Actual censorship
began in 1955, when over 30 songs were banned; many of them by black artists.
Examples of censorship of music range from changed or excluded lyrics (this
falls into the category of what is known as “radio edit”), to restricted cover
album artwork, to the banning of artists airing on the radio or television for
numerous conflicts, such as moral and racial/religious issues.
My genre: R&B
music videos are known to grasp people’s attention because they place emphasis
on sexual desires and drug references. They present these things as no
longer having to be secret acts and therefore were/are seen to corrupt young
minds and promote immoral behaviour. Therefore it is most often subject to
censorship.
For example, Rihanna’s
‘We Found Love’ video isn’t played on television until after 9pm on a daily
basis. This is because it is seen as inappropriate for young viewers as it
presents intimacy, drinking and drug abuse.
Neyo's video to 'Lazy Love' is also only shown on TV after specific times on specific channels. It was banned from BET. |
Usher's video to 'Trading Places' is shown on TV after 9pm. |
For example, in Nicki
Minaj’s song ‘Right By My Side’, she says in her original and explicit version:
“It ain’t your spit
game it’s your dick game”
In the radio
edited/clean version, the inappropriate words are distorted; this is when the
pitch is altered in order to make the word non-understandable.
However, in other
cases, artists simply change the word to one less offensive.
The total censorship of a song is often
reported in the mass
media and often has the effect of drawing more attention to the song than it would have received had it not been
banned. Equally, the censorship of a word can highlight it to such a degree
that it makes it more obvious what the singer has said. This is why I
have chosen not to include any controversial content in my music video. Furthermore,
as Goodwin said, most videos have a relationship between the lyrics and the
visuals, the lyrics to my chosen song are in no way controversial and therefore
there isn’t any reason for there to be any controversial visuals. Also, I want
my video to be able to relate to people within its subculture and outside it,
so I wouldn’t want to include content that isn’t suitable for all viewers.
Within my music video, I won't be presenting anything that would have to be specifically labelled as explicit. Therefore, it won't need to be specifically censored.
Your research into censorship has highlighted some good examples of current practice. Has there been any changes in censorship over time from 1955 to the present day and what do you think are the reasons and impact.
ReplyDeleteYour research has infomred your own planning fo your video and you give a considered approach to the content of your video and why you have chosen not to include any explicit images.