Censorship as a Vocation: The Institutions, Practices, and Cultural Logic of Media Control in the German Democratic Republic

What do you think you would find on the desk of a censor? He—almost certainly “he”—would not need much. A jar filled with blue pencils. A coffee cup. A phone for whispering praise to the higher-ups and for ignoring the entreaties of his victims. For reading material, an ideological reference manual or a dog-eared sheaf of instructions would suffice. Surely, one would not expect to find any actual books on the censor's shelves—why read when your life is committed to eviscerating literature?

你觉得在审查员的桌子上会看到什么？他——几乎肯定是“他”——不需要太多东西。一个装满蓝色铅笔的笔筒。一个咖啡杯。一部电话，用来向上级低声谄媚，对受害者的哀求充耳不闻。至于阅读材料，一本意识形态参考手册或者一沓卷了角的指令就够了。当然，人们不会期望在审查员的书架上看到任何真正的书籍——当你的人生致力于阉割文学时，为什么还要读书呢？