Censorship, defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is "the system or practice of examining writings or movies and taking out things considered offensive or immoral". Throughout history, especially in America, freedom of speech and press have been granted but not completely supported. Why? The word "conformity" is used to explain that statement. Free speech gets distorted because it gets conformed to what society wants to hear/read through critics and reviewers. The painting by Charles Joseph Travies, La Critique, displays the themes of social conformity and censorship through reviewers critiques and further emphasizes these themes through the use of dark colors.

A couple wants to go out to dinner to celebrate their anniversary and are willing to spend a little extra money and go to a nice restaurant. They decide to read some reviews to decide where to go and they find a restaurant that has everything they are looking for; great menu, nice wine selection, and upscale service. As they continue reading about the restaurant they find a critic who said he had a poor experience there. The couple continues their search for they do not want to go out to a restaurant that is not worth the money and has one bad review. Most people are guilty of this and that is just how critics work. Any negative critique of a movie, restaurant, book, etc., can break . One bad review can spoil a million good reviews because humans, in all social and economic classes, feel that their time, money, and energy needs to valued and savored. They will not waste it on anything with a bad review.With all that being said, this relates to the La Critique because of the power and control that critics have over the public. In order to be successful, writers must conform to appeal to the critics. Therefore, do we really have freedom of speech? Just like the tree that falls in the forest, science tells us that if no one is around to hear the tree fall, then it does not make a sound. If no one reads all of one's original work before it is revised and distorted for the purpose of a good review, then is it really free speech? Readers are constantly reading the same work over and over again with a different plot line and title. Critics can make anything they want sell and if an author wants to be successful they will mold their work to fit what a critic will give a good review on. La Critique shows it's viewers just how critics can suppress an authors work. 

The photo shows a major theme of censorship. To emphasize this theme, Travies shows people physically altering a writers hard work. The people in the picture are all using different tools to deface the book but each is doing the same job. This relates to modern day critics using different techniques in their critiques in order to "deface" an authors work. It can be speculated that they are trying to suppress what is written by tearing it up so it is no longer able to be read. The meaning behind this is that it no longer has the original meaning the author may have intended it to have. There is a desire for control over what everyone is exposed to. Modern day critics have that power to control speech. In the photo they physically deface the book to hide what the author is saying and keep the people from reading what is written. This concept can be translated to how modern day writers try to conform to critics. Authors deface their own work in order to get a good review as well as critics giving bad reviews on books, restaurants, movies, etc. so that the public will not want to waste their time with it because it has a bad review. The photo is used to raise awareness about censorship and our suppression of free speech. As a society, the artist calls us to take away the power from the critics, to expand our horizons, and our minds to what everyone has to say. We were given these freedoms in the bill of rights and reviewers and critics are indirectly taking this freedom away through social conformity and censorship.

Travies uses darker, duller colors such as dark blues and grays in order to emphasize the themes present in La Critique.  The use of dark blues and grays in the artwork to tell the story behind the meaning of censorship and social conformity. The picture overall has a negative connotation associated with it and the aura surrounding the people pictured emphasizes that it is a negative act that they are partaking in. The sky is dark and cloudy which also makes it overall feel dreary and heavy. The darkness in the background of the picture relates to the two themes discussed because social conformity and censorship are negative and Travies wants the viewers to understand that. There are shadows in the background which gives it, not quite a mysterious aura, but a creepy fear about what is back there and what they are hiding; fear about what is behind the book. The shadows behind the book represent everything an author wants to say and also the suppression of it. Critics have the fear about what is behind the book which is why they suppress it. They must distort each piece in order to fit to the 

 La Critique, displays the themes of social conformity and censorship through reviewers' critiques. Often times, an author will choose to be successful over their freedom of speech. While this is an unfortunate fact about modern times, it is true. The need to please a reviewer comes from a basic and innate instinct to survive and prosper. In order to fully emphasize his point, Travies uses a creepy, darker color scheme. The colors provide the negative connotation to the picture and allow the viewer to delve into the meaning behind the canvas. Travies' work profoundly and artistically illustrates the true indirect loss of freedom we as humans experience every day through publication and striving to people-please.

 