Musical Influence on a Violent Society

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Musical Influence on a Violent Society

The event in Littleton, Colorado, 5 years ago was a shocking wake up call to our society. Because of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold’s fanaticism with artists such as Marilyn Manson, music was labeled as the culprit for negatively influencing the youth of America. Music is a tool of expression that an artist uses to vent their frustrations and to reveal their emotions. However, these artists do not see the moral boundary that they have crossed with their emotionally disturbing lyrics and dark melodies. To grab the attention of teenagers, musicians often produce music videos with a vivid portrayal of the song’s message. The heavy influence it has on kids today is in direct relation to the murders and shootings that are happening. The use of CD walkmans and the carelessness of parents are making it easier for children to get their hands on the “satanic music.” The anger expressed by these musicians shows the youth that violence is culturally acceptable. Due to the strong emotion that is portrayed in music, the youth responds to music more so than they do to video games, movies and TV. There are many components in music structure that influence violent behavior such as music videos, lyrics, style, and role model images.

Children have been exposed to the celebrity lifestyle in rock music videos all their lives. It seems that the more they grow, the easier it is for their parents to care less about what their child is viewing on TV (Sherman, 2000). What parents don’t know is that their children are being exposed to things like drugs, sex and graphic violence on a daily basis. After school specials went the way of the dinosaur being replaced by MTV’s explicit musical portrayal of ...

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Jipping, Thomas L. (1999, July 3). Music's Deadly Influence, Concerned Woman of

America, retrieved March 23, 2004.

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Sherman, Michael (2000, March 4). Influence of Music and Rock Videos,

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Retrieved March 22, 2004. from http://www.beachpsych.com/pages/cc43.html

Waldron, Clarence (1996, June). Effects of Rap Music on Today's Young Black

Men. Ebony Man, 50-54.

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