research into censorship

Censorship is simply a tool used in order to cut out specific parts of a media material which may be deemed as too "extreme" to watch. In some cases, a media product is completely restricted from the public as it is completely inappropriate or offensive for anyone to view. Common examples of censorship often come from hip-hop or rap music videos that use a lot of swearing, profanity or sexually inappropriate scenes. In this example, censorship is applied by simply cutting out the rude language or images; radio stations are well-known for censoring the lyrics of particular songs if their target audience include people of a younger age, e.g. BBC Radio 1. On the television, censorship is used before the watershed as anyone of any age could be watching and therefore it reduces the chances of a young person seeing/hearing offensive or inappropriate images or words.

An example of a company which monitors and controls communications in the UK is Ofcom; they regulate the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, as well as airwaves which wireless devices operate using. Ofcom ensure that people in the UK are protected from scams or any other harmful material.

Many artists' music videos have to be censored as they are just too explicit to show to the entire pubic. One example of an artists' music video that has been censored is "Smack My Bitch Up" by the big beat (a style of electronic dance music) group "The Prodigy" and is arguably one of the most controversial music videos ever produced. The video was censored due to the illustration of violence, nudity, sex, drinking and drinking, vandalism and drugs. The uncensored version of the video features scenes where women are abused, a hit and run incident, the use of heroin and a full sex scene. 

The video attracted a heavy amount of criticism, especially from feminist groups due to the negative portrayal of women; the protagonist is actually a women. In addition, the excessive use of violence directed to females was extremely disturbing for a lot of people to watch, particularly women. However, some viewers actually regarded the uncensored version of the video to be commendable as it provides a subversive representation of women being the ones who carry out abuse, not men. The video spread like wildfire and there was huge demand for the full, unedited version to be broadcasted on MTV, which in 2002 it was; however this was only done after the watershed. There was also lyrical controversy; BBC Radio 1 decided to completely ban the lyrical version of the song from being played but instead play simply the music itself. The entirety of the lyrics consist of a repeat of "smack my bitch up, change my pitch up" which is deemed as inappropriate to be played especially at a radio station as the lyrics refer to requesting someone to shoot heroin intravenously. However, to some, the lyrics are taken to advocate violence towards women and therefore find it equally as offensive as "encouraging" the use of heroin.

There are some artists that are actually against censorship; the American rapper Eminem is a prime example. As a singer-songwriter, Eminem wants to have the freedom to express himself in his lyrics and the visuals of his music video. Therefore, Eminem likes to be able to only rap about what he really feels and does not believe that censorship should be applied. Instead, Eminem believes that it the parents' duty to take charge of what their child watches, not the artists' to control the content of their music. Eminem believes that ultimately, it does not matter if the artist censors their music or not as if someone wants to find the uncensored version, they can and they will. Furthermore, Eminem believes that as the lyrics he writes and sings come from personal experiences and feelings, this is how to best connect with his fans and create a strong relationship as they may be feeling similar emotions. Censoring a music video or song consequently takes all of this away as well as tarnishing the deeper meaning of the lyrics. In addition, a censored video will automatically stand out less than an uncensored one and this means that Eminem's music will not be as innovative and daring and limits his ability to creatively express or represent himself. In regards to the actual explicit content of his music such as the excessive mention of drinking or drugs, Eminem defends himself by stating that he does not participate in such illegal activities and in no way is his music an advocation of them.

Not only is Eminem as an artist against censorship, but his record label, Shady Records, which he co-founded with his manager, Paul Rosenberg, is also against the concept. Shady Records actually became established due to the increasing demand for Eminem's music to be censored; however as both Eminem and Rosenberg believed that the public actually desire to have music that is raw and expresses genuine thoughts and feelings, they would not comply with censorship. Eminem is still an exceedingly successful artist without censorship, demonstrating that people actually appeal to the explicit content of his music and it is true to say there is an element of admiration for the rapper's authenticity. Controversial music is just as much an art form as a literary or even art piece and therefore Shady Records do not believe in taking away the originality of the artist. Eminem says himself that the audience should not take everything published in music to be literal as the artist likes to hyperbolize in order to create a more entertaining and unique song for their fans.

Parents are evidently one of the prime supporters of the watershed as they want to protect their children from seeing or hearing explicit content; censorship ensures this without the parents actually having to do anything. In addition, censorship allows children to still be able to watch their favorite shows. Parents often worry that the things their children see on TV will have a deep influence on them. For instance, Miley Cyrus, who started as Hannah Montana was a sensation amongst many children. However, as she grew up, she became less child-friendly due to the inappropriate way she dresses and the rather sexually explicit content of her music; therefore, parents worry that the way she has changed would be deemed acceptable by children and she will influence them. By censoring Miley Cyrus' music videos, it is sending a message that some of the content is wrong and should not be publicly displayed. Parents believe censorship is the way to demonstrate that an artist should be respected and appealed by the public for the quality of their music, not for the visual aspect of it. Whereas Miley Cyrus' lyrics of "it's our party we can do what we want, it's our party we can say what we want, it's our party we can love who we want, we can kiss who we want, we can screw who we want" etc, demonstrates that her music is not suitable for children and sends an ideology that this is an acceptable lifestyle to adopt.

