Research into Censorship-Miss Miller

Research into Censorship
01/09/2014
Vazl

When it comes to Censorship, there are three types of groups: Those who oppose it, Those who support it and those that do not mind both decisions. But what is Censorship? Do we really need it? Well, censorship is when you modulate a new part or a scene from a book, film or lyric from a music video due to it containing inappropriate behavior or any references that can be harmful for ages 18 or less. This is why censorship is used to protect young aged audiences from behavior that is violent and unsociable. The UK has a regulator (known as Ofcom) that regulates the competition for UK communications industries. Thus it has an invisible hand over TV and Radio networks. 

However some viewers and listeners (Such as me) find it pointless as a child can find anything on the internet. And while Ofcom does regulate the  artist's videos as well, songs such as Robyn Thicke`s Blurred Lines that require age on YouTube do not stop the viewer to see it. This is because younger viewers do understand the concept of lying and as neither Ofcom or YouTube can not see personally the person that is typing and prevent him from viewing the song.

Music Channels, such as MTV have made the artists produce censored versions of songs that either contain pornographic material or harmful references. Some songs such as Rihanna`s "We found love in a hopeless place" were moved for the after 7 Watershed. Another example is from MTV again from the music video 'Gay Bar' by Electric SIX. In the beginning it was banned on MTV because it contained sexually suggestive content such as: Hammers, naked men splashing the singer`s bubble bath, pole dancing and funny shaped pumpkins that were synchronized with the sentance "I have got something to put in you". However a more acceptable version was released later on which swapped lyrics such as: "Lets make a War...Start a Nuclear War" with sounds of whips over the said lyric.

Thus we can see that not everyone is happy with the decisions by the TV Station or some OFcom decisions. This why I have categorized the following views in the following order in order to ease the viewer with the different opinions.

The first Category is from the artist (In our case Eminem).
The song 'Stan' by Eminem was censored due to the use of inappropriate language. The artist says "Shut up bitch...". This statement can be seen as degrading for women as it portrays them as being the weaker sex and suggest that they should listen to what the male sex would say. This is why this statement was censored. Many other parts of the complete lyrics were also censored. For example, 'suffocates' and 'die' were also removed in order to keep the song clean.
However, in an old interview, Eminem mentions that during Shakespeare's era, men  have been talking about "thrusting maids against the wall". However, does that mean that Shakespeare's work should be censored as well? Should it really be taught in the classroom?
Well no as even though his songs represent everyday life from his childhood. He also argues that at a young age he listened to banned music such as "The Chain Gang" but turned out to be "all-right". Thus it can be argued that there is no need to ban or edit the lyrics of a music video just because children might listen to it as they are also smart enough to not follow what the artist says.


The next Category is Record Label.
When it comes to artists such as: Eminem, Record Labels are extremely careful and advise or make him soften his lyrics. They also encourage his lyrics to have a personal feeling to a particular event that has happened in his life, and therefore the audiences can understand him and his feelings about an event and that he is not trying to offend a certain cult.In the interview mentioned above, he mentions how in one of his songs, he says 'drown yourself' in a sarcastic tone to say that the audience shouldn't follow everything that a celebrity does, just because it looks cool.
The record Label reinforces Eminem to speed up his lyrics when he swears a lot in order for the audience to be unable to understand what he is singing in the song, thus making the audience search for it on the internet in order to understand what the lyrics mean.

Category 3-Parents for Censorship
Well according to these parents, music videos should be censored as most music videos contain inappropriate lexicon and phrases that can harm the younger listener or viewer. Song titles that are quite disturbing such as: 'Rape me' by Nirvana and 'Turn me on Mr.Deadman' by Union Underground are perfect examples of why these parents support censorship. They are also the reason for the organisation called 'Parents Music Resource Centre' (PMRC) to be created. One parent member commented on the power that artists have these days with "Some artists can't handle freedom of speech...They abuse power by putting lyrics that are not appropriate, in the song.". Another parent commented on the effects that some of these lyrics cause "younger kids to listen to these stations and music and might get ideas from all the references about sex, drugs, and violence. Kids of this generation are already doing these things at around age 12 and 13. Kids in the next many years to come will be doing it at a possibly even a younger age than they are now."

