Censorship - Miss Miller

Censorship

Intro

Censorship is the analysis or examination of communication media like films, music videos, radio shows etc. to limit or suppress parts which may be offensive or inappropriate to some audiences. Censorship is used to protect audiences from harmful content which some audience may be sensitive to or offended by. This is so that there cant be many complaints and the communication media cannot push the boundaries to much. Censorship can be used when the content may be to strong for certain audiences. When things such as bad language, nudity, drug abuse, violence or sex scenes are involved censorship can decided whether the audience are fit the watch or listen too it, if not they control the content so it doesn't go over the limit of being inappropriate. The censorship can be used with artists to protect audience, if the media contains something which is possibly offensive to some audience members, for example young children will not want to hear bad language or girls may find that some lyrics are degrading or do to women's oppression especially in grime music, then parts can be censored so that it can not be viewed as offensive.

Ofcom is the regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. It regulates TV and radio, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services and the airwaves which wireless devices use. People who watch television or listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material. As far as Ofcom's involvement in the regulation of music videos they have set rules for certain content, when its aloud, how extreme it can be or its possible offense, they give guidance about what is appropriate or aloud. The guidance given can be applied to music video the songs and the artists by restricting the material. Some music video can be extremely as it can be a way of the artist expressing their emotions which means they are more likely to cause offense or be harm to some audiences. 

An example I found of a music video that has been censored is Rihanna 'Bitch better have my money'. The song can only be played after the watershed because of the content used which is inappropriate for younger audiences.  This song has fairly strong language as seen in the title "Bitch better have my money" which is repeat a fair amount for each chorus. Throughout the song the lyrics continue to include bad language for example "the whole clubs f***ing wasted" these strong lyrics are not aloud before the watershed as the younger audiences are not aloud to listen. Other content used in this video is also harmful for children to view, the narrative is about a hostage being partly tortured along with her husband as he did not pay Rihanna in her character position. The scenes contain nudity, drug use, violence as they knock the hostage out by smashing a bottle on her head, weapons e.g a gun, graphic scenes of blood and drowning. All these assets are not acceptable for certain audience to see, for children it can be harmful some of the material is extreme and may scare them, the bad language can also influence them by encouraging to speak in the same manor. This video can also be a bad influence on teenagers as they may see the bad language and drug use as "cool" making them want to join in or try out. As the artist is an idol the audience may look up to Rihanna and want to participate in what she enjoys which may not be good, in this case it is drugs. This is why this video can only be played after the watershed when the parents can control if they watch it or many younger children would be asleep. Parents may want to restrict what their child is viewing so that there isn't any negative responses, or for the stronger content to have a negative effect on their child, this is because it won't just effect their attitudes or what they do, its because these different changes can effect them in wider society when they need to go to school or get jobs etc.

Main

For this post some research has been done into a few points to do with censorship these points are;

1)The artist - in this case Eminem 

2)Record label 

3)Parents - For 

4)Parents - Against 

5)Fans 

6)British music channels - MTV+AKA 

7)British radio stations - Radio 1+Capital Xtra

The Artist - Eminem

The artist analysed was Eminem, he is against censorship and believes it wont do any harm. He said that kids can find a way to view censored products as they are smart and don't listen to their parent most of time. Eminem doesn't agree that censorship should be used, he said "I can say what I want when I want no one can stop me", this shows that he doesn't care what people think and that he should be able to express his music with whoever wants to see it with no restrictions on the content. Many people view Eminem as offensive and a typical rapper but he has good intentions, he has motivation and believes that anything is possible if you work hard enough and it is really wanted. He also says that he doesn't purposely write aggressive music, he listens to the beat and the tempo and goes with what comes to his mind, if works or feels right then he will use it. He wants a connection with his fans he doesn't want to be bad influence or have a negative reputation, he said he wants his fans to understand his story and relate so they can feel connection with him and his music. He releases his emotions through his music, for example if he gets and negative feedback from his audience he will put that into song and release it through his lyrics. He believes that as an artist he should be aloud to express himself through his music along with any other artist who wants to do so and censorship should not restrict what their audiences view.

