Essay on Censorship in the Music Industry

An example of China’s actions of this are when the Boston Globe reported that, “Yasin is one of more than three dozen writers held in prison by the Chinese authorities…In addition, poets, playwrights, and novelists are imprisoned in Turkey, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Algeria, Cuba, Myanmar, and Iran for the crime of writing about how the world appears to them. In a world in which our destinies are intertwined, in which we need more desperately than ever to know one another, such censorship hurts us all.” Hoffman, R. (2009, 14 Oct.) China is essentially trying to hide things from the public and not allowing people to speak how they feel about the country by banning their books and imprisoning them. Therefore, banned books in China are hunted for so often. And truly, there is no positive side to this view point except maybe with the case of the author of the book “The Satanic Verses”, when the Straits Times reported that, “…the then spiritual leader of Iran called "blasphemous". The late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offered a bounty for the writer's death and Rushdie had to spend 10 years of his life in hiding. The fatwa or edict calling for his murder has yet to be cancelled.” Nanda, A. (2012, 09 Oct). This might be one of the only positives of having to ban a book because the book was

The Jewish poet Heinrich Heine once said, "Where books are burned, human beings are destined to be burned too." Did you know that the Chinese government uses “The Great Firewall” of China to monitor and prohibit any dissent against the Chinese government?(Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer) These kind of actions are called acts of censorship and most of them are against the 1st amendment, law prohibiting that Congress can’t pass a law that establishes religion, or restricts the freedom of speech in America . Censorship is when a government or social group regulates the content in movies, books, and other types of media, and prohibits content they consider obscene or inappropriate. Another instance of censorship is when 20,000 books were burned in 1933 by the Germans in the beginning of the Nazi regime(Holocaust Encyclopedia). The grave incidents that happened on May 10, 1933 were a direct result of the German propaganda against anything Jewish and non-socialist.

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

Censorship has long been an issue in Rock and Roll music. Although our American society celebrates “classic” rock that emerged in the 60’s and 70’s, today, artists such as: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Doors, The Sex Pistols, and Bob Dylan were harshly judged for their music and image they projected because some members of society feared they were too suggestive, or just completely inappropriate. These rebellious artists fought against their music being censored in the best ways for their bands.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, Censorship is: “The suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security:” In practice this means that anything deemed offensive by certain authorities may be banned,for example: Criticism of a regime in songs.

Music is the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity.Music provides a powerful form of expression that at its most basic level helps to entertain while containing the power to cause revolutions. It is a way for people to express themselves through beats, lyrics, pitches and ranges. Imagine owning a music store, and a new album about police brutality is brought to your store for you to sell. An undercover cop came in and bought the album, and told you that if you didn’t take the albums off the shelves you would be arrested and your store would be shut down. There are debates today on whether the government should censor the music that we listen to.Some believe it has a negative effect on the listeners and cause them to become the lyrics. Since music is a form of expression, censoring the music would be a violation of our rights.

Welcome to the United States of America. This is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. A place where our forefathers once gathered and drew up the foundation for which we live our lives. The Constitution of the United States grants us a certain amount of freedoms for which we cannot be punished for. The first amendment to this constitution of the Constitution allows us the freedom of speech, religion, the right to assemble, and to express ourselves in a way in which we feel fit. Under this amendment, people such as musicians and newsmen and able to write and speak what they feel without being told that it is wrong. They cannot be manipulated to change their thoughts or views on a topic, or

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.

The threat of not being able to listen to your own music in the privacy of your own home is expanding further as the years progress and our society grows. Music is a large contribution to many Americans everyday life. Whether its calming and relaxing or energetic and loud, it can help people get a job done. Censorship is the suppression of any information which may be considered sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient , this is determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other groups or institutions. Music has played a large role in the idea of censorship for centuries because it voices opinions about others beliefs or it contain explicit language.

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.

“Censorship, like charity should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there,” is a quote by Clare Boothe Luce (Fitzhenry, 84). Some parents are against the censorship of music. They believe that they should raise their kids, not some politicians who believe one nasty word will change a whole child’s future.

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,

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

Currently, censorship in music is possibly the most relevant form of censorship. One of the more disturbing signs of censorship in music is a condition nearly snuck into the USA-PATRIOT Act that would allow the government “to hack private citizens’ computers to delete what they consider to be illegal MP3 song files” (Blecha 179).

The parameters of the term censorship have been changed and manipulated very much over the years. Television and movie ratings have become more lenient against violence and indiscretion because these things are now seen as entertainment. Is this appropriate for our youth? Should children be exposed to these images so early on? How does censorship in the media affect adolescents? Children are the future of our society and need to have some understanding of real world occurrences. Ultimately, censorship can only be determined by the parents. The media cannot filter every bit of controversial images. What rights does the media have in this situation? How are their First Amendment rights applied here? As an aspiring political science