Music Censorship
Essay Preview: Music Censorship
Report this essay
Things are heating up in America. People are protesting outside of the movie theaters, concerts, and book and record stores of this great nation everywhere. What is all the fuss about? Censorship, Government officials, and raving mad protesters alike have been trying to stop the expressive creativity in everything from rap music to Mark Twain.
Censorship in music is a topic that has brought about much controversy in the past two decades. There have been many different arguments on the topic, however the question still remains as if it should be censored or it should not be censored. In Paul Blanshards book The Right To Read: The Battle Against Censorship, he speaks of censorship as a negative boundary on society. Blanshard argues that people have been given the right to
express themselves fully and censorship is incorrect on the basis of the first constitutional right. Martha Bayles, in her article ” The Perverse in the Popular,” discusses a
characteristic of society that she calls perverse modernism, which refers to the publics attraction to the evils or negatives of society. Perverse modernism will cause censorship of controversial music to be unsuccessful. There are several concerns and issues with artistic expression through music, however censorship of the controversial music will not resolve any problems and it will only create more problems.
The current state of society would not allow music censorship to be successful.
Perverse modernism, which refers to the publics attraction to the evils or negatives of
society, is a characteristic that has become a standard of todays society. This
characteristic is not something that emerged recently but it has grown slowly
through time. For hundreds of years, society has been exposed to negative material
through literature, television, or music. People have developed an interest in material that
is forbidden. There is a need for people to fulfill their curiosity with knowledge of all
material, good or bad. Jeffery Goldstein explains,
Violent entertainment did not suddenly arrive on the scene, and it is not likely to depart it any time soon. People become acclimated to the arousal generated by violent images, but they have a continuing need for excitement. Does this mean that we shall have to accept ever-increasing violence and terror for entertainment purposes? It would appear to be so. (Goldstein)
Violence in the media is here to stay. The majority of modern society has grown a need to
view violence. In order to fully understand perverse modernism, the power of the
material being viewed must be analyzed. Negative material can appeal to people because
viewing negative material draws the attention of people by appealing to their deepest
emotions, such as fear, excitement, and curiosity. It appeals to the emotions of
a wide range of people. For the youth, the simple fact that the topic is taboo is reason
enough for engagement. The curiosity of the youth about the forbidden is satisfied, and
they learn to manage anxiety and defeat fear by distorting and exaggerating reality. At the
same time, they bond with others, story tellers, and peers by sharing intense emotional
experiences. People continue to watch or listen to material that offends them because the
satisfaction they receive from it outweighs the costs. Some artists and musicians use
vulgar words and imagery because they think that they can not express their pain without
the use of those words. While the other majority of musicians and artists intentionally use
negative images and words because they fully aware of the perverse modernism
characteristic and chose to profit from it. Many artists feel that negative publicity is still
publicity and is worth obtaining.
Perverse modernism is becoming a phenomenon in society as more and more
people feel the need to view and profit from negative material. Martha Bayles
believes that people use societys attraction to negative material for monetary gain.
Bayles explains, ” Todays popular culture uses shock and scandal as a
way of attracting attention and boosting sales, it is the child of perverse modernism”
(Bayles 29). Censoring the lyrics of certain artists will add controversy and scandal to
their music and it will bring them the added attention that they want. It will add
appeal to the music and ultimately cause censorship of music to fail in todays society.
Censorship will not be successful because it will backfire and cause more people to
view the material that is intended to be censored. For example, Britney Spears received
a lot of negative attention when she kissed Madonna during a live performance at last
years MTV Video Music Awards. However, the attention she received helped her
debut at the top of the music charts and go on to sell millions of CDs. Britney Spears
was able to appeal to the youth of society because she appeared rebellious and seemed to
display a sense of defiance in her performance. Censorship