Censorship In Music
“Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.”(United States Constitution) However, it seems almost everywhere; many forms of art are being unfairly censored. One such form that is often overlooked as art is music. “Music is probably the most censored of all art forms”(The Economist; p 73) There are hundreds of artists who have been unfairly censored, ranging from popular music from artists such as Eminem, 2 Live Crew, and NWA, to classical music, such as Mozart’s Figaro. However unfair and unconstitutional this censorship is, the fact is that questionable music and lyrics are encouraging impressionable young children to follow their messages. Rappers like DMX or NWA, preaching gang violence often are “the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” and finally pushes a child looking for guidance into the world of gangs. The truth is that these children need to be protected from the harsh realities of the world surrounding them, but is censoring music the right way to do it? “No corporation can exist without authority of government. Government shouldn’t allow corporations that infect and contaminate the minds of children to be allowed to exist.” (Dr. C. Delores Tucker before senate subcommittee).
The truth is that even if laws were passed banning talk of guns, violence, and obscene words in music, it would still not stop the spread of this type of music. Now with the Internet and file sharing programs like Napster and Imesh, any type of censorship would not only be immoral, it would be next to impossible. “And even if words like ‘faggot’ or ‘nigger’ were banned, it wouldn’t stop homophobia or racism in America. Banning gangsta rap wouldn’t do anything, except hide the truths that lie in the inner cities” (Walsh, p. 1). All that could possibly do is keep it hidden, but just because a problem is hidden, does not make it any less of a problem. There is no simple solution to all of America’s problems, and it seems that groups like PMRC trying to do exactly that, to find one solution that will solve all of the problems we have in today’s society. The 1973 Supreme Court decision Miller v. California gave local government control over music they found to be obscene. The first arrest made based on this court decision was against Luther Campbell, leader of the group 2 Live Crew, in 1990; during a concert in Miami Florida, after the group had performed their song “Nasty as We Wanna Be,” authorities went on stage and arrested him. However, this did not work out in the PMRC’s favor; the controversy of the arrest sent 2 Live Crew’s sales skyrocketing, and in 1992, the group appealed the court decision and was given back the right to sing their song. Although there seems to be so much good to be gained from censoring controversial artists, we are in essence taking away their fundamental right of freedom of speech; if certain groups get enough power that they can choose whose rights wil
Some topics in this essay:
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Police” Eminem,
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Approximate Word count = 1162
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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