Content Of Pop Culture : What Should Be Censored?

Popular music is often one of the best lenses we have through which to view our own cultural orientation. Many of the artistic and experimental shifts in popular music have mirrored changes in our own society. For instance, the emergence of Elvis Presley as a public figure would signal the start of a sexual revolution and the growth in visibility of a rebellious youth culture. Similarly, the folk and psychedelic music of the 1960s was closely entangled with the Civil Rights, anti-war and social protest movements. In this regard, we can view popular music as an artifact through which to better understand the time and place in which it is produced. In light of this, the state of popular music today may suggest troubling things about our society.

As America headed into the 1980s, two decades of social and political upheaval have left the nation rattled and the economy weakened. The Iran hostage crisis shook America's confidence and many looked for a new kind of leader to steer the country into the new decade. Ronald Reagan led America into a new era of prosperity leaving the soul-searching of the 60s and 70s behind. The nation was ready to enjoy itself and with plenty of new toys to play like VCRs and video games, Americans spent more time at home and soon something called cable TV would make it even harder to leave the living room. With the new innovation of the TV, one of the ideas for a channel was a marriage between music and television. This new idea for a channel devoted to something called music videos would end up revolutionizing and often scandalizing an industry that had no choice but to embrace the fact that music in the 1980s had to have a face with videos. By having these music videos, they would change the way we look at music and the way we look at the world. This cutting- edge idea was a new medium perfectly suited to a new generation and that idea was called, MTV. This leads to the question: How did MTV influence pop culture of the 1980’s? This topic is worthy of investigation because the coming of MTV has had a significant impact on the way people see pop culture. Before researching the topic, the writer had limited knowledge on MTV and only knew about the music itself. In the paper, the writer was

Music has been around since forever, dated back from the late 1800s (music censorship debate). Music has become an important element of our life, and we are affected by it because there has come a point where we cannot eat, sleep, nor breath without its existence. Music has always been in our hearts. However, music has its own downside, this happened to be the controversy that surrounds it. Controversy often comes from the creative control of the artist’s work which are reflected in music videos, lyrics which are express openly with contents containing profanity, use of sexual innuendos, or even an act of Satanism. On the other hand, censorship viewed by many as a form of restriction on an artist’s creation, therefore

Music has described and impacted our culture as far back as we can record. From ballads to hip hop, music has not only told stories about the singer, but also, and perhaps more importantly, about the time as well. The 1960 's was a time known for it 's anti-war movement and it 's drive for sex, while the 1990 's became an era of nostalgia (especially for the current adult generation) and melancholy ballads only subdued by birth of "bubblegum pop." In our current century, music has become a forefront for young adult 's emotions. In this essay, I will contrast how young adult views on politics, sexuality, and the future impacted the music of the 1960 's and the 1990 's.

Music containing sexually explicit content makes people in today’s world more calloused and more accepting of sexually activity. How do lyrics play a role in all of this? Lyrics play a huge role in enabling our society to normalize sex in everyday conversation. Songs with sexually explicit lyrics reinforce the idea that premarital sex is okay among younger generations. Studies show that premarital sex is more accepted by adolescents if they listen to explicit music compared those that do not listen to explicit music (Zhang, 2008).

With over 4 billion people having access to the internet worldwide, everyday people are exposed to different types of pop culture media, one of those being the music industry. The music industry has become one of the most popular pop culture entertainment due to its variety in music and complex audience. Everyone regardless of race, age, gender, religion, and sexuality have access to a multitude of different music varieties that they can listen to. However, with the music industry growing rapidly, its audience grows along with it. With new and exciting sounds and beats, rising artists, and catchy lyrics it is important that these songs encourage healthy ethical messages to society due to the fact that almost everyone is exposed to music these days. Often times, especially in Hip-Hop music we see how the portrayal of women is usually a negative one. I’m sure that you’ve seen at least one song where women appear subject to men and appear as sex tools. Many hip hop artists, through their music (whether meant to or not), emphasize how women should be seen as tools for pleasure and they lack to show more positive attributes of women. With the music industry objectifying and sexualizing women through derogatory language, it continues to contribute to the present ideology that women are less that and should be inferior to men.

