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Implications of censorship in mass communication
The affects of media censorship
Implications of censorship in mass communication
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How can the land of the free limit one of the core rights that all Americans are entitled to? Radio censorship is a common practice that many people do not notice when listening to the radio but artists, fans of certain genres, and almost every other American is affected in some way. The radio should not be censored as it limits free speech and it prevents children from learning about the real world which they live in. Radio censorship has been an unresolved conflict for many years. It started in the 1930s when the radio became a popular household item. The government set limits to protect many children who listened to the radio every night. One of the first example’s of radio censorship was in 1940 with George Formby’s song, “When I’m …show more content…
The first amendment is the argument that many critics use when trying to eliminate music censorship. As stated in a global issues blog, “If censorship is made into law, it prevents artists from expressing themselves and conveying what message they want to get through to their listeners” (8 Most Valid Pros and Cons of Music Censorship). This is true because people have the right to freely say what they want and censorship limits what messages artists can convey to their listeners. Another strong argument against music censorship is how the meaning of a song can be changed by censoring it. One example of radio censorship is in Eminem’s song “My Fault” where lyrics about a girl overdosing on mushrooms is changed to a girl having an allergic reaction after eating a pizza with mushrooms on it (Strauss). The final reason why radio censorship does more harm than good is because it blinds kids to the real world around them. Censoring music is comparative to only showing happy and fun events on news channels. Children should be able to know what is going on in the world which they live in and they should not be mislead that the world is a problem-free, perfect society (Should Government Censor the Lyrics of Violent or Explicit Songs). Preparing the youth for the future is necessary for them to grow up and understand how to deal with issues in the …show more content…
The main argument which critics use to show why the radio should be censored is because listening to explicit lyrics is linked to aggressive thoughts. This argument has some truth because studies have linked them, but the conditions of these studies also favors an increase of aggressive thoughts. Most of the studies show teenage boys who already having more aggressive thoughts because they are developing, playing more violent games, and being exposed more to the real world. These studies are also biased because most teenagers who listen to explicit music are being influenced by their parents more than the lyrics. As stated in an article debating radio censorship, “Parents still have a bigger influence over their kids’ behavior than music does” (Kiplinger). Parents who are aggressive tend to pass the trait to their kids whom tend to listen to explicit lyrics because of their previous exposure to violence and harsh
As the technologies associated with communications have evolved, so have the messages that are being transmitted. In an effort to shield citizens from offensive speech, the United States government passed the Communications Act of 1934, which created the rules that a broadcaster would have to obey to remain on the air and restricted broadcasters from “utter[ing] any obscene, indecent, or profane language by means of radio communication” (Scalia 2). This ban on obscene language was only to be in effect from the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. in an attempt try to limit children from hearing the offensive speech. Congress created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate this act and in 1975, the FCC implemented the statutory ban on indecent broadcasts when the comedian George Carlin did his “Filthy Words” piece during a daytime broadcast. In FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, the Supreme Court found the ban to be both good law and constitutional. The FCC said...
...from the other side of this argument is the fact that profanity and sexually explicit material shouldn’t be exposed to young children without their parental permission. But telling teenagers and young adults who are mature enough to choose what they want to listen to is completely wrong and unjust. The key word here is choice. As stated earlier, the thing that makes this country truly great is the idea that we have the right to listen to whatever we choose we want to listen to, not what a censor thinks you should be exposed to, it’s ridiculous.
Censorship has been around since the development of music. Throughout history pro-censorship groups, retailers, schools, parents, and legislators have found ways to censor music. (History of music censorship) Many artists have been sued because parents thought the music influenced their children to form certain acts. (Censorship in Music) We know of music censorship mainly because of the development of rock and roll during the 1950's. By 1980's censorship reached new dimensions. In 1992, the Erotic Bill law passed the "adult only" label on certain recordings. While people stand for music censorship, American Civil Rights Union fight to make them understand that musicians have First Amendment rights.
Many people say yes, that there should be censorship because lyrics from songs are telling our youth it is acceptable to participate in illegal actions such as murder, rape or drugs. These people believe that the lyrics actually drive people to become social deviants. In one case, the parents of John McCullom sued Ozzy Osbourne, because his song "Suicide Solution", "aided, advised and encouraged" McCullom's suicide (Nuzum 1).
Racism, hate, sex, drugs, and profanity are among many things people encounter in everyday life whether they want to or not. The one thing that people do have control over is what kind of music they listen to and to take that right away from anyone would be more offensive than having the president of the United States of America get oral sex in the oval office, one of the most honored places in the country. People get more worked up over the things in life that mean nothing, than worrying about crucial issues. Our society can tolerate watching parents smack their children in *Wal-Mart more than they can stand to hear a curse word, or a sexual comment in a song. Music is an expression of the artist and should be treated as that. Censoring music is like telling Michelangelo he could not put the penis on “David”. The truth is that censoring music is an action that goes against the constitution of the United States of America and although some content may offend people, prohibition of freedom of expression violates the rights of more than those offended.
