Should music videos be censored?- Miss Miller

During the process of analyzing music videos, we looked at the topic of censorship. Censorship is the suppression of speech, communication or other information within media which may be considered harmful, disrespectful, too explicit. It may be used on the radio, music channels and on the internet in order to protect the audience. Censorship will cut out any explicit or harmful words in which may be found offensive to the audience. It allows for young audiences not to be exposed pornographic images for example nudity, or behavior that is violent and unsociable for example taking drugs, stealing or smoking.
Ofcom is the regulator and competition authority for UK communications industries. It regulates the radio, fixed line telecoms, mobiles and the airwaves that wireless devices use. 


Various artists music videos have been censored for many reasons whether it is for inappropriate speech, nudity or anything else which is seen to explicit. Here are some examples of music videos that have been censored from the music channel MTV.

'Paper Planes' by M.I.A includes the sounds of gun shots in the chorus. However, the gun shot sounds were removed and replaced by cash register noises in order to remove any references to murder and this would therefore make the song more audience friendly and would able to be played whenever.


        





The music video for Eminem's song 'Guilty Conscience' featuring Dr Dre had the final scene cut out because it showed graphic images of a murder taking place. It was removed because it is disturbing for viewers to see and watch, especially those of a younger age as it may scar them and they may remember the image for a long amount of time.







Artist- Eminem:
Eminem is seen as a controversial artist with his explicit lyrics which of one of the reasons why him as an artist is seen as a problem and the majority of his songs are censored. The song 'Stan' by Eminem on the CD you can hear a women scream inappropriate language but, however, on the radio it was censored and cut out. The artist then follows to say 'Shut up bitch i'm trying to talk!'. These words can be seen as degrading to women and portray them to be the weaker sex and should ultimately listen to what the man us saying and obide by his rules, this is why these lyrics were censored. Many other words from this song were censored, for example, 'slit' 'suffocate' and 'die' this is in order to make the song as clean as possible and to make it suitable for younger audiences.
Shakespeare's era, men talk about thrusting their wives against the walls, does that mean that most of shakespeare's work should be censored as well? It raises the question that should it be taught in a classroom with young pupils?
People ultimately critisice Eminem because he has songs that talk about everyday life, he is the only artist in whom has broken the boundaries to talk about such things. 

Record Label:
Eminem raps about homsexuals in a negative and bad way, and is therefore seen as highly homophobic as he raps about what happened to them in the past when being gay or lesbian were seen as non acceptable.
Eminems lyrics have a personal reflections to a certain event that has happened in his life, therefore, the audiences are able to understand him and his feelings about the event that happened whether it be in the family or in society. His lyrics enable him to let out his emotions and express how he is feeling and be able to tell his story to his audience.
One of his songs, he raps the lyrics 'drown yourself' in a sarcastic manner to suggest that you shouldn't follow what he does and that you shouldn't follow everything that a famous person does just because they're well known.
Eminem swears a lot throughout his songs, this may be because these words can emphasise his passion and anger. 

Parents: FOR 
There are several arguments to whether parents agree or disagree with censorship. Music videos should be censored as most music videos use innaopropriate words and phrases in which they dont want to expose to the younger generation and influence them in their language. There are two songs in which have disturbing titles. First one is called 'Rape Me' by Nirvana and 'Turn Me On Mr Deadman' by union underground. These two titles are quite disturbing because some women have gone through such circumstances where they have been raped and these women may feel hurt that rape is being glamourized and ultimatley seen as a good thing. 
There is an organization named 'Parents Music Resource Centre' (PMRC) who look into the media, particularly music and how they have a major influence on children in society today. This organization believes that the harmful messages and explicit words that some songs use may cause children to become violent, drug users, take part in premarital sex and become a rebelious teenager.
Some parents have written their opinions about how music videos should be censored as it could corrupt the younger generations mind. 
One parent commented on the power in which artists have nowadays to express their feelings, they said, 'Some people believe that various artists cannot handle freedom of speech. They abuse their power by putting lyrics that are not appropriate, into the song.' 
Secondly, another parent commented on the effects some of these problems cause, they said, 'I believe it should be censored becasue all the younger kids listen to this music and may get ideas from all these things about drugs, sex and voilence. Kids of this generation are already doing these things at the ages of 12 and 13. Kids in the next many years to come may be doing it at an even younger age than they are now.'

