Censorship

Censorship of music restricts the publics access to music videos and music tracks which contain explicit content. Censorship of music is thought to have began in the 1940's and has many reasons behind it. A lot of music especially in the present day contains various features which can be found offensive by viewers and listeners. This could be the topic which the artist is singing about such as sexuality, religion of personal views. However more frequently censorship comes into play when an artist uses explicit language or their music video contains scenes which could be seen as controversial. Most music videos contain sexual content, the consumption of drink, drugs or smoking and are seen to promote the party lifestyle. This can be seen as a heavy influence to children and youths and therefore becomes censored when the song or music video is aired on the radio or television. As much as censorship is used in order to avoid offending viewers and listeners there are in fact laws against what can be shown in music videos. There are strong laws against obscenity, sexuality and blasphemy in music videos in the UK, and these are enforced by The Office of Communications, also known as Ofcom. Ofcom control censorship on television and radio and they are strongly supported by the government. However no matter how many laws and organisations there are trying to control what is broadcasted the internet has expanded too much and is far too developed for everything to be censored and controlled.

What is shown in music videos has become more controversial than what artists sing about. Music videos have become the gateway for artists to express themselves and it has almost become a competition for which artist can be the most outrageous. Examples of music videos which have been censored include Rita Ora's "How We Do", which promotes the party lifestyle as well as inlcuding lyrics about smoking, sex and drinking. The song itself is about being at a party and having a good time and Ora described the concept as "basically a big party with no judgment, So there's a whole bunch of people in there, from a guy who's got knickers on and who's coloured in paint on his chest to an old man kind of shaking his hips around." In fact most music videos which are censored are concept or narrative based. In a narrative a video becomes more realistic and in the real world things can't be censored, they simply happen. A concept on the other hand allows the artist to include any ideas they wish, however daring they are, be it drugs, drinking, or even nudity. The music video for "How We Do", features drinking throughout and a variety of skimpy outfits worn by Ora, ranging from leotards to hot pants.

As well as this the chorus features explicit language "Party and bullshit" and the verses glamorise drinking. "Hung over I think I'm broken. You say the fix is a shot of Jack." This sentence alone gives the message to a young impressionable audience that when you're hungover the best thing to do is drink even more. 

Another example of a censored music video is Michael Jackson's "They don't really care about us". This was famously censored for many reasons. One verse in particular contained the words "Jew me. Kike me. Do me. Strike me." Although Jackson stated that the lyrics were to represent how prejudice people can be the media and public saw them as promoting violence and racism. Ironically Jackson wanted to make the public aware of racism and violence by sending the message that "They don't really care about us", "us" being the victims and these were the exact words which had to be censored. 

Other music videos such as Rhianna's "S&M" are banned from airplay rather than being censored as the whole video itself if seen as unacceptable. The songs lyrics are about S&M, also known as sadomasochism which is a sexual pleasure which people receive through pain, such as whipping or spanking. Rhianna sings about how "chains and whips" excite her and how she likes the smell of "sex in the air". 

This shot shows Rhianna tied up with rope. She is wearing a skin tight outfit and is receiving sexual pleasure from this act.

Here Rhianna is eating a banana slowly and in a provocative manner, which is meant to represent oral sex. This is a negative representation of her as an artist.

Rhianna is shown thrusting against a blow up doll which is seen as too sexually explicit. This is not a good influence to her younger fans, which is who her music is targeted at and therefore this music video was banned.

At times music videos aren't censored instead the artists simply change the lyrics or content in the video which is deemed unacceptable. "Beautiful Girls" by Sean Kingston is an example of this. The song itself is quite light hearted and a pop song about a young boy who is in love with a girl. However certain lyrics in the song were seen as controversial. One sentence in particular "You have me suicidal, when you say it's over" was brought into media attention when it was thought that audiences could be led to believe that a relationship that ends or a love which doesn't work out should lead to suicide. This was then changed to "You have me in denial." Another reason for this word being altered was that the targeted audience was teenagers and some may not have been aware of what suicide was or parents may not want their children to become influenced. 

Other artists who have been known to remake versions of their songs include Eminem, Skepta, Stoo$he and Lady Gaga.

