Censorship

Censorship has become a big issue in the music industry, particularly amongst parents who feel their children are being subjected to explicit things that are in some peoples opinions inappropriate. TV channels, radio stations and the internet have all enforced censorship to avoid complaints and debates arising and damaging the reputation.

One artist who many parents who have voiced their opinion that censorship should apply to is Eminem as they think his musical lyrics in particular are too explicit for some of the young fans he appeals to and could also potentially influence some of their actions. Eminem has always been recognized as a controversial artist, while some people are fond of his honest lyrics about the reality of his upbringing and the world many people find them too detailed and explicit for everyones listening, especially his younger audience who's mind could be influenced.

Eminem's lyrics include lines "We'll be right back, Well I will you'll be in the trunk" this gives the impression he's going to kill his wife, a lot of people assume this means Eminem supports domestic violence and actually promotes it. Eminem's younger fans may think domestic violence is acceptable as its been made evident that Eminem has in times been violent towards his wife, many fans may even be violent to be similar to the artist they idolise. 

Eminem is the owner of his record label 'Shady Records' which means he doesn't have to censor his videos and could put out what videos he personally finds appropriated despite public opinions, although he can say the final word on his work there's still the chance that radio stations and music channels may refuse to play the music or voice over certain lyrics. 

OFCOM is a company that enforces censorship where they think appropriate, the final decisions of what's suitable to be played on television as well as the lyrics in certain music videos and the video itself. Ofcom was launched in 2003 and hold a lot of power in the music industry as they can finalize decisions as big as banning certain video's they find extremely inappropriate. While music channels are obviously similar to radio stations with censorship in lyrics, a lot of lyrics relate to the music video so the probability of the video being censored is higher with explicit lyrics. 

MTV is an example of a music channel that censors the videos/songs it plays for the audience, they have a wide audience and try to please the majority of the audience, a lot of controversial artists such as Eminem have in the past been censored or not played by the music channel as his videos and lyrics are too explicit and cause bad publicity for the station and negative feedback especially from some loyal viewers. Music videos are also censored to prevent influencing the audience, especially younger people who in particular look up to certain artists. people could potentially try to reenact certain scenes for example; Eminem's video Stan shows a fan so infatuated with Eminem he makes similar actions that aren't acceptable, however one thing Eminem makes clear in that song is that although he raps about certain things he doesn't necessarily make those choices and do some things. 

A music channel that is the opposite of MTV is AKA, as the audience of this channel is more niche they are able to play more controversial artists without censoring, this is because the reputation makes it obvious with less complaints as you tune in particularly for less censorship amongst videos/songs you enjoy. it focuses on rap/grime music especially which makes the audience more aware of what to expect including explicit language. 

although Ofcom overall censors certain videos and lyrics to be put out on the majority of channels, the channel in particular can decide to censor certain aspects of videos that they too think are inappropriate as they are more familiar with their audience and what they prefer. Music channels that specialize in pop/r'n'b or just a variety of genres usually censor certain lyrics as the audience is quite wide they cant detect what may cause offense and bad press for them and would rather not risk it. The bigger the audience the more chance of younger audiences especially in general music channels that play the majority of genres just whats considered 'in' and 'current' at the moment, the younger audience may pick up bad language too when listening to certain lyrics which is why some channels to take it upon themselves to not play specific words in a song or play  voice over in certain parts. 

Maroon 5 have quite a clean cut image in general as they're not considered too controversial and explicit, however when they colloborated with Wiz Khalifa in Payphone, some of the language used was considered unacceptable for the young audience who listen to their music. Because the song was a big hit, many stations opted to play it but censored out the word 'fucking' in Maroon 5's verse yet completely cut out Wiz Khalifa's verse altogether, this may have been because he refused to censor some of his lyrics or because the verse in general almost became almost non-existent without the bad language originally included.

in our class debate over censorship the main topic was Eminem as he's just as famous for his controversial side portrayed in his work as his talent, many parents are against his work and the explicit narrative behind his songs saying they're not appropriate for his younger fans. A lot of people find his lyrics just as offensive as explicit, as he mocks the majority of other celebritys in his videos. Some of the celebritys he mocks could be considered good role models as they're successful. One clean cut celebrity he mocks is Jessica Alba as she's only publicised for her success as an actress and beings a good mother, although she's often voted as one of 'the sexiest women' he potrays Jessica Alba as only a sex symbol which is something a lot of women feel strongly about as it strips them of their status making them seen as only objects to men. Eminem also includes a lot of violent lyrics in his lyrics which is shown in the video too, in his music video 3am he appears to be chopping peoples limbs in his video which is very gory and detailed. 

While many parents feel strongly against their children being aware of Eminem and the negative stuff he includes, many parents feel fine as they think although he includes some aspects they may not agree with they dont think there's any danger of influencing or corrupting their child. One positiive factor about Eminems negativity is his realistic view and input on life, he tells a realistic honest narrative fans making him come across more personal as his life is publicised and popular when the story is told in his songs. He makes it obvious that life includes some struggles and believes in being honest with his fans as opposed to lying and portraying life as  easy without struggles.

 Eminem owns his own record label called Shady Records which means he has the final decision on what he produces as he's the boss. There's nobody to finalise his choices although many people may advise him on certain aspects he includes in his work they deem to inappropriate or explicit. Eminem decides on the final cut on his work, he can produce what he looks whether he considers it inappropriate or not, because he decides to include certain things he doesn't censor his work which makes Ofcom's role slightly harder, as Eminem often decides to keep certain inappropriate roles,lyrics in his videos or songs many stations/channels refuse to play his work or censor certain things however this doesn't prevent him being one of the most successful artists to date. 

The artist himself was somebody we looked at, as we thought his point of view on his controversial title was. I watched two youtube videos where Eminem speaks openly about the work he produces, in one video he gets his point across that people underestimate kids as they're smarter than we assume and wont be influenced. He also states that if kids are influenced by the work he produces, they must already be crazy meaning its not actually his fault. Eminem finished the video saying "its only music, its only entertainment" which gets his point across that censoring is something he doesn't feel neccessary and peoples opinions on his controversial image don't effect him. Another video i watched showed Eminem speaking of parenting, in the interview he states "you're their parent then parent them, i don't walk around my house saying bitch pick this up" this is a good point from Eminem as it highlights despite his negative image andthe language, lyrics he includes in his songs about violence and the relationship between his parents he hasn't let this affect his role as a parent and has taken a different approach than his parents which have obviously influenced his life and musical lyrics. His opinion on the matter is made clear as he gives the impression that if an issue occurs the parent should address is and take responsibility. 

Censorship is enforced to avoid causing offense to viewers or influencing young children, censoring is evident in the form of lyrics and the video too like blurring out body parts or weapons. Although i feel censorship is necessary in extreme cases, overall i think censorship should be avoided as it takes away the reality of the song and the lyrics particularly from artist's such as Eminem who's life experiences are what appeals to his audience. As well as this i think stations should make listeners aware of potential offensive songs being played so that any distress can be avoided yet many of the listeners may prefer this method as they can still have the option of the artists work.