Free Speech or Just Offensive?
A highly debated topic as of late has been the staggering rise of offensive language and topics of the music industry, which have infiltrated through. Should the artists of this music be punished for corrupting the minds of the people who listen to it?
Or should the musician's rights be protected by the first amendment?
The main problem to be seen is that this music has become extremely popular to the youth. With this popularity comes blow after blow from the media, parents, and organizations putting down the music because they believe it's corrupting the children.
All of these criticisms towards music have even made the government step in
…show more content…
Profanity and racism are also now more vocalized through music. We have become accustomed to hearing bad language everywhere. Many musicians use this as an excuse to put it in their songs, saying that its already part of our language. The question is, could the profanity in their songs be the reason that cursing is a part of our language?
Of course it is part of the reason why it is so popular, because of its mass publication and the influence stars have on everyday folk. Through this language comes stereotypes and racism towards groups like homosexuals and police. Eminem has been getting practically only criticism for his blatant hatred for homosexual, which he displays through his entire album. Eminem’s songs “contains unmistakable offensive sexual references”, says the FCC, but they are still letting his songs play on the radio because the lyrics can be preceved innocent (Goodman, Fred 14). GLAD, a homosexual group, has voiced their opinion on the matter in an attempt to boycott the album.
NWA has also felt the voice of another more powerful group, the police. After
NWA came out with the song "Fuck the Police,” not only did every crime fighter in
America want this group's head but also the FBI. The FBI sent a notice to NWA in early
1989 complaining
In Policing Gangs in America, Charles Katz and Vincent Webb describes every issue in American Gangs today. The ultimate goal of this book is how the gang officers work and the different kind of atmosphere they work in. Their job isn’t like other law enforcement jobs. It’s one of the more dangerous occupation in the Criminal Justice system. These gang officers focus on how they react to public gang issues.
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).
The United States of America seems to be protected by a very important historical document called the Constitution. Despite the fact that it was written and signed many years ago, the American people and their leaders still have faith in the Constitution. One of the major statements of the Constitution is the First Amendment, freedom of speech. Although it is difficult to decide what is offensive and what is not, it is clear to see that songs of rape, violence, bigotry, and songs containing four letter words are completely unnecessary for susceptible minds to acknowledge. It is reasonable to say that more people listen to music everyday and for that reason, music tends to be more influential. The American
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.
This book primarily focused on ways police reacted to gang presence, problems, and illegal activity, based on the way America views gangs. Gangs are described differently by people based on geography, class, age, race, and personal agenda’s. Statistic’s based on research, help grasp the whole situation and soak in the problems for society and also police. Police forces may change up tactics to respond to a certain gang compared to a different police force and different gangs. After reading this book you get a true sense of the officers specialized in confronting these gang members. Along with a touch of characteristics from actually gang members and activity.
“Obscene: so excessive as to be offensive” (http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary). This is the way the Webster dictionary defines obscene. How do you? Some say obscene is vulgar; others say the best way to describe obscene is through disgust. No matter how it is thought of, obscene material is everywhere in society. Television is becoming more liberal, magazines are less edited, and music is more abrasive. At some point, the public must put its foot down and demand censorship in order to keep decency in the world.
This would occasionally include expressing their passion or disliking of something. Some would argue that it was not okay for musicians to express themselves in such matters. I argue that these musicians have the right to sing whatever they like. Musicians aren’t forcing anyone to listen to their music or to do what the message of their music says. Like everyone else, musicians have the right to exercise their freedom of speech. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press...” Therefore, the moldy figs have the same right to say what they dislike about the music just as much as the artists have the right to sing about what they
What could our culture be without music today? Music has been around for thousands of years, but it wasn't the same as what we have today. Music would be classified differently back in the “Stone Age”. It would composed of various sounds and crafted into a single music piece. As centuries went by, music evolved without holding back. Day after day, music is still growing at a tremendous rate. So should music that glorifies a criminal lifestyle be banned? A very controversial topic among social media freaks and conservative people, who could be the one that gets their way.
Over the course of American history, many have taken the First Amendment right of freedom of speech and created wonderful things out of it. Alice Paul is an excellent example: she utilized her right to free speech and press to promote the equality of women and earned them the right to vote, in the midst of World War I. However, many take it the other way and create hate speeches where they tear down one particular group or individual or idea with their crude and blunt remarks. Yet, they are protected by the freedom of speech and the government cannot interfere with their actions, causing many to argue the First Amendment Right cannot be extended to anyone making hurtful remarks. Hate speeches need to be protected by the freedom of speech, as shown in legal documentation, moral issues, and the benefits it creates.
The corruptness of music today seems to be linked to the crude language and aggression found particularly in hip-hop and rap music. Some rap artists use vulgar language in their lyrics that are easily adoptable by teens (Holden). Not only have certain lyrics influenced the way teens speak but also their actions. An article on Headliners.org stated that “lyrics in the music are too violent and are to blame for many problems.” The problems range anywhere from suicide and aggression towards women to underage drinking and drug use. Lyrics are not only to blame, but also what people see in artists’ music videos can affect what they do (Doaks). The urge to emulate these rap musicians has escalated quickly causing a spike in rebellious tendencies among teens.
“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.
Most popular music today is driven by violence and sex. These musicians put out albums that glorify violence and promote causal sex. When the albums are being produced, the artist does not think of how it will affect the perspective merchant. When
All through the current years, the kind of the dialect utilized as a part of music have been enormously moved and it is still ceaselessly evolving. As of this day, the utilization of revolting dialect in popular music is more mainstream than any other time in recent memory. Practically every craftsman who created popular music utilizes profane dialect in their music. The utilization of some revolting expressions, for example, "fuck" have turned out to be famous in popular music and accordingly, the crowd have turned out to be uncaring to the utilization of those sort of expressions utilized as a part of their most loved craftsman music. This have contrarily influenced the way that a great deal of people including kids,teens, and grown-ups convey
For millennial’s a day doesn 't go by that they aren 't streaming music. There are millions of songs and hundreds of ways to listen to them, a person is constantly absorbing information, whether it is consciously or subconsciously. If someone was to constantly allow his subconscious to be filled with violence it would affect his day to day life, and if everyone allows their world to be filled with hateful, violent, misogynistic influences it will affect the overall societal values of our society. The future is held in the hands of a generation that is constantly being fed words of hate, what does that say about how life will be years from now, when these people have actual power to do something for our nation and is it the artist 's job to protect them and be leaders? Most would criticise and blame musicians but it 's their art, their emotions but listeners shouldn’t be allowed to censor it.
“Do you know where here is? Here is the ELI, if you want to speak Chinese, please go out.” Can you think of Mr. Cranker and the English Only Policy while seeing these kinds of sentences? He always uses a gentle intonation to say these words and repeats them thousands of times with endless patience day by day in the hall. Actually, speaking English in the ELI is non-negotiable and responsible; furthermore, this policy enables students to learn English more effectively and efficiently regardless of subduing foreign students’ freedom of speech. This Policy is a great paradigm of overturning the freedom of speech somewhat; moreover, society cannot be regulated with one hundred percent freedom until the world can become safe and sound