Parents- AGAINST:
On the other hand, many parents say that censoring music videos which contain foul language and pornographic images should not be aloud because as long as you watch the music videos with your children and teach them the difference between right and wrong, it is okay for your child to watch whatever they wish and listen to innapropriate music.
Some children may have had a hard upbringings by their strict parents and therefore are taught from a young age specifically what is right or wrong and not to go down the wrong path which can lead to a bad life. This means that harmful lyrics and explicit videos will have no harm.
One parents commented on the freedom of speech and how it is acceptable for an artist to express themselves through foul language, they said, "free speech. If someone grows up in a violent enviornment, that would be all they know. It would be the only way they knew how to express them selves. Taking that away from them would be like banning their language. Some people that listen to explicit music went through violent situation: so, this is reality for them. Violence in the lyrics is their way of honestly telling their stories to the world. 
Other parents have also said, parents should control what their children listen to and if they do not like the words used then they shouldn't allow their children to listen to it. 
I believe that children are indpendent, children are made to do everyday tasks by themselves, go to school, do homework and help around the house, so, chosing what music they listen to should be solely down to them and their choices.

Fans:
The fans of many particular artists are young children and teenagers. Many younger children will be attracted to pop for instance and older children will be attracted to Rao and Rock. The children in whom listen to Rap may be influenced to speak in a bad manner due to their musical options doing the same and want to be just like their idol. In order to stop this, censorship should be used to protect explicit words to a younger audience.
However, fans of particular artists may argue that censorship is wrong, they listen to the music to enjoy it and relate to what is saying, however, having some words cut out means they cannot enjoy the music as much and not relate because there are words missing.

Music TV- MTV:
MTV have a wide audience with it being a highly recognizable music channel playing a constant stream of different artists. MTV uses censorship in order to protect their audiences from unacceptable behavior and  explicit language. 
In Sean Kingston's song 'Beautiful Girls' it included the word 'suicidle' which was seen to unnaceptable by MTV so it was changed to 'in denial'. MTV did this to protect younger listeners and for them to steer away from feeling the same. 
In one of M.I.A's songs she included the word 'weed' in which was also censored out in order for the audience not to be influenced into taking the drug. 
The song 'Alejandro' by Lady GaGa was not completely banned from MTV but it was heavily censored and was only allowed to be shown on the TV after 12pm. This is because the video shows nudity and exposes religious imagery in a negative way. 

BBC Radio 1:
The target audience for this radio station is teenagers ages 14/19. The Christmas song names 'Fairytale of New York' by the Pogues ft. Kirsty Macoll was only allowed to play on the radio station after 7pm as it played the word 'faggot' which the radio station and producers deemed as a foul word and are not allowed to influence the younger listeners this language. Again, in this song there is promotion of drug use when the male singer says 'you're an old slut on junk, living there almost dead'. This is advertising the use of drugs and also it is discrimintating against women. Calling her a slut also condemns that it is okay to be abusive towards women and treat them how men wish. 

Conclusion:
The main belief about censorship is a positive outlook. Many people argue that it protects children and vulnerable people from some horrific scenes such as drug abuse, pornographic images and death, for example. This allows for young children not to be influenced by what they have seen or heard. I believe that censorship is highly valued and a good thing in today's society. I believe that artists whom have explicit music videos or songs should only be played after certain times, or if played during the day, should be censored. I believe this because is it key to not expose young children to the harsh words. I will be using and following the rules of censorship in my post as i want my music video to be suitable for ages.