Censorship Between Music And Violence

When it comes to the topic of violent media, some of us would readily agree it’s a controversial subject as to whether kids should or shouldn’t be exposed to it. This is because many children who view violent media react negatively rather than not being affected at all. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of what effects does it have on children. Whereas some are convinced that it is a healthy alternative for kids to express themselves, others maintain that it causes kids to become more aggressive and contributes to juvenile crimes.

Yet with all the wonderful things that music can do for human beings, could it possibly be responsible for them committing suicide, or murder? In this paper I am going to explore the chaos that occurred in the 80’s and 90’s when heavy metal music faced accusations that the music and lyrical content was driving adolescent and young adults to commit suicide and murder. I will argue that it is not the music or the lyrics that result in such violent behaviors; rather, individuals with underlying psychological issues such as depression, or anger disorders tend to be more attracted to heavy metal music.

“Numerous studies indicate that a preference for heavy metal music may be a significant marker for alienation, substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, suicide risk, sex-role stereotyping, or risk-taking behaviors during adolescence” (http://www.aap.org/policy/01219.html). This statement, and others like it, has been used as a hypothesis as to why the students opened fire killing 13 and wounding 23 at Columbine. The explicit lyrics have been thought to motivate teenagers into committing acts of violence. Take, for example, the lyrics from a band named Drowning Pool, “Push me again, this is the end, skin against skin, blood and bone, you're all by yourself, but you're not alone, you wanted in, now you're here, driven by hate consumed by fear, let the bodies hit the floor” (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/drowningpool/bodies.html). This song is titled Bodies and speaks out about committing murder because of alienation. All teenagers feel these feelings at some point while they are growing up. While most teenagers can look to someone or something to get them through this difficult time, some find release in music. If they are exposed to these types of lyrics, without any rationality, the teenagers can find themselves in

Marilyn Manson, The Beatles, NWA, Garth Brooks, and the king, Elvis, What do all these people have in common? Well, yes, they are all musical groups, but there is something more. Marilyn Manson is a heavy metal group who worships Satan, the Beatles were one of the greatest Rock N’ Roll bands of all time, and NWA was a hard-core rap group from the 80’s. Garth Brooks is a country singer and greatest selling performer of all time, and well, Elvis is the king of Rock N’ Roll. So what do they all have in common? All of these artists have or had songs with indecent or obscene lyrics.

     Today, in the 1990's, citizens in our society are being bombarded with obscene material from every direction. From the hate lyrics of Gun's 'N Roses to the satanic lyrics of Montley Crue and Marilyn Manson to the sexually explicit graphical content of today's movies, the issue is how much society is going to permit and where we, as a society, should we draw the line. The freedom of speech has always been considered a right, but that doesn't mean that you can shout, "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater. The real question is whether such material is harmful or dangerous to our society.

“Violent Media Is Good for Kids” is a short essay written by Gerard Jones. In Jones’s essay, while the author was trying to convince the audience that violent media can be very beneficial when controlling rage along with a range of emotions and shaping children’s perceptions of life.in children but he falls flat when appealing to the logic and ethos, thus making it unlikely that his audience will side with him.

When listening to the radio, most people come across a song that has been changed from its original version, whether certain words are beeped out, or a string of lyrics are replaced altogether. This is censorship, and it is very common on the radio. It is also very controversial. People don’t agree what should be censored or if anything should be censored at all. However, we believe that censorship is a good thing. Censorship allows offensive music to be altered so that it is not offensive anymore. It also prevents younger children from being exposed to harsh and inappropriate content in a society where access to music is growing. The positives of censorship outweigh the negatives by far.

Now a days, we are used to shocking lyrics and eye catching looks. It seems that every artist now is fighting to be so different that everyone is drawn to them. It was not always like this. In the late nineties and early two-thousands, most artists tried to fit in with the other blonde, processed pop stars that the industry was spitting out. When there was an artist who was not always happy and did sing about PG rated topics, they were blamed for what was wrong with the world, especially teenagers. In his article ‘I’d Sell You Suicide: Pop Music and Moral Panic in the Age of Marilyn Manson”, Robert Wright delves into and debunks claims that rock music, especially that of Marilyn Manson, is a main cause for teenage suicide.