However, there are actually some parents who are against the censorship. This is due to the fact that they believe that there are far more worse things that their children could be exposed to. Topics such as sex and nudity are deemed as natural in the parents' eyes and therefore should not be censored; otherwise their children will not be aware of these matters later in life when the rest of society will. Censorship produces more naive children who will not be aware of the reality of the world they live in. A lot of parents have become so accustomed to the explicit topics of the music many artists sing that they do not see the issue with them. For example, Eminem's song "The Bong Song" promotes smoking weed which is an illegal drug; however as nearly one billion people smoke cigarettes in the world, the notion of smoking itself has been conditioned as acceptable by a lot more people. In addition, around 160 million people in the world smoke marijuana and therefore it does not necessarily seem like that big a deal to some people. Furthermore, the government have stated that the minimum age for going to jail is at the age of 10 and therefore if a child does copy what they see in things like music videos then they are aware of the consequences and must accept blame for their actions. Parents argue that this is real life and therefore their children need to be made aware of these matters; it is the duty of authoritative figures such as police officers and teachers to teach their children that certain drugs are illegal and you should not drink and drive, etc. 

Fans are also another example of those against censorship as it blocks the ability for the artist to express themselves creatively. Artists such as Eminem do not rap/sing about things for no reason or that have no meaning; therefore censoring an artists' music will prevent the deeper meaning of their lyrics from being shown. Furthermore, Eminem's music comes from personal experiences and straight from the heart which connects him with his fans more; fans want to hear a more explicit song if it means it is more genuine. In addition, a lot of fans understand that censoring music does not take away the reality that swearing, talking of sex, drugs, violence, etc, are all world-wide phenomenons. Eminem is one of the world's best-selling artists, having sold more than 172 million albums worldwide, as well as having ten number-one albums on Billboard 200. Therefore, if he is so successful then fans argue why should censorship be a problem? Eminem is evidently well-liked for the uncensored and explicit music he produces and editing it will take away the raw talent of the artist away. If you take away the artist's natural creativity then fans argue that the quality of the music will deteriorate as they will not be producing music to the best of their ability. Ultimately, a lot of fans say that if someone does not like the content of a video then they should not bother watching it and should be respectful of others appeal to the music.

MTV is an example of a music channel that is supportive of censorship. This is due to the fact that they are such a successful channel that they must maintain a certain image and role of protecting their audience. A certain percentage of the audience are quite young and therefore MTV have to strongly adhere to the regulations of censorship. In order to do this, MTV must only show more uncensored videos after the watershed (9pm) as young children could potentially see anything slightly offensive from before this time. As most teenagers spend up to two hours or even longer listening to music with headphones in, parents do not know what they are listening to or where the music has come from. Due to the advancement in technology, people are now able to access music more easily than ever; illegally downloading music has never been easier. Therefore, MTV do not want to be involved in illegal or uncensored music as they have a certain reputation to uphold. Some artists feature inappropriate and critical aspects to their music; Eminem is an example of this as some of his lyrics are seen as exceedingly homophobic and therefore MTV would have to ensure they do not broadcast an unedited version of this as it would offend a share of their audience. By having censorship, MTV maintain their viewing ratings as well as keeping everyone as happy as possible.

On the other hand, the music channel AKA are against the censorship. AKA are in full support of allowing an artist to creatively express themselves and censorship prevents this from occurring. Eminem is again a good example to use as he expresses his life experiences in his music which makes it more raw and authentic, successfully connecting him on a personal level with his fans. AKA do not believe that they can sign on an artist if their music is censored as the audience cannot truly get to know the artist. Furthermore, by censoring a song, you may have to change the lyrics which can completely change the meaning. For example, Chris Brown's song "These Hoes Ain't Loyal" was edited to "These Girls Aren't Loyal". The meaning of "hoes" and "girls" is completely different; "hoes" has an extremely negative connotation and by changing it changes Chris Brown's attitudes towards women which is his personal opinion and therefore is wrong to change it, However, despite their strong beliefs, in 2005, AKA were fined £18,000 by Ofcom as they played a song of inappropriate content, and they have not played uncensored music since.

Other than music channels, there are also radio stations that are for censorship. One example is BBC Radio 1, who play a variety of music for a variety of audience demographics. In fact, BBC Radio 1 is so against censorship that Nick Grimshaw, the host of the radio show, refused to allow Rihanna's song "S&M" to be played as he deemed it way too inappropriate for the younger part of the audience due to its reference to "sex", "chains" and "whips". This is due to the fact that the station's audience does not include only one group of audience demographic but a range, including a lot of younger people. Therefore, if the audience want to listen to more explicit music, then they should turn to other radio stations who will cater for their needs. BBC Radio 1 are such a successful radio station that they have to uphold a good reputations and keep their viewing ratings as high as possible; if they played uncensored music it would cause outrage amongst many of not only the audience but their parents as well. 

There are however examples of radio stations that are against censorship. An quintessential example is the radio station "Capital Xtra". This radio station upholds the belief that artists should have the ability to creatively express themselves and should not feel restricted by the wants of others. However, as they want to keep their audience as wide and open as possible, they do use censoring; uncensored music is played after the watershed and before then, they bleep/blank/repeat/re-sample the offensive parts of the music. This way, the radio station try to change the music as little as possible yet simultaneously keep the audience as happy as possible. 

There is a varying consensus of censorship of artists; most people do agree that it is wrong as it restricts the artist from expressing how they truly feel. Censorship is a form of preventing liberty of speech which is deemed as immoral by many. Whilst there are both pros and cons of censorship, ultimately, I am against the use of it as at the end of the day, if someone wants to find the inappropriate version of a song, they will. Furthermore, the issues that a lot of artists talk about are real-life matters that children will eventually face at one point and there is no point hiding it from them. It is fundamentally down to the parents to teach and control their children over these issues and the solution is not to restrict everything they watch and hear as that is impractical. In my own music video, I will take into consideration that there may be some inappropriate parts; however depending on the extremity of them, I will not apply censorship as I do not believe it is right.