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Censorship in Music
Censorship in music has been a major problem plaguing America since the early nineteen forties. It came to a head during the nineteen sixties with the Vietnam War and the hippie movement. During the nineteen seventies and eighties heavy metal and hard rock were getting the brunt of the censorship heat. Now in the nineteen nineties the major focus of censorship is rap; primarily gangster rap. Some of the main factors of music in general that cause legal ramifications are sexual content, suggestive violence and obscene language. Censorship is an attack against our first amendment right guaranteeing the freedom of speech. However if a song or album is deemed obscene the first amendment does not protect this.
The mass media has been involved has been involved in the many so-called problems that music causes in society today. The attempted censorship of music is not just because people need a cause to fight. In today's society there are many problems that experts feel are directly related to music. Some of these problems are suicide, murder and sexual assault. Many people argue that it is not only music made for entertainment purposes. Many parents and experts argue that rappers and musicians use vulgar, profane, sexually explicit lyrics to target the teenage market because money is a major issue and this kind of media is a hot commodity. Another popular subject that has taken heat and was attempted to be censored is politically charged music. During the Vietnam War many songs blasted the government. "For what it's worth" by Buffalo Springfield is a song documenting the actions by San Francisco police taken against members of the band at a peaceful protest. This song is not the first and was definitely not the...
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...yed a show in Philadelphia. Several local officers of the law threatened to go on a local television affiliate to defame rage. They backed down when they heard that two members of the band would be there to debate them.
Music is in sad state of affairs today. No matter where you look someone is offending someone else and no one attacks the issue at hand. It is always taken one step up and nothing is ever resolved. In closing this paper I would just like to say that just because it is there and it is obscene it doesn't mean you have to listen to it. You may not like it but to someone else it may be genius. In the words of John Lennon, "LET IT BE."
Bibliography:
Works Cited
Winfield, Betty Houchin, and Sandra Davidson. Bleep! Censoring rock and rap music. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1999.
WWW.RATM.Com- Official site of Rage against the Machine
Censorship in music is a very controversial subject in today’s society. What is considered a form of artistic expression to some is also considered vulgar and inappropriate to others. But who ultimately gets to decide what is considered vulgar and what is not? Who decides who hears what in the music industry? The RIAA is responsible for applying the Parental Advisory stamp on every album that is released in the United States. The FCC is responsible for making sure that no vulgarities or controversial comments are aired on radio or television. But why is some content edited and other content not? I will try and explain these questions in our article.
The First Amendment clearly states that the U.S. government cannot make a law stopping the freedom of speech. Pro-censorship supporters say music is not included under the First Amendment but it is since music is expression. The freedom of speech includes freedom of expression and the right to hold your own opinion. This country is founded on the idea that we should be able to say, read, or publish anything we want. Music is an artist?s form of expression and banning or censoring his or her music would be stopping his or her right to say whatever he/she wants. We also have and value our own opinions and ideas and in return, respect every one else?s. If someone bans or censors a certain song because of it?s ideas, then we are not respecting the artist?s right to an opinion. An audience might have a certain opinion which we can discuss among ourselves, yet if an artist wants to sing a song about it, people want...
The first amendment is the argument that many critics use when trying to eliminate music censorship. As stated in a global issues blog, “If censorship is made into law, it prevents artists from expressing themselves and conveying what message they want to get through to their listeners” (8 Most Valid Pros and Cons of Music Censorship). This is true because people have the right to freely say what they want and censorship limits what messages artists can convey to their listeners. Another strong argument against music censorship is how the meaning of a song can be changed by censoring it. One example of radio censorship is in Eminem’s song “My Fault” where lyrics about a girl overdosing on mushrooms is changed to a girl having an allergic reaction after eating a pizza with mushrooms on it (Strauss). The final reason why radio censorship does more harm than good is because it blinds kids to the real world around them. Censoring music is comparative to only showing happy and fun events on news channels. Children should be able to know what is going on in the world which they live in and they should not be mislead that the world is a problem-free, perfect society (Should Government Censor the Lyrics of Violent or Explicit Songs). Preparing the youth for the future is necessary for them to grow up and understand how to deal with issues in the
The First Amendment to the Bill of Rights exists because the Founders of our country understood the importance of free expression. The First Amendment states "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . ." (Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution 17). One of the ways the American people use this freedom of speech and expression is through the creation of the art form known as music. Music's verbal expression bonds our society through our emotions and experiences. This fundamental right of freedom of expression is being threatened by public and governmental groups who believe they have authority to monitor and decide what others should experience. The censorship of music lyrics is a violation of our First Amendment right, and public groups should not be allowed to bypass this right to censor obscene lyrics produced in the music industry.