Over the years Eminem has been known for offending other artists with his snide remarks and comical videos and not being able to finish a song with out the use of explicit language. In 2005 Eminem's smash hit "Just lose it" caused massive media controversy when he offended a long list of artists including "King of Pop" Michael Jackson. In the video not only does Eminem mock Jackson's nose job but he also sits on a bed dressed up as Jackson whilst surrounded by children. This was an obvious reference to Jackson's ongoing paedophilia trial at the time and was seen as unacceptable, however if anything this made Eminem and his music more popular.

In class we held a debate about Eminem's music and the strong use of censorship involved in his career. We looked at different points of views, such as Eminem himself, his record label, his fans and parents of fans who don't agree with the explicit content in his music. 

The first side of the debate was from MTV Hits and they argued that they felt it was necessary to censor a lot of the language in his music videos. They had to take into account the time of day that the songs were being broadcasted and the young audience which their channel attracts. However at times MTV have felt it was necessary to ban certain Eminem videos from their channel completely as they found some of the content to be too offensive to possible viewers. Many Eminem videos are offensive to other artist which are broadcasted on MTV and the channel do not want to cause controversy between artists. This view wasn't shared by KISS, as they felt that the most important thing was for them to target their audience and broadcast music which is popular and would attract the viewers. However they did agree that some of Eminem's lyrics are too offensive to certain viewers and they censor any explicit, sexual or offensive content which are featured in most of his songs. Radio 1 completely agree with KISS and feel that the most important thing is to broadcast what is entertaining and fulfills the audiences choices. 

The parents of young fans then argued that it was unacceptable for such an inspirational artist, whose music is always around in the media to display such negative behavior which could influence his fans. The parents felt uncomfortable with their children being exposed to the explicit content which is featured in almost every Eminem song and video. Eminem's fans who are against the explicit content in his music videos and songs agreed with the parents, adding that the language and scenes in Eminem's videos wasn't necessary and it was unacceptable behavior from him as an artist when he knows how young most of his audience are. 

Eminem's record label argued that he is a singer and it is not up to him to parent his young fans and tell them right from wrong. Their parent's shouldn't allow them to listen to his music if they are not happy about it's content. Eminem agreed with this claiming that their is explicit language everywhere around people in reality and as a parent you can't go around censoring what a child hears and sees. When children aren't watching it on the television or internet they can see it outside their front door or hear negative language anywhere they go. Eminem's record label also argued that most websites such as YouTube have a content block, meaning viewers must be 18 or over in order to watch music videos with explicit content. Therefore if children under this age restriction are gaining access to them, then it is up to their parents to use the appropriate security and protection. Eminem's young fans argued that a lot of the negativity which he receives is based on the fact that he is a male rapper. They spoke about how a lot of pop videos from Rhianna, Katy Perry or even rap videos from female rapper Nicki Minaj contain sexually explicit content as they wear skimpy outfits and grind in their dance routines, however these don't receive the same amount of backlash as Eminem. Finally the fan who has been inspired by Eminem throughout their life claimed that it was the fact that Eminem came from a poor background and a deeply problematic family and managed to become the most famous white rapper that makes him the influential person that he is. 

In my personal opinion, I think that censorship is necessary before the watershed. However I think that the watershed was created for a reason and music videos should be aired uncensored. If Eminem as an artist was to stop featuring explicit content in his videos it wouldn't make a difference because he is just one person. Other artists will still do it and in reality explicit content is everywhere people go, so censoring music videos won't make much of a difference in terms of children being exposed to it. I do however think that censorship has made the public more aware that artists are becoming more daring with what is featured in there music and videos. In more recent years the more outrageous an artist is the more attention they receive and the more popular they become. However I don't agree with the message that this sends to young fans and therefore censorship should definitely be used before the watershed. I have grown up listening to Eminem and he is one of my favourite artists. I have most of his songs in my music library and I listen to them regularly. I completely understand the deeper meanings of each song and the connotations behind certain lyrics. However I am mature enough to know that Eminem is talking about his life and expressing his feelings and him and I are different people. Just because Eminem does something or says something I shouldn't be influenced by it and neither should other viewers. My parents steered me in the right direction doing the best they could to keep me out of trouble and explain the consequences of offensive behaviour and other parents should do this rather than blaming Eminem for anything.

Researching censorship and the different views which people have on it has helped me with what I should and shouldn't feature in my own music video. When making my video I will take into account my target audience and attempt to keep the representation of my characters positive.