In 2003, <management of the Six Flags Amusement Park in Darien Lakes, New York, banned Marilyn Manson from performing at the park as part of the Ozzfest tour. In 2003, radio stations across the country removed songs by the Dixie Chiks from airplay because of a comment from the group’s lead singer saying that she was “embarrassed the U.S. President George W. Bush was from her home state of Texas. ”The list of examples, as extensive as it is, only includes some of the major events in music censorship history. The reality of censorship is, as common or persistent as it may be, it really does not constrict the music that is heard. It is becoming increasingly easy to discover and download music online, where, faced against the infinite expanse of the Internet, censorship can be borderline humorously ineffective. There are not even any studies proving the exact effects of music on youth, or people in general for the matter. As Victor Lombardi put it, “An extensive study encompassing psychology, physiology, behavioral studies, sociology, and music would have to be do to prove a form of music is capable of causing harm. The researches would have to be trained not only in research methods but in all these fields and the music involved. A willing, impartial musicologist proficient in the music of

In “Violent Media is Good for Kids,” Gerard argues that, violent media is not necessarily harmful to kids, rather very essential and of great importance to them and their future lives.

In life, music affects everything many people look at all the different stories of teenagers committing violent acts and have begun to wonder can violent songs make teens violent? With all the violent acts that music glorifies as of recently many psychologists and parents alike have begun to wonder why certain types of music cause their children and teenagers to become so violent. Because of the questions that violent songs raise and why teenagers have started to gravitate towards violent songs more than ever before. Some factors that could be reasons as to why violent songs have such a powerful effect on teenagers could be that: teenagers learn violence from their surroundings, teenagers can have a history of violence, and violent songs give teens a place to vent their frustrations at,

Throughout the years, music has evolved and transformed in many ways. However, there are restrictions in today’s music, otherwise known as, censorships. A crisis has emerged concerning the issue of censorship. This argument consists of two possible stances: one, supporting the continuation of censorship, and two, eliminating the status quo of censorships in the music industry. There have been countless debates and arguments regarding the issues of censorship ever since the U.S. Congress passed the Radio Act in 1927 (The History). The time has arrived for censorship to be brought to an end. The government should release their grip on the censorship of music for the following reasons: it obstructs the public’s freedom of choice, it

The children of today are surrounded by technology and entertainment that is full of violence. It is estimated that the average child watches from three to five hours of television a day! Listening to music is also a time consuming pastime among children. With all of that exposure, one might pose the question, "How can seeing so much violence on television and video games and hearing about violence in in music affect a child's behavior?" Obviously these media have a big influence on childrens' behavior: we can see it in the way they attempt to emulate their favorite rock stars by dressing in a similar style and the way children play games, imitating their favorite cartoon personalities or super

Media takes all forms of shapes, from video games to music it influences people daily because we are always surrounded by it. Music especially impacts individuals because in a lot of ways it can say what we want to say in times when we as individuals cannot say it. In those times we lean on music to help us understand the hardship we are going through, or as a mechanism to face our feelings or to block them out. Interpersonal violence which is defined as an individual using power over another in the form of violence whether that be emotional, physical, or sexual. With the many forms of interpersonal violence it’s apparent that it has been expressed in the form of music for quite a while, and sometimes not always in a preventative way. By

In the book Critique of Violence ,author Walter describes Violence as "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, male development, or deprivation .The violence that is portrayed in the media has been debated for decades ,and it has rose a question about how does it influence the youth?. From movies to video games society has been accustom to seeing violence in their everyday entertainment. Since children are easy to be influence by their environment, it is safe to say that violence in the media can and will contribute to violent behavior.