What is censorship? An encyclopedia defines censorship as "the control of what people may say or hear, write or read, or see or do1." There are many reasons why people censor entertainment such as literature and music. Many governments or groups try to preserve their standards of morality by preventing people from learning about or following other standards2, commonly found in the two previously mentioned mediums. There are different ways to censor things. It can be on a local level, such as libraries refusing to carry a controversial book. It can also be on an entirely larger scale. In the 1770’s, French author Beaumarchais had two of his plays, The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, banned by King Louis XVI.2 Back then, these plays were considered outrageous and sometimes blasphemous. To fully understand how our system of censorship works today, we have to look into history to see how censorship got started.
as an authorization to examine material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally,
Throughout time, music has been an influential part of society. As a form of entertainment and expression, its impact has always been felt both economically and emotionally. During the Vietnam war, music evolved into more a form of expression rather than pure entertainment. Emotionally charged songs became a method to oppose the war, and vent frustrations. While many songs opposed the war, numerous others focused on peace and happiness. They provided a positive perspective in an otherwise depressing time. Along with incorporating passion into music, cultural diversity increased in music greatly. Black artists became progressively more popular and accepted in the musical scene. This respect carried over to society slowly but surely. During the Vietnam war, music played a crucial role in the societal evolution into a state where emotions fueled actions, more emphasis was put on equality, all opinions counted.
In one case, the parents of John McCullom sued Ozzy Osbourne, because his song "Suicide Solution", "aided, advised and encouraged" McCullom's suicide (Nuzum 1). C. Delores Tucker, chair of the National Political Congress of Black Women, said, "No one and no industry should be allowed to continue the social and psychological poisoning of the young minds of this nation that occurs with the music industry" (91). This belief in musical content being "poison" is prominent all over America. During the 1970's, record burning was a popular way to speak out against music content, and today protests are quite popular. Other ways of stifling these problematic artists may be through the pressure of having to use a parental advisory label or legislation passing bills.
Music in this century is beginning to have more of an effect to people than ever before. It has evolved into calming and something that anyone can dance to. However, some music genres are becoming too provocative due to the lyrics being hateful to many things. But for some
Censorship is the examination of material and suppressing all or part of it if considered morally or otherwise unacceptable. Webster’s Dictionary, 87. “Censorship of rap music is a way to limit the exposure of what is going on in the world today. Gangster rap, the most popular, but most controversial music today, is a depiction of the lives of a large group of people. When rappers speak, they are just telling about the lives that they live day to day.
Music has always been a basic form of expression. From Antonin Dvorak, to Eminem, to even ancient, tribal music, it has been a medium through which individuals convey their thoughts and expressions. Today this medium is under attack. Everywhere we turn, everything we do and say is being scrutinized. We are being told what to say. We are being spoon-fed our emotions. No longer are we allowed to think freely, openly. All the censors out there are on the prowl for another piece to rip to shreds because it doesn't fit their description of what is decent and moral. What they fail to realize is that we don't make the music for them... We do it for release.
For years, popular music has involved pushing the boundaries of artistic expression and the negative effects of explicit music has outraged society. There is a fine line that divides vulgarity from artistic expression. Whatever the motive behind the explicitness of popular music, it has many negative consequences on our society and therefore should be stopped.
Censorship according to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press can be defined as, “To remove anything offensive from books, films, etc., or to remove parts considered unsuitable from private letters, especially ones sent during war or from a prison”(Cambridge Dictionary). Censorship in the news and in the media takes many forms in todays fast paced world. Even with the slightly leak in information or even misleading information could cause todays world to be turned on its head and can cause people to interpret the issue in many ways which could have numerous implications. This is why such information is filtered by some governments around the world before it is aired or printed. There are countless arguments as to why or why not information should be censored as each individual is entitled to their own opinion. Censorship impacts people ability to choose freely as it is controls ideas and thoughts and thus influences their freedom of expression or their to express their views on issues, ideologies or even practice their faith.
Censorship has always altered the lives of many people, whether they know it or not. People are constantly exposed to the censored version of entertainment. The movies they watch, the music they listen to, and the games they play have all first been screened through different rating systems to find anything in them that can be interpreted as “obscene”. Once someone finds something, the creator of the work has no choice but to delete, edit, and basically censor the offending portion, otherwise it never gets to see the light of public consumption. Censorship has been used for all different kinds of works, for all different kinds of reasons. The many examples of album covers provided at TabooTunes show different types ...
Many people take an advantage of Freedom of speech in their music. Rappers and rocker often does this in their albums and playlist. They use violent words that’s not protected by The First Amendment. Many of them uses violent phrases that can offend most listeners. Offensive music should be banned.