Category 4-Parents against Censorship

And here is the group of parents that argue that censoring music videos due to foul language or harmful references should not be censored because if the parent watches the music video their precious gift and help them separating the correct from the incorrect it should be okay for the child to watch inappropriate music videos. This type of parent also believes that music is just a form of entertainment and therefore should not be taken literally. One parent commented: "People should not judge about someone else's artistic expression. Everyone has the right to express their opinion. If you do not agree with them or find the music offensive, don't listen to it. Music comes from emotions and people should be allowed to express them. Lastly a parent when asked about crimes from deprived areas, commented on the actions that such actions should not be related to songs in any way..."One of the main reasons people say violent lyrics should be censored is because it encourages people to commit crimes. But people vith violent tendencies and mental instability are already born that way or became that way without violent music. Music cannot be blamed for people's crimes because anything could've triggered a violent rampage."

Category 5-BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 has a very young target audience (between 14-34years). This is why it had the Christmas song "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl  was banned because it used the word 'faggot'. Nevertheless, the song was baned only on BBC R1 while the other BBC Radios carried on playing it. Foul language might lead to influencing the younger listeners would be played after the young children went to bed. This song also promoted drug use of the young woman when the male singer says, "You're an old slut on junk, Living there almost dead, On a drip in that bed." This is promoting drug use that on Christmas Eve is what you should do by having a drip while being in bed. As a public broadcaster, BBC R1 has a policy of not playing songs that contain references regarding sex or  product placement. Thus on these bases alone, songs like Kassabian`s "Eeaz-Eh" and Frankie goes to Hollywood`s "Relax" were banned on the charge of Sex References "Being watched by Google" (Lyric from "Eeaz-Eh"). Although the band was not happy with the decision and went to court with it, BBC R1 did not "disappoint" society in its defense. Following court the song was moved to the late Watershed in order to protect the main target audience.

Category 6-MTV

Meanwhile, MTV try and protect their Viewers by changing particular lexicon in a song. A common example is the use of censorship and change the word 'suicide' to 'in denial' in order to protect the younger listeners from hearing any negative language that may be used. Another action that MTV can take is by changing the sound effect of gun shots to cash registers so as to not frighten the listeners. An example would be the earlier example of the song "Gay Bar" by the "Electric Six", where the word "Nuclear War" is swapped with the sound of a whip. MTV also expresses its view that parents should have more control in what their children listen to but not 'bubble wrap' how life works.

Finally Category 7-Fans

The fans of many particular artists are young children, especially when it comes to rap music and rock groups. This is why many parents attend the concert with them in order to make sure that the language used is appropriate for their child to see. Also some concerts have age restriction in order to keep the child safe and the older fans happy that their favorite band does not have to play the censored versions of their favorite songs.

So! In Conclusion the general overview on the censorship of music videos is that on the radio vulgar language would be censored to protect the younger audiences, and also nudity and provocative clothing on music videos are taken out or the song would be moved in the watershed hour in order to not influence the "youf" of today. Artists believe that they should be left to express themselves and that children should not be underestimated. Also while some parents think that artist can not handle the freedom of writing, other believe that the parent should be with their child in order to explain what is right and what is wrong. And that radio`s and TV`s have special hours to make society happy.
However, I personally believe that music videos should not be censored as the parent should bring up their offspring in a balanced environment (Such as the one in which I was). Yes there is vulgar language but sooner or later the child will learn it after someone has said it. Thus it would be better if the child learns what it means and use music as an entertainment purpose and not a lifestyle.

Thus I intend on following the censorship rules to a certain point in my own production in order to bring a music video that contains a balanced viewpoint to the young and old.