Record Label

The record label analysed was Shady Records. This record company was founded by Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999, this is because he felt under pressure about censorship so he made his own record label. He believes the audience enjoy controversy which is why it is so popular, he also thinks they enjoy the diverse sometimes more explicit music videos so why can't they be viewed without being censored.  Eminem made the point that books aren't censored so why should music videos be, his point is fair because they are both media communications so should be treated the same, he believes books are deeper in description so they would do more damage than a music video. Shady records is popular record label which is proved through the lots of different awards they have received. For example the labels acts have earned RIAA certifications of gold or higher.

Parents - For censorship

Most parents are for censorship. They believe it protects their children from explicit material. Some parents see the content of music videos as harmful or a bad influence for their children, for example bad language can be copied when it comes to younger children and teenagers may follow the artists by trying drugs or being violent. From this point of view it is clear that some material may have a negative effect on the audience but children are not necessarily influenced negatively by it. Mental illness is seen as a sensitive issue and the parents that are for censorship see it as protection for these children who are more likely to be influenced into bad behaviour. The parents who are worried about their children picking up the bad language or bad behaviour are also worried about the long term it can have. Sometimes the negative effect can just be phase where the children will copy what they have seem but only for a short period of time. Soon they get bored and will forget about it. But there can also be the long term effect where the child might continue to copy behaviour and take it in as part of their personality, this could cause problems and struggles later on in life. For example if they where to move schools or try to get a job if their attitude or language is bad the teachers to employers will be turned away at rudeness or informal behaviour.

Parents - Against censorship

There are some parents who are against the use of censorship and don't believe it should effect the content of the media. These parents have the view that if children are well educated when it comes to drug use they will understand it is bad and wont be influenced by what they see in music video. Some said they do not want naïve children so will allow them to see the material that other parents may see as inappropriate, they want their children to understand what is in the world and not be afraid when they may encounter the bad behaviours. Sometimes they also say that if your child has a mental illness they will struggle to understand what's right and what's wrong so that isn't the fault of the artist, it is down the parents to control if their child is stable enough to watch. They say parents can control watch their child views by putting pass codes on channels and website which they don't want to be viewed rather then communication media being censored. Parents that are against censorship are more about keeping wider society realistic to their child, they have the opinion that if their children see what is going on in the world they will be able to cope better when they need to, for example when they leave school they will know what to expect or when they are aloud to go out with friends they will know what is right and wrong and what they should or shouldn't follow. The parents who may view censorship as unfair to others believe that their children shouldn't be effected because other parents are not thinking to control themselves what their child views. 

Fans

For many artists e.g  Eminem's, music is a way to express opinions, he believes censorship is stopping him from doing so and putting out what he wants to his fans. Eminem's raps usually talk about his personal life, he likes to keep open and express himself so that his fans can understand him and keep tabs on him throughout his life and career. As an artist he uses lots of suggestive meaning which can either be obvious or not so obvious to his fans, he thinks that censorship makes his songs  lose rhythm and takes the effect away causing less appeal and attract for the fans. Eminem said that because he is passionate about music and pushes the boundaries of creative freedom, is why he is so popular in his genre of music, this is because the audience look up to his strong beliefs and that he likes to voice his opinions, the fans enjoy seeing his view on things through his lyrics. His fans seem to enjoy his music which is clear as his song love the way you lie featuring Rihanna is the fourth most viewed music video on youtube with 922,134,192 viewings. For his wider range of fans who may be more sensitive to the content, his more recent songs have become more tame compared to his old ones, meaning is fan base has grown.

