A View On Censorship In Music and The Government
...rilyn Manson, and were even said to almost idolize him. Marilyn Manson is an accused shock-rocker who has been described by the music press as an "ultra-violent satanic rock monstrosity". There have also been several other reports of teenage killers who have been big fans of the rocker. Thurston High School student Kip Kinkell, who murdered his parents and two students in Springfield, Ohio, was said to be a listener of Marilyn Manson. In Edinboro, Pennsylvania, Andrew Wurst killed a teacher at his eighth-grade dance. In Pearl, Mississippi, Luke Woodham murdered his parents and a classmate. All of these kids were heavy listeners of Marilyn Manson. People are using the increase in violence among children as proof that violent-themed music is causing a change for the worse in kids and young adults today. It appears to me that this is a case in which people want to blame someone or something, and he is the easiest and most obvious choice. An easy assumption, but it is just that, an assumption. When asked for proof, as has occurred in recent years, various reports are mentioned that supposedly have scientific proof of the correlation between the increase in violence and violence in music. A recent article by the American Medical Association was quoted as saying "the link between media violence and real life violence has been proven by science time and again". How can the American Medical Association have jurisdiction over the music industry and say what its product effects? Music has nothing to do with medicine. Psychology, maybe, but definitely not medicine. A vast majority of media publications refer to these reports, but never give the information to find the reports themselves. This to me is no coincidence. Every article that I have read in my research has quoted lines out of context in an effort to emotionally sway the reader. Out of context of the feeling of the songwriter, not of the lyric. First of all, songwriters write for themselves. Even with more songwriters today openly saying that they like being rock stars for the money, they began writing for themselves. Even if they didn't get paid to write, they would still write. Therefore their songs are representations of their mood and thoughts at the time. Every person has their own deep dark thoughts that would shock others, and they keep them intensely private. However some choose to express them in their lyrics, but they are still just words. The problem comes when people fail to realize this. The problem also comes when people have to be spoon-fed their thoughts, because they can't form an opinion for themselves. People today need a mind of their own. I say that people need to blame themselves for the things they do. People need to stop avoiding the issues of personal integrity and respect. People need to pressure parents to raise their kids in such a way as to teach these things to them. A few decades ago, Elvis was thought of by many as the devil. They thought that his dancing was too sexually explicit for the young girls of the day to be seeing. Led Zeppelin was thought of in much the same way. Today, Elvis is considered a "king", and Led Zeppelin is considered to be one of the most influential bands of all time. Today's society harshly criticizes artists, and even go as far as calling them satanic. Countless social problems dealing with youth were and are blamed on music. The trend is sadly spreading to other nations as well. French rapper NTM was arrested for so called offenses against "public authority" in 1996. In Pakistan, a popular rock group called Junoon has been repeatedly banned because of the content of their lyrics. Nigerian Afrobeat artist Fela Kuti was regularly imprisoned. His son now leads his Movement Against Second Slavery (Naylor)....