Research: Censorship

What is music censorship? discuss the impact on the audience and safety 

Music censorship is the examination of music which may be considered as harmful or inappropriate for the audience. This decision is determined by the music industry, and may be a result of controversy or negative criticism from critics and viewers. Music censorship may be motivated by various reasons, which include, moral, political, military or religious reasons that can be perceived as negatively influencing or impacting the audience. Censorship is usually associated with certain genres, such as Rap and Hip Hop as Rap tends to be associated with repetitive bad language and Hip Hop with nudity and language. Moreover, certain artists tend to portray explicit content more than others, including Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Trey Songz, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd and Chris Brown. These particular artists are popular for their controversial, explicit content which consists of nudity and bad language in most of their music videos. 

What is the difference between explicit content and explicit lyrics? 

Explicit content is anything that a music video contains that is inappropriate and not suitable for viewers under the age of 18. Explicit content is likely to be evident within the narrative of a music video, through the representation of situations and characters. Factors include, nudity, sexual content, grahic representation and realism etc, which are all factors that lead to a music video getting censored. Many music videos have been censored over the years due to their explicit content which has been viewed as unsuitable for the audience. For example, Rihanna's music video 'Bitch Better Have My Money' was banned for its explicit content as it involved nudity, torture and use of drugs. This obscene material is inappropriate for vulnerable audiences including young children who are likely to be horrified with the content, and was therefore censored. The parental advisory logo is used on CD covers to warn the audience that the songs on the CD contain the content. By advising the audience, it protects and allows them to make their own decisions, also protecting young audiences under 18 by preventing them from having freedom to purchase CD's that contain explicit content. 

Explicit lyrics are the words in a song that may be deemed as inappropriate due to them being bad language or sexual which is unsuitable for individuals under the age of 18. As a result of explicit lyrics, they tend to be censored by being cut out of songs using different methods. However, if the entire song contains explicit lyrics then it is likely that the song will be banned altogether rather than cut. Many artists use explicit lyrics within their songs, particularly rap artists. For example, CeeLo Green's song 'Fuck You' contains repetitive language that is unsuitable for a young audience and  was changed into 'Forget You' to make the song suitable to play for the audience. The parental advisory logo is used on the back of CD covers to warn the audience about the explicit lyrics songs contain giving the audience the responsibility of deciding whether they want to buy the CD or not.  

What things get censored? 

The things that get censored are very particular, there are 14 things that are likely to get censored, these include: 

• Nudity
• Language
• Sexual content 
• Violence
• Religion 
• Graphic representation and realism
• Class
• Culture
• Race
• Sexual violence
• Shock 
• True events
• Corrupt the young 
• Controversy and the press (politics) 
  

Particular songs have been censored as a result of them including one or more of the above things within them. Songs that have been censored include: 

• “Greased Lightning,” John Travolta (1978)-  Censored due to containing features of crude content.

• “Paper Planes,” M.I.A. (August, 2007)- Censored for including Gun shot sounds which were heard in the background.

• “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke (March 26, 2013)- Censored for nudity throughout.

• “Like a Prayer,” Madonna (March 3, 1989)- Censored for mocking religion and including blasphemous imagery.

Lyrics and radio censorship 

Songs that are played on the radio must be suitable for all audiences, therefore, any inappropriate lyrics must be censored in order for the song to be played on the radio. There are various ways in which lyrics are censored on the radio, these include: 

Eminem- 'Not Afraid'

• Blanking- The entire word is not heard but the music is still heard. For example, in Eminem song 'Not Afraid', inappropriate language has been banned and therefore it is blanked out. 

• Repeating- This is having the last word said twice instead of the censored word.

• Disc Scratching- Using a scratching sound of a DJ to cover the word. This is evident in Nicki Minaj's music video 'Starships' as the bad language is replaced by a scratching sound to make the song suitable to play on the radio. 
  
  
• Bleeping- Putting a bleep sound over the word.

Difference between cut and banned 

There is difference between a song/ music video being cut and being banned. To cut a music video or song means to simply get rid of particular parts that are unsuitable, however, the it is still shown to the audience. Banning a song/music video means completely censoring, preventing the audience from gaining access to it due to it being overly inappropriate for the audience to watch or listen to. 

Advantages and disadvantages 

There are various advantages and disadvantages associated with music censorship. 

Advantages: 

• It prevents the public display of any disrespect to any particular individual or community. 
• Protects vulnerable audiences such as young, innocent children
• Promotes political correctness.
• It shields the morals of society.
• Restrains vulgarity and obscenity.
• The abundance of violence in music videos is restricted by it.

Disadvantages: 

• Freedom of speech is compromised 
• Censorship in music and music videos may compromise their entertainment value
• It is used as a way of controlling people
• It has no place in a democratic nation 
• Individuals have  different tastes
• People have a right to hear
• Governements should not control people. It should be the other way round
• It stifles the opposition, broadcasting only a particular point of view
• It may be used to block legitimate criticism
• Creativity is restricted
• Prevents ideas from flowing freely

In my opinion although both sides of the argument are strong, and though I believe that censorship is  a method used to control people, preventing creativity and allowing people to experience the full value of entertainment, I do believe that music censorship is safe as it protects vulnerable audiences such as small children and squeamish people. By censoring inappropriate music/ music video that contain explicit/ dangerous content, promotes political correctness and protects the public from disrespect and harm. Therefore, censorship can be perceived as source of protection for the public. 

Conclusion: 

Overall, researching censorship has helped me understand that it is an important part of the production stage in making a music video. The industry need censorship as this helps protect the public from inappropriate imagery and lyrics being released onto the internet for them to see. Also, this could help artists abide this and not use explicit imagery and lyrics for their music. For my music video I am pretty sure that I will not need to worry about the lyrics due to the genre which is Alternative Rock. However, if needed I will ensure that any curse word mentioned will be blanked out, and also insert the logo my digipk to warns people about the contents. On the other hand, for the visual I will make sure that it will suit my target audience as well as not offending none.