Censorship

Censorship

Over the years there has been various accounts of media being censored from the general pubic due to the controversial issues caused by the video. One of the most iconic videos to be censored was ‘A Clockwork Orange’, which was banned in Britain for 27 years due to the controversy it caused. Lots of people claimed the film caused an outburst of “copycat” behaviour explained via the Hypodermic Needle effect, where the audience is exposed to a type of behaviour which leads to people copying the behaviour exerted (also known as Social Learning Theory).

Censorship is not a stranger to the music industry either. It started in 1950s, when rock began to emerge. The reason for this censorship was the topics and  issues bands were beginning to sing about threatened white middle-class values. In 1985, the Parental Advisory label was introduced on records that were considered potentially offensive. Often the music industry has been criticized for censoring music, since it’s an expression of feelings much like art. However its effect on younger audiences are worrying as children are likely to immitate the behaviours exhibited by their heroes. Many songs which use obscene language or sexual references are censored on the radio either through muting the words or by replacing the words.

Censorship in music videos can be due to many reasons. More often that not it is either due to sexual behaviour or violence. One of the most recent music videos that has caused controversy is Rihanna- S&M. S&M is an abbreviation of sadomasochism which means gaining pleasure from causing someone else pain, most commonly found in association with bondage. The song alone has caused controversy as some of the lyrics are ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but chains and whips excite.’ A lot of the music video shows bondage toys being used, and her sexually torturing people is bordering on soft pornography.

This causes great controversy as it is exposing the audience, in particular the younger generation, to a controversial behaviour. I agree with the censorship of this music video, since as a student of psychology I understand that one of the ways we learn behaviours is through copying others around us. Since Rihanna has a very successful career , this reinforces the idea that her behaviour must be positive. I personally feel it is morally wrong to allow children to be exposed to this particular video.

MTV have combated this censorship by providing a 120-minute slot late at night where banned music videos can be viewed, so the artist does not lose the exposure completely. However, it does mean they have limited exposure as the audience they are allowed to promote towards is restricted.

Since the majority of the music videos are shown online, censorship has had limited effect as banned music videos are easily accessible for the audience online. Therefore it is uncertain what form the future censorship of music videos will take.