears to have happened, although it probably wasn't the same war with the same sides thanks to Napoleon. And regardless, it wouldn't necessarily have lead to a Britannian depression.
But if you want to say in your fic that, say, a massive war between the EU and Britannia in the early twentieth century caused a depression which triggered a chain of events leading to Wicked, you could.
Personally I do sometimes wish that the Geass writers weren't quite so Japan-focused when explaining the alternate history, considering that the past-era spinoffs all take place there. I sometimes wonder about what happened with slavery in Britannia, or what happened to the Native Americans.

[rainbow-cnxn.livejournal.com]

I imagine there would be? Though I guess it depends on what degree of censorship you're talking about. It's hard to imagine that with the enforced class strata and the herding of a volatile population into ghettos there wouldn't be censorship. Certainly, it seems that most seditious activities are kept to the putrid underbelly of the internet, just like in real life, haha. (Cue Rivalz and Tamaki separately talking about how the BK were "heroes on the internet".) While there were magazines published that speak of Zero, whether or not their assessments were "fair and balanced" is up in the air. The implication that dressing up as Zero or speaking well of him in public might lead to backlash from the de facto powers certainly suggests that the topic of Zero, at least, was heavily censored and taboo in public life.

And then, of course, there's the thing where Britannia turned "Zero executes the Massacre Princess" into "Euphemia was convicted as a traitor for the massacre and subsequently executed by Britannian authorities". Where "censorship" ends and "cover-up" begins is another issue altogether, though one may argue that there is no difference at all.