Sunday, 21 October 2012

Censorship


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.
In order to allow songs to be played wherever possible, it is common to censor particular words, particularly swearwords. Some music labels or artists produce clean versions themselves, sometimes with alternative lyrics, to comply with the rules set by various radio and television programs.
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.

1 comment:

  1. 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.
    Your 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.

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