British music channels

MTV 

Most  point about MTV's view on censorship or for it. MTV takes into account of the young audience watching therefore the channel is censored all day until 9pm when the watershed beings. This creates them a wider audience because the channel is suited for anyone wants to watch it, all possibilities of offense or harm for the audience are censored. When it comes to MTV's view on Eminem, they see him has a very controversial artist whose work can at times be inappropriate. MTV see his work as threatening when is comes to the watershed, it has to be censored if played before 9pm as it is against the law to show some of the material in his work, for example bad language or drug use. Another example of a time when his lyric were not allowed to be played was when there was a shooting in 1999, the lyrics were deemed to inappropriate due to the recent incident. Eminem is very strongly opinionated, and one of his characteristics is that he is extremely homophobic, in recent time being homosexual is more accepted meaning lyrics he has written about this belief of his are seen as offensive and are therefore not allowed to be played before watershed. MTV are strict on the censorship used when airing any of Eminem's music because they have to watch out not just for bad language or inappropriate references but his opinions that may be to strong to voice to the pre-watershed audience.

AKA  

Aka has a different view when is comes to what their artists can voice or what has to be restricted. They allow artist the express however they feel, they do not believe on restricting an artists feelings or emotions, when it comes to music they should be able to use what ever lyrics the want to express themselves. They also believe if new artist cant express themselves truthfully then they cant be shown for who they really are. Because of AKA's low censored music videos they were fined by Ofcom, they had to pay £18,000, they have learnt from the past things that are not acceptable and push the limit. This channel play mainly urban and grime music, because of the genre ideas and meanings cant be shown fully when censored, as it covers up the stories which are mainly based on life experiences. Aka see artist like Eminem, who are controversial  as a target for failure in the industry. They say that if they don't allow this controversy the artist struggle to get bigger as they start from the bottom.


British radio stations


BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 have strict guidelines when it comes to censoring what is aired on their station, they believe that Lyrics that push the boundaries shouldn't be glorified to the public, especially if rape or oppressing women is used. The station believes children shouldn't be exposed to drugs because they don't know how to deal with it and they don't know that dangers or risks. Radio 1 deems lyrics that can be offensive or harmful not acceptable for children to listen too, they think if children are exposed to these lyric they will be influenced in a negative day. Some artists want promotion and because they need to become successful or continue success they aren't bothered by the lyrics and what they can do or imprint on a sensitive audience. In terms of Eminem's music Radio 1 would have to censor most of his lyrics as some of the stories he uses are inappropriate with language, racism or him being homophobic. It seems as though Radio 1 use censorship more to please their audiences, they don't want to offend anyone or for something to be exposed to younger children that they maybe not understand. They use censorship as way of gaining audiences, because if they make sure everyone is pleased with what is allowed to be aired and whats not they then have less chance of upsetting or turning anyone away because they will have no reason to dislike to station unless it is because they want to hear the stronger content.




Capital Xtra
Capital Xtra are not as strict with the censorship guidelines as Radio 1, they allow minor bad language and stories which could be at risk of having a bad influence on the audience but are not necessarily at the extremes of Eminem or artists like Professor Green. The station focuses on chart music and some house music, there is also a lot of rap, urban music. These genres can sometimes push the limit of what is acceptable for audience to listen to. Although some censoring is done they don't use strict radio versions, minor sexual references, bad language, offensive lyrics or discrimination is used, so that the artists can still express themselves but no to far that the material is harmful. Capital Xtra may feel like they only need to censor certain things because they have a more genre fitted audience, this channels plays all the top of the chart music which is popular with a younger audience aged 15-30. Their audience want to hear the top chart music wether is have bad language or inappropriate lyrics because they is what they have chosen the channel for. They want listen to what are looking for.


Conclusion


Censorship for artists is overall quite strict when they get released on music channels or radio stations not many of these media communications play harmful or offensive lyrics or video without some sort of censorship. Some use less strict censoring so that they can still  get the message of the artist across for example capital Xtra. I don't believe that artists should have their lyrics or videos censored, I think that they should be able to express themselves how ever they want and it should no be restricted. I think that if parents think the material is harmful or offensive they should put restrictions on what they view rather than the whole audience having to put up with the censoring. It isn't fair to restrict fans from viewing the artists work or to restrict the artist from getting their message to the audience. I don't think I will follow censorship in my production because it stops an artist from giving their full performance, expressing themselves and telling their message or stories. Although I will use any extremely violence in the video because I do think sometimes takes away the meaning of the lyrics by overpowering the audience with other emotions.