Censorship of Music: Limiting One’s Rights Essay

A brief history of music controversy. Freedom of expression is one of the greatest things about our country, unfortunately, bands are censored for their lyrics/appearance because some find it offensive. Music censorship is not a new idea. Censorship of music has been around longer than 20 years, dating back to the year 1927, long before Tipper Gore.

“The use of parental advisory labels, as with any system that aim to deny an individual the right to receive a form of communication, most certainly is a free speech issue” (Crowley). Censorship should be left up to the public because it is our freedom to decide to use our better judgment in deciding what we want to listen to, regardless of other’s opinions.

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.

To what extent can music provide a means of resistance for challenging the power relations of racism, class and gender?

Consequently, approximately 1,400 stores dropped the album. Many major retailers such as Woolworth's and K-mart will not purchase, and therefore not display, an album with any kind of parental advisory sticker on it. While it is true that legally these labels do not prohibit sales to anyone, the labels "amount to an elegant form of censorship, elegant because it is censorship made to look like consumer information." (1) As controversial as records like Ice T and other artists who use either swears or sexually explicit material are, artistic pieces no matter what kink of message they send, or however unpopular they may be, are still protected by the first amendment to the constitution. The people who vote for and pass the laws prohibiting free speech are taking it upon themselves what they think is moral and right for the rest of the country. I feel I can make up my own mind about what type of music I listen to, how about you? One organization claiming to protect the children is the Parents Music Resource Center. At the center of the music labeling controversy, the P.M.R.C., "feels that current levels of violence, racism, brutality towards women, drug and alcohol glamorization in music, lyrics, videos and stage shows need to be addressed through public discussion and debate"(Hull 23). "The P.M.R.C. hopes to prohibit the sale of records to minors that contain lyrics about sex, drugs and alcohol, murder or suicide"(Weinfeld 46). If that were the case, even the bible may be

Interpretations can be caused by the fact that one’s understanding is limited to their knowledge on the topic. Greenfield conducted a study on four different age groups: fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders and college students. Two songs, “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen and “Like a Virgin” by Madonna, were played for the participants. Following each song they were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The questions asked about their comprehension of both specific words in the lyrics and about the overall meaning. The results for the understanding of Bruce Springsteen’s song was low. After hearing the song entirely and seeing certain excerpts on the questionnaire sixty percent of the overall sample couldn’t answer the questions regarding song content. Contrary to the title and refrain, the song is about the loss of hope and resentment. The percentage of participants who understood the song’s actual themes were very low. Not one of the fourth graders could recognize the real theme, while only thirty percent of eighth graders, forty percent of twelfth

However, other Americas feel that there should be no such thing as censorship on music, but it is completely up to the parents to decide what their children should listen to. In an article written by Olivia Clarke, she interviews parents to see what they have to say about the music their children listen too. Lory Reinisch listens to the music her children listen to and then tells them what songs they can listen to on the CD. (3) Artists that produce hardcore music is only for entertainment. In the same article Dr. Dre stated, “I let my kids listen. Matter of fact, I have a 14-year-old daughter that critiques my music

     Many people believe that music should be filtered because it provokes violence or sex within society. There may be some truth in this but for the most part it is merely myth. People who have any common sense or are not legally insane can understand fact from fiction and what not to imitate. Anyone who listens to Eminem and decides to go and kill their wife should have been locked up long before the actual crime. When people do things that resemble what an artist says in a song, it is usually by pure coincidence and all are negative incidents. Frank Zappa was quoted to have said “I wrote a song about dental floss but did anyone’s teeth get cleaner?”(Jackson 1).

Thi is san example of the music industry being overbearing and limiting musical freedoms. An important negative aspect about uncensored music is that teenagers all go through experimental phases, where they learn the dark realities that are common in life. These phases, though not always, normally end after a while. Music can help teach adolescents about things that they cannot talk to their parents about, and the censorship of music would just make this common process more difficult to go through. In almost every case, banned music or the creation of “edited” music has been ignored and people have gotten to the uncensored versions nonetheless.

“Heavy metal music has been a source of criticism ever since its’ birth in the late nineteen eighties” (Coss). Many people criticize this type of music because there is anger shown in the lyrics. Although the lyrics can be controversial at times, there is no evidence saying that heavy metal music causes violence. “Its’ controversial lyrics and harsh sounds have made it the target of much blame for psychological and behavioral problems in teenagers” (Coss). Parents of teenagers now and in past decades have worried about their kids listening to this kind of music. Most parents do not want their kids to listen to this kind of music; they are afraid that the music will lead to devastating effects in society. Another reason why parents do not like heavy metal music is that the music is extremely loud and ear shattering. Most people over

Music is one of the most popular ways of expression and has been for generations. It makes us want to dance, inspires, soothes, relaxes, and sometimes tells us a story. Music is something the whole world shares and has brought together different kinds of people. However, there has been a question on whether some music has affected society negatively and crossed the line with some of its lyrics, content, and the persona of the artists. Certain music has been boycotted and even banned in the U.S. Pro-censorship supporters say that music is something that can deeply affect our society especially children who should not have to be subjected to things like violence, sex, drugs, or hate. However, being that music is a form of expression,

Music with explicit lyrics or content started having black and white parental advisories on them in 1994 (http://www.riaa.org/Parents-Advisory-4.cfm). Are these labels necessary? Is controversial music molding our society and causing teenagers to turn to drugs? Is censorship necessary to protect the youth of our nation. Generally, younger people are against censorship on this issue. Music is an outlet and even an anti-drug for many teens; however, parents and society feel differently. Should parents censor their children or society, many parents would like to raise their own

Music is an art form that almost everyone in the world experiences on a daily basis. The most censored music genres

Children still obtain ''stickered'' CD's, despite the child's age. If this awful music is available to minors, society will not improve its youth's attitude. ''During the last decade or so in the United States, many people have expressed concern that rap music - especially rap with violent or misogynic lyrics - - is harmful to not only the youth of

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