Music censorship has been debated since the beginning of recording history. The censoring of music is the practice of restricting free access to musical works. Songs with strong language, racist views, or harmful references will have warning labels on them. There are currently no laws regarding the censorship of music. Censorship originated from a wide variety of motivations, including moral, political, military or religious reasons. The censoring of music is incorrect and should be eradicated. Music has been prominent in culture for thousands of years; it is a big contributing factor to moral compositions, for some it is a personal refuge, for others it is enjoyment, music is an important aspect and to censor music would be racially discriminative, insensitive, and detrimental towards society.
It has been discussed that the more intellectually advanced a person is, the more likely they are to be unhappy or clinically depressed and seek solace in heavy metal or another branch of rock music (Unhappy). For a product, many highly, intelligent people, whose social development progresses much slower than that of most people, have trouble coping with the stress of life that present themselves to everyone. This inevitably induces these individuals to seek refuge in music situations where knowledge and skills support their experience. They go through the tough times alone because adults tend to believe that the intelligent group of children can deal with anything because they are intellectually superior. Adults don't understand that they need assistance. Ernest Hemingway, author and journalist, is an example of this (Unhappy). He took his own life in 1961; he knew of both intelligence and of unh...
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Works Cited
1. Furritus , David. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Music Censorship." Entertainment Scene 360. RR Donnelly , 23 Jan. 2008. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. .
2. Lombardi, Victor . "Music and Censorship." Music and Censorship. Alan Stuart, n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2013. .
3. U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education StatisticsInternational Year of Statistics 2013 (Statistics2013). "Fast Facts." Fast Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. .
4. "Why Intelligent People Tend To Be Unhappy." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. .
Seven Works Cited Have you ever walked into a music store and seen those parental advisory stickers on most of todays' popular music? Or have you seen those TV ratings on the top left corner of your favorite shows? How about the ratings on your favorite video games? I'm sure you have, but do you really know what those so-called harmless stickers, and images do to the world of entertainment and your freedom of expression for that matter? A recent craze to promote "family values" in the U.S. has caused censorship panels to go entirely too far with the censorship of the entertainment industry including television, radio, the Internet, and even authors.
Blair, L. (1996). Strategies for Dealing with Censorship. Art Education, 49(5, Essential Questions), pp. 57-61.
Nuzum, Eric. "A Brief History of Banned Music in the United States" 03 Dec. 2002
Censorship has been around since the development of music. Throughout history pro-censorship groups, retailers, schools, parents, and legislators have found ways to censor music. (History of music censorship) Many artists have been sued because parents thought the music influenced their children to form certain acts. (Censorship in Music) We know of music censorship mainly because of the development of rock and roll during the 1950's. By 1980's censorship reached new dimensions. In 1992, the Erotic Bill law passed the "adult only" label on certain recordings. While people stand for music censorship, American Civil Rights Union fight to make them understand that musicians have First Amendment rights.
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.
Music censorship has been a major problem plaguing America for over fifty years. In 1957, Elvis Pressley was only allowed to be filmed from the waist up on the Ed Sullivan show (Nuzum 1). Plenty of controversy has taken places between then and now, but more recently it has become much more prominent in the media, and people and organizations are beginning to actually take a stand. For example, Island Records (owned by Disney) dropped the Insane Clown Posse just after their release of The Great Milenko and MTV actually refused to play Madonna's video for Justify My Love because it was considered too sexually explicit (Nuzum 1).
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.
In today?s society, we value and learn to tolerate different cultures and people. Sometimes people end up expressing themselves differently as well. This country is based on the idea that we may express ourselves any way we want to, be it religion, organizing, writing, or speaking. Music has been a popular form of expression for centuries. These days, in the country best known for freedom, some people are trying to censor it the freedom of music. Music should not be censored along with any other form of expression otherwise what we and artists say are being controlled. If we value freedom, then that includes what we may say and how we say it even in musical form.
America is expressed of diversity, freedom of speech, and personal value. Suddenly, music censorship became a social controversy through politics, society, and the internet. The USA became a benefactor for music censorship when Black music, such as hip-hop, pop, and others, arrived in the country. Music censorship targets inappropriate songs, so society shouldn’t go against music censorship, unless there’s a strong reason. A strong, predominant image is supposed to executed on minors, individuals, and families through the music radio by the DJ, who broadcasts music through the radio . Music censorship affects people, concerns the government, reigns longer through history, and causes a dystopian balance in the American-arts-exposed society.
Roth, Chris. “Three Decades of Film Censorship…right before your eyes”. The Humanist. Vol. 60, No. 1. January/February 2000.
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.
... women. There are labels on music today that warn of explicit and violent lyrics, but there are none that advise listeners against language that debases women and that could possibly harm a person’s self-image. Every person has the right to speak their mind however they see fit, but if they can ban an album for condoning murder or rebellion against authority why can they not at least warn the public of music that offends an entire gender? Censorship of these words will not stop them from being spoken or written; only education about why and how they are used and how harmful they can be can bring about a change.
Music from various generations would have to be censored and reissued to the public. Time is nonrenewable, and it would take an unreasonable amount of time to censor each explicit song. It would also cost a great deal of money to put forth the censored songs. Thousands of songs would have to be taken down from iTunes, and thousands of new, clean versions would have to be released. New CDs would have to be released with clean versions of songs, and therefore, this notion of censorship is completely irrational. This would hamper the music industry immensely and cost it millions of dollars. Also, the censorship of music would set a dangerous precedent for the censorship of other forms of expression. Ultimately, there is no set standard for the censorship of media. Censoring all explicit music and protecting profanity in films would be
This gallery was not one of taboo songs as much as taboo album covers, giving a new outlook on music-related censorship. The gallery also shows another method censorship could be used to limit creativity.
Head, Tom . "Radio Censorship." About.com Civil Liberties. About.com, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. .