Music trends have changed and evolved throughout history to lead up to the music trends of today. Though, some say that popular music has actually devolved in the sense of content and purpose. Most notably, people often say that popular music is much too inappropriate and should be censored or monitored. But if this is done, then free expression is lost and it could even impede on the basic human right of freedom of speech. For this being a debatable issue, there is a very simple way to resolve it; simply don’t listen to it if you don’t like it. It is after all, within an individual’s control to monitor what music they do or don’t listen to. This popular kind of music is how people express themselves whether or not it is inappropriate.

In the documentary the main message is that the music that we listen to has a negative impact on the way we act and how we think.In my opinion some of the music we listen to can have a very negative effect on how we view people and some situations that can lead to death or scrutinizing sexuality.For example in a study, “A study performed to explore the possible effect of heavy metal music containing either sexually violent or nonviolent lyrics on males' attitudes toward women revealed that those exposed to heavy metal music, with either sexually violent or nonviolent lyrics, showed significantly more negative stereotyped attitudes toward women than those in a group instead exposed to classical music.Likewise, in a study performed by Fischer and

There are countless forms of media out there that are in one way or another degrading and offensive towards women. The one that is of most interest to me is music. Whether songs are blatantly sexist and downright rude to women, like many rap songs, or overtly offensive such as many rock and roll songs, women are commonly demeaned by lyrics in countless songs throughout the ages. I don’t even listen to rap music because it is particularly offensive to women, more so than any genre, making it very profane and unenjoyable in general. Because of this class I have started to become more aware of media that supports stereotypes of women, and other cultures, and while listening to music the other day, I began to notice that

On a daily basis we are presented with media and forms of entertainment which glorify rape culture. Today’s society often criticizes rap music for explicit language and content. However, rape culture can be found in every genre of music. For example pop music, specifically Robin Thicke’s song, “Blurred Lines” although highly recognized and celebrated it also promotes the challenging of “blurred lines” around sexual consent between participants. The popularity of this song is a clear example of society is willing to tolerate rape culture. It even goes to the extent of making it sexy and cool to be part of the group who normalizes these cultural trends. I decided to point this specific song out because just last week as I drove my sister to her elementary school, I noticed her mindlessly singing along to the song. Of course, she doesn’t fully understand what the lyrics mean or what message is being sent across.

“Turn that off! I don’t like the language in that song!” Music containing explicit lyrics is becoming the new normal for teens these days. Genres of music such as rap and hip-hop have received negative criticism about their music due to its lyrics talking about drugs, sex, violence and alcohol. Along with that, hatred towards women, gays, lesbians, and minorities have also been exposed in various songs. Little do these artists know that their music is affecting the youth in destructive ways. Teens look at artists and idolize them for their “great” work.

Sexual aggression, 95% of rappers have use sexual aggression in there song and videos. Male or female participants listened to misogynous or neutral song lyrics and measured actual aggressive behavior. Male participants who were exposed to misogynous song lyrics administered hotter sauce to a female than to a male confederate. This issue is not new, these days, the kind of words spoken, or should we say, sung in many of the popular songs have some type of sexual violence in them. How many song lyrics tolerate and even encourage teens and young people to engage in sexual activities? I will examine if the same lyrics are responsible for making teens and the youth become sexually aggressive towards other people.

Vice President Al Gore once addressed the graduating class of 1996 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with the following statement; “Fear of chaos cannot justify unwarranted censorship of free speech” (Quittner). With this being said, Al Gore divulged his views on censorship which can now be translated into the current issue of censorship across one of the most advanced forms of communication- the internet.

Music videos have the power to influence people and provide a way for the artist to express themselves. The society we view in today’s world is seen as a world beginning to finally open up to homosexuality. An example of the world we live in today can be found in a recent music video created by David Guetta called “Hey Mama”. The music video features Nicki Minaj who is used to introduce femininity in David Guetta’s work. The society David Guetta presents in the music video is more savage like, sexual, and parallel with today’s gender roles. In David Guetta’s music video “Hey Mama” sexuality and gender roles are portrayed in a world that is more fluid than binary.

What pops into your mind first when you think of popular culture in today’s day and age? The latest dirt on celebrities or the latest iPhone release? The latest controversial issue or the latest iTunes hit? Regardless, pop culture encompasses all four of these concepts and many more, which consume the world we live in each and every day. Think about education. At first thought, your mind may not make the connection between the newest Taylor Swift song and the highest ACT score, but the linkage between the two becomes undeniable when you dive deeper. Ponder this: each day millions of kids walk into school buildings across the United States, each of them glued to a little slice of pop culture, a.k.a. their phone. And each day these millions