Our country was founded on the idea of freedom. We wanted freedom from a government that was too controlling and didn’t give us a voice. When it came time to set up an ideal government after we won a well fought war, we ensured that individuals’ freedom of speech and freedom of the press were included in the Bill of Rights. These are irrefutable rights that citizens of any country should always have. The very concept of censorship--suppression of free speech--violates these basic principles. Although many people believe that censorship protects citizens from dangerous information being leaked, it does not protect against real threats and could just as easily harm soldiers more than help them.
The lyrics of many rap songs encourage violent and aggressive thoughts in teenagers. Many teens don’t realize that the music they are listening to affects the way they think. According to Morrison, a columnist whose writings focus on the impact of the choices people face every day, “Words do have meanings, meanings suggest thoughts, and thoughts lead to action” (Morrison). Even if the person isn’t affected right away by the violent lyrics of most today’s rap songs, eventually they will become more prone to certain thoughts. As Morrison stated, “In experiments on over 500 college students . . . subjects were found to experience an increase in aggressive thoughts after listening to songs with violent lyrics. Those subjected to the mean music were more apt to connect hostile meanings to words deemed to be violence neutral by the researchers” (Morrison). In time, words that aren’t intended to cause malicious thoughts, suddenly take on new meanings. Travis L. Dixon, who studies Communication at the University of ...
Imagine our youth all over the country being exposed to this explicit kind of language. There is no need to imagine, because it is already happening. Ever since the rise of Rap and Hip Hop music, teens have been turning to them to help solve their problems. However these kinds of music can be very destructive to teens. It is not the youth’s fault; it is the content that the music contains. Although Rap and Hip Hop music can be a force for good, they can also have an extremely negative impact on the attitudes and behaviors of our youth.
Teens and the human populous have been draw to music, and the relief it gives off. As recent as the 1990’s, we’ve seen an increase in explicit and violent lyrics and deviant behavior in the music industry surrounding such genres as heavy metal, rock, rap, and gangster rap. During this past decade, lyrics are becoming more violent and sexually explicit. It is approximated that teens listen to an average of 40 hours of music a week, and somewhere along the way, a child will hear something derogatory, or cruel. Along with this, teens don’t necessarily interpret what is said through lyrics in the right manner.
Ever wondered the reason behind racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, children committing crime or violence? The main reason is that censorship is not properly imposed or there is a need of censorship in the society. Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that certain people, individual, groups or government officials find it objectionable, offensive or dangerous on others. There are varieties of other definitions but all have in common the concept of withholding information and/or resources from those who seek it. Hence censorship is essential in society to eliminate discrimination on basis of race and sex, protect children, maintain stability and restore what censor sees as lost moral values. Censorship occurs when expressive materials like books, magazines, movies, videos, music or work of art are restricted to particular audiences based on their age or other characteristics. (http://www.ala.org/oif/intellectualfreedeomandcensorship.html)
He also brings up a “solution” for the “bad influence” music supposedly has on its listeners: The people who feel this can become artists themselves, thus bringing their own ideas to the general public. Taboo Tunes Gallery - Music Censorship. Tabootunes.com - Music Censorship. Web. The Web.
Since the foundation of the United States after a harsh split from Britain, almost 200 years later, an issue that could claim the founding grounds for the country is now being challenged by educators, high-ranking officials, and other countries. Though it is being challenged, many libertarians, democrats, and free-speech thinkers hold the claim that censorship violates our so-called unalienable rights, as it has been proven throughout many court cases. Censorship in the United States is detrimental because it has drastically and negatively altered many significant events. Censorship allows governments more control of society than they already have, slowly progressing governments utilizing censorship to a dictatorship. Often times, this censorship can lead to immense rebellions.
Head, Tom . "Radio Censorship." About.com Civil Liberties. About.com, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. .
The effect on music on children is truly astounding, as young boys are starting to view woman as sex objects. They feel as they have the freedom to be sexually aggressive to girls (Alleyne Richard 1) many studies have shown that the use of musical lyrics showed an increased in lenience in deviant behavior among young men and young woman. (Anderson, Craig 2) Studies showed that men have a more tolerant attitude, to what is violent and what is too far in sexual advances, which is the complete opposite to women, which have less tolerance.
Media has become a powerful source of knowledge, and a great breakthrough in human history. Who can regret that media is a daily need in our lives. Media has the ability and control to adjust to all levels of knowledge in people. Media helps us to escape from our daily lives and our problems in times of stress. Thou Media as proved to be beneficial by educating, entertaining and informing us, it has also have its downfall, to cause many bad influences to the younger audience. Media has influenced us to conduct bad behavior, breed violence among teens and fear to the public, thus causing a lot of negative conflicts among ourselves. Television, Music, Internet, and more, are just some of the media exposure that needs to be censored and controlled. Media needs to be restricted, so that it doesn’t expose certain content to the wrong audience. Therefore media should be censored, so that we are able to protect our children from certain media exposure.