Reprinted with permission from the BBC (bbc.co.uk)
Pre-Reading Questions: Keep a look out for these details when reading! Then, after you’ve read, fill in the answers.
What has to happen to the music in Burma before it can be released to the public?
Why was actor Kyaw Thu banned from appearing in and directing movies in Burma?
Why are so many artists and journalists hesitant to return back to Burma from abroad?
Reading Comprehension Questions: Now that you’ve read the piece, answer these questions.
When singer Ye Ngwe Soe proclaims that “My eyes and brains are so disappointed, so come and take out my eyes and brains now!” what is he really saying?
That he wishes he was dead.
That he is fed up with the way that music is censored in Burma and that only pop music is ever approved by the government.
He is just being ridiculous and these are just the lyrics to an odd song.
He is complaining about life in Burma, particularly the political situation.
Why are so many songs and movies banned by the government?
Because they advocate the end of the government
Because they are fiercely political
Because the material is obscene and disgusting
Because the government is reading too much into very plain or meaningless symbols.
Why was a scene in Kyaw Thu’s movie censored?
Because one of the flowers in that scene was heavily associated with a prominent political figure who was under house arrest.
Because the scene depicts his character blowing up a governmental office.
Because the scene in question happens in a documentary showing the evils of the Burmese government.
For no reason at all.
How has Kyaw Thu become popular with the government again?
He is regularly associating with many famous Burmese figures.
He has raised enough money for his charity to become a powerful economic force in the country.
He has apologized to the government and begun working with them.
He is still unpopular with the government.
What is Burma planning to do that will make censorship less stringent?
They have no plans to make censorship laws less demanding.
They plan to undue all of the censorship they’ve done in the last year and see what happens.
They have promised a new media law that will end censorship entirely, they claim, with journalists the first to be allowed full freedom of speech.
They will provide a financial bonus to those writers who follow censorship while still allowing those who do not to write whatever they want.
Vocabulary: Define the